I’ve never
been a fan of the gym. I’d rather go out and run around playing soccer for an
hour than run on the treadmill for 30 minutes.
That being said, when it is 30 degrees outside I would much rather be
inside a gym. Because this winter has been on the chilly side and over the past
couple of months the snow has seemed to stick around, I have spent a lot more
time in the gym than normal. Something I’ve noticed is there is such thing as
an actual man. Or, well, men think
there is.
I am new to
the whole gym, fitness, lifting, gains game that seems to exist nowadays. When
I used to go really consistently I feel like the atmosphere was very different.
I couldn’t get on a cardio machine because they were full. Women, men, old,
young, and everyone in between were using those machines. It was ridiculous!
Today when I go? The cardio machines are empty. There might be one woman riding
a bike but I have no problem getting on a cardio machine to start my day. But
no, the gym is not empty. What comes next? “Excuse me, can I get to the
weights?”
A problem
I’ve just really come to encounter is the problem that I can’t get to the
weights. There are so many guys standing around. Some are lifting. Some are
spotting. Some are taking selfies (I kid you not). I don’t know if it is the
gym culture but they are speaking in terms like, “bro” and “swol (sp?).” I know
for a fact these are intelligent guys. When they leave the gym the mentality
leaves and they get on with their lives. But while they are in the gym
something interesting happens. Men are divided. Some are “real men” and some
are not.
From what I
have picked up, real men lift. Real men might get on a cardio machine for 10
minutes, but that’s it. Then they go and lift weights. Also, from what I have
noticed, it is all about the free weights. Last week I went and a guy had to
have an excuse to use a weight machine. His friend was giving him a hard time
about it, asking if he was getting soft because, “real men use free weights.”
According
to gym culture and Sports World real men are tough. They are strong. They are
powerful. They are large and in charge. They do not take crap from anyone. They
play sports and have muscles. All the ladies want them and the guys want to be
them. Apparently they also lift free weights. What is this? Who decided this is
what makes men?! Even better, who decided what makes a real man?!
Sports World is definitely one of the biggest
proponents of this image. Men are talked about being huge and having a
demanding and powerful presence. They have muscles and they spend plenty of
time in the gym. Men are portrayed as shirtless will six pack abs if they want
a strong feature in a magazine. These are the men that are on the cover. This
is what everyone sees. This is what men
see and want to be like. This is the image of what a real man is.
Is that
what a real man is? Is that really how we see it? In my opinion that’s just
sad. You know what, if you want to use a weight machine go for it! If you want
to do free weights, go for it! If you want to do more than 10 minutes of
cardio, do it. Do your thing and enjoy it. There’s no such thing as one type of
“real man” so to the guys I overhear at the gym – get over it.
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