Ethno

A gym as defined by the Oxford Dictionary states that it is a “membership organization that provides a range of facilities designed to improve and maintain physical fitness and health.” Within our society, the culture of a gym or health club is comprised of those who wish to maintain their physical health, as well as form a bond for like-minded people to support one another with their health goals within a shared environment. I have chosen to observe and understand the culture that embodies the Westford Regency Health Club, a local Massachusetts gym with higher than average membership pric es and a higher end reputation in comparison to the average franchised gym, such as Planet Fitness. I chose this particular gym for the sole fact that it is labeled as a “health club,” rather than a gym, which brings about the notion that it is somehow superior in regards to its facilities and membership privileges. For my research, I used an inductive method including participant-observation, as well as field notes gathered from my visits as a new member.

While having been to various gyms in the past, my pre-conceived notions about what to expect within the health club was that the demographic would consist of upper middle class caucasian women, with the facilities meticulously clean and the health club itself to be in a state of the art shape in regards to new equipment and a spacious, luxurious locker room. I believed that the fitness classes they offered would be instructed by experienced professionals. What I had hoped to learn upon the beginning of my forays into the health club was how the members interacted amongst each other including the staff, how the culture varied from that of a less-expensive gym, and overall how the Westford Rege...

... middle of paper ...

...hat the facilities are at best decent and nothing relatively superior, is for the use of a gym that isn’t over crowded, and filled with like-minded individuals of the same age and race. My research methods such as an inductive method including participant-observation allowed me to observe the members and how they interacted amongst each other. Most of what I learned came from the women’s locker room, where many of them felt as ease as they discussed diets, workouts, and health issues. The one aspect that did change after using the facilities was that the price included within the membership was not for high end machines, or for state of the art locker rooms with luxurious amenities. The price is paid to be part of a network of older individuals, with like-minded ideas of staying fit for the sake of being healthy, and to work out in a crowd-free, judgment free area.