Attitudes are different based on the different types of activities people are involved in. Gym attitudes are different based on the group you are a part of. There are four different types of people you run into at the gym, you have the weight lifters, the wanderers, the beauty queens, and talkative people. These people's attitudes are very distinct, some who think they're the best and others who are there for a more friendly act rather than workout. These peoples attitudes vary with the group they are involved with. The first type, the weight lifters, are usually middle age men with arrogant attitudes. A man in his twenties to low thirties, kind of a show-off and looking for attention. Shows up in a big truck wearing a tight white tank top and black shorts, with sketchers of some type. He is heavy built with definite muscle tone. He doesn't seem to interact much with the employees, and when he does it is a simple "Hi" or "Bye," in a deep toned voice. This man seems to like to draw attention to himself by showing off how much he can lift, working out in the front area of the gym, for everyone to see. Most people at the gym chose not to look at this guy because they can do without the show-off while at the gym. …show more content…
He is a family man, in his late forties to early fifties, who finds that coming to the gym is a simple escape from reality. He wears a simple pair of shorts, with a tee shirt, a size to big, and a pair of worn out sneakers on his feet. He is a talker and has strong social skills, probably learning that from being addicted to socializing. He's one who talks to anyone at the gym, the employees, the lady on the elliptical, and even the woman doing squats on the other side of the gym. He wanders instead of working out, as one can imagine, he is overweight and out of shape. The wanderer is by far the worst person to run into while at the gym. Is man causes you to lose motivation and have a sense of creepiness when he is
Another key strength for Planet Fitness is the Judgment Free Zone philosophy. This attracts the average person instead of the body builder type that typically dominates work out centers. By adopting this policy the gym can reach a larger demographic, since majority of the Oshkosh population would be considered average in terms of work out usage. Other key strengths that are associated with the Judgment Free Zone are a free personal training, and easier to use machines so that members feel comfortable in the gym. As a part of the marketing mix we plan to implement a new member orientation to help members feel more comfortable when they come into the gym. This would greatly improve our product and is a key strength to Planet Fitness
With 600,000 people across Australia who have participated in aerobics at one point in time, it can be manifested that aerobics is one of the most marginalized sports within the country (Ausport, 2000). With such a marginalized sport, there are many stereotypes that are associated with just the word aerobics. This is explored through the survey that was conducted and was answered by the students at StAC. Many of the stereotypes that are believed in society are that aerobics is a sport dominated by females and that it more of a dance class. This report will evaluate the possible influences that have shaped students’ perceptions using Figueroa’s Framework and Maslow’s hierarchy. Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness (flexibility, muscular strength, and cardio-vascular fitness) (Balbach, 2013). It is usually performed to music and may be practiced in a group setting led by an instructor. It can clearly be seen that with music and a fitness instructor leading the class that many people may have these common stereotypes fulfilled. Figueroa’s framework explains the concepts of equity, access and equality through the 5 levels constructed by Professor Figueroa (Crossley, 2013). Another significant piece of evidence held in this report is Maslow’s hierarchy and is the theory involving the psychology of human development (Macleod, 2007).
My teammates would cry and complain and quit. They could never see the appeal, and it was not until I took a weightlifting class during my freshman year that I found people who did; but they were all boys. For the first few weeks in the class, I continued to hid behind cardio machines and two pound weights, afraid to venture across an invisible barrier to the free weight section, bustling with sweaty boys in an assortment of Nike and Adidas. While other girls in my class sat texting on the recumbent bicycles, spouting gossip, I hovered closer and closer to the boy’s club, as I had dubbed them, rotating between weight stations. Then, on unexpected Friday afternoon, after an hour of listening to mindless drivel about fad diets and fake eyelashes, I breached the invisible line separating me from who I wanted to be. In doing so, I began a harsh journey of calloused hands, sweat stains, aching knees, and soreness in muscles I did not know existed. I has been two years since my evolution to heavy lifting
When it comes to choice of where to workout it is a complete personal preference. Some people do not like the thought of people staring at them or watching them workout because they are not at the place they wish to be at yet. This is only one other thing that sets people in this discourse community apart from themselves. In some instances, this can become a disadvantage for the person pushing towards a specific goal. Certain goals can be pushed to the side or completely forgotten about because of the discomfort people feel placing themselves in a place like a gym for the first time.
The culture of the gym is slowly coming together just after two days of observations. The gym is primarily a male dominant place to do but in our college the only area that is completely dominant is the weight lifting area and that’s only during prime hours. Also on the note of personal space there is noticeably a tendency for both male and female to have a certain amount of space around them like a personal bubble.
People often go through their life working-out and going to the gym to get “buff.” For ninety-five percent of Americans that do work out, few can say that they have pushed themselves as hard as possible, but I have the distinct, and often painful, pleasure of knowing that there is another way to work out. This option is unlike any other that I have ever personally been through; and is a way that I would not wish on any average American. 4:55 a.m. Seventeen degrees Fahrenheit, a mild breeze of ten miles per-hour-- for the fifth day in a row and second consecutive month, it is time for me to wake up, make the face-numbing, core-hardening walk through the snow to the Mildred and Louis Lasch Football Building.
