What's Your Community?

My gym is a community.

We are a community at the gym because we are all there for similar reasons. Most of us have the same goals: to get in shape, remain in good health, or relieve stress, these similar goals hold this group together.

The gym community values their minds and bodies. We share the belief that in order to take care of ourselves, avoid medical problems, or relieve stress that is dangerous to our bodies, we must maintain a healthy lifestyle by staying fit.

Staying in shape, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle should truly be for yourself, but there are some tensions or differences that work against the cohesion of this gym community, such as, competition, and how we view our own body image. Gym members come in every size, shape, gender, and age, but we all want to look like the man or woman on the cover of a magazine. Men compete with each other in the gym community to see who can lift the most amount of weight, or who has bigger muscles. Women compare themselves to one another by worrying if they are too fat, too skinny, or if they look older than another woman. Comparing ourselves to others can have a negative effect on the self confidence of men and women in the gym community.

I feel that I fit in with the gym community because I share the belief that excercise is good for my health, it makes me feel good, it will help me live a longer life, and it truly helps to relieve some of the stress in my life. I want to be part of the gym community because I care about myself and when you take care of yourself, you are less stressed and a happier, healthier person, which in turn can have a positive effect on your family, work, and your everyday life in general.