Your "Community" Gym
By Liz Smith

Last weekend I met my friend, Michael, for breakfast at a trendy place on Beattie Street in Vancouver. But, as it turned out, I was a week early for our date. I stood in the door, moping, for a good half hour before I realized Michael wasn’t coming. I thought I’d been stood up but—being resilient—I decided to sit at the bar and have my breakfast alone. I didn’t recognize anyone in the place, so I was surprised when my server recognized me. “You go to Spartacus, don’t you?” he said. “I’m sure I’ve seen you at the gym.”
“Yeah,” I told him. “But I don’t usually look around. I just put my head down and go for it.” I wished I could have told him something different, that I recognized him too. But I couldn’t. It had never occurred to me to look around while performing Feats of Strength. I’m too shy. I mean, there are places I go and things I do where I feel confident and able. Want me to get on stage and address a thousand people? No problem. But ask me to do jumping jacks in front of that same crowd? No thank you. In fact, the thought of a stranger having seen me jumping up and down like an idiot at the gym and then remembering what he’d seen is potentially appalling. Let’s face it. Sometimes working out isn’t pretty. There are your sweaty ass-prints and defective sports bras to deal with. Not to mention the occasional indecent exposure on a yoga mat. But this server wasn’t bringing any of that up. He was just being pleasant, recognizing me as part of his community. And it was nice. In all the months I’ve been going to my gym, I’ve never really considered the place a community. But here I was, alone at a breakfast joint across town, feeling exactly that. Community. I thought about it.

That week, Meghan, and many of her clients, were in the throes of training for a fitness competition. The girls were learning to pose in their high-heeled shoes. They were lifting weights and giving each other advice about nutrition and self-tanners. They were about to start over-hydrating and then dehydrating again. All of them were about to kick ass. I’d been watching them with interest all week from the treadmill. I’m not training to compete in a fitness competition, but, watching them, I still felt somehow involved. In eighteen months of working with Meghan, I’ve made some solid changes in my life. I’m stronger, faster, more fit and flexible. Seeing Meghan’s hardcore trainees make even more marked changes was very interesting to me. I liked how they worked together toward what seemed like a pretty fun goal. I liked their doggedness and commitment. I could appreciate it because I know what it takes to change your body and your life and how exhausting it can be to do it alone.

Watching them, I thought about each of Meghan’s clients. How all of them have had to struggle with their commitment to themselves at some point or another. How finding time to make nutritious meals and remember to drink enough water can seem like an impossible task on the worst days, and making time to go to the gym can almost bury you when you’ve got kids and jobs and school. I felt thankful for them. Each month I’ve watched them making progress seemed to be a month I watched myself make progress. And I thought about the Spartacus staff, too. How I look forward to seeing them and hearing their advice. It feels good to see them in the morning, but not as good as it feels when your gym buddy comes by and tells you you’re looking good or challenges you to work harder, faster. Sitting in that breakfast joint alone, it seemed to me that I recognized—and truly cared about—many more people at the gym than I’d thought. That community I’d never seen was all around me all the time.

Now, I’m not suggesting that we come to the gym to socialize. Au contraire. My time at the gym is for me and me alone. And I expect that most people feel the same way as I do; There’s nothing worse than some shmoe on the treadmill next to you trying to carry on a conversation about, well, about anything, actually. But it is nice to know that there are other people out there working on themselves in the same committed way you are. A wise writing teacher once told me if you are thinking a thing, chances are other people are thinking it too. Write it down. So, here goes:

These past few months it’s been hard for me to get motivated at the gym. Has it been hard for you? It’s been rainy and grey. I’ve been working more and harder than ever at my job. I’ve had less time to spend with my friends and family and it’s been very hard to find the jam to brave the weather and go to the gym. Now, the holidays are approaching and, with it, all the crap food and attendant emotional baggage that comes with it. Friends, we are going to need one another. Let’s make a deal. Let’s help one another make good decisions by being examples to one another. Let’s acknowledge one another’s strides (quietly, respectfully!) when we can. We are a community. At least that’s what I see. If you look around, I bet you’ll see it too.