The first type, the show-off, is known by his flashy appearance, his misanthropic social skills, and his arrogant attitude. The show-off is a single male in his twenties who drives a European luxury car; he always comes to the gym wearing a tank top to display his deep tan and a pair of black and green spandex shorts. He is heavily built and all his muscles are well defined. But he is a man with poor social skills; he seldom talks to another soul and always works out by himself. He frequently ignores the greetings and good-byes of the health club employees; when he does answer a friendly "Hi, how is it going" or a "See you later," he does so in a deep, blunt, morbid tone of voice. He also likes to emphasize how strong and masculine he is by working out at the very front and center of the weight room, where everyone can see him. He refuses requests for help from others like a cheerleader refusing to go on a date with an pimply, nerdy classmate. Most people who work out at health clubs are glad to do without the show-off.
To conclude, breaking the norm inside the gym was mixed with positive and negative sanctions. I was given a displeasing gesture (negative; the look) and was rewarded with smiles and laughs (positive). I’m sure most of the members enjoyed it better than I did, simply because I was nervous, embarrassed, and almost busted my but a few times. I was rather pleased with the trainer’s reaction because he maintained control yet didn’t freak out towards my actions. I was over all satisfied with everyone’s reactions and glad that I’m not banned from the gym (I did tell my trainer after that it was a social experiment).
The Health and fitness industry have many ethical issues involved which was very interesting to me. I have never purchased a membership at a health club, but from the reading I learned a lot about how they operate. It amazed me that health clubs push their sales representatives to get 200-300 new members a month (Amend, 1992). This is a large amount of people for such a short amount a time, which means some members are not fully aware of the fine print of the membership agreement. Also the reading mentions that more than half of instructors at these clubs do not have valid certification (Copeland et al, 1988),. This is unethical because the members pay each month for the service of a qualified staff member to assist them in exercise and fitness. Safety of the members could also be at risk working out with a non-qualified trainer. Learning how these companies do business make me want to hold off as long as possible to join a gym.
Although fitness centers and gyms may appear to be a place to break a sweat and work out with the intention of not being seen without makeup and in grungy clothes, this may not be the case, in particular when it comes to college gyms. Contrary to the findings Tamara L. Black displayed in her dissertation for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology from the University of California in Los Angeles, in which she depicts the situation of the classical fitness center as exercise dominated, after observations made while participating in the Boston College Recreational Complex, fitness centers may be more heavily focused on expressing sexual and social relations than for health related issues. Although she does not elaborate on this view of the gym, she does recognize that “popular media, cultural stereotypes, and some empirical literature depict gyms as places to meet people, where sexualized interactions are likely to take place, where bodies are on display as objects of desire” (pg. 40). This may be the perfect definition of the situation that I found in my observations. Shari L. Dworkin and Faye Linda Wachs, in Body Panic: Gender, Health, and the Selling of Fitness, acknowledge “mainstream media construct men as active and women as inactive. In this view, women are often shown as ‘being visually perfect’ and passive, immobile, and unchanging’” (pg. 40). Perhaps we have media to blame for this hyper-sexualization of a situation that was initially intended for self-fulfillment and health related practices.
In these sad and empathized stories Lord of the Flies and The Man in the Well, Golding and Sher search for conflicts occurring in the story which are individual dilemmas. They face decisions about obtaining power that will only lead them down to their own consciousness, formerly known as guilt. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and The Man in the Well by Ira Sher, it portrays a lot of individual dilemmas that the kids struggle with internally and externally. Firstly, in the Lord of the Flies and The Man in the Well, Golding’s message about society and human nature is that they care about their individual self or dilemma that will later test their character in the book.
insight to a male figure who shows signs of withdrawal from society and from a healthy state of
Personal space, body language, and overall interaction between the participants in the gym was something that I hadn't paid enough attention to in the past, from the distance I could see that their interests. The intimate couples that I noticed in the gym seemed again sought to have created a private space for them by erecting invisible barriers through their private body language directed only at each other, resulting in considerable more space between these couples and other groups of people in the gym. It was a clear and present body language of please do not bother us attitude left a sense of diffused power that would be involved power relationships that operate without covert commands and requests. The dynamics of the couple was something that was very obvious, in that I was able to note the dominant and the submissive person. The person who had a tendency to meet the needs and the one who had the ability to be demanding.
The first notable social norm that the majority of people who conduct high-intensity interval training are in their particular section of the gym. Conversely, the patrons that are participating in strictly weight lifting are in their own click in a
About a month ago I was standing in the main aisle of Ace chatting with Lambert, one of my coworkers. As we were talking, I noticed a guy approaching us. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw him stare right into my eyes, so I knew he needed some help. This was a big guy. He must have been 5’10” and 350 pounds, but it wasn’t exactly like he was fat. He was the kind of guy that had a lot of muscle, and then he had a layer of fat over that. This dude’s forearms were bigger than my lower legs. He had short, brown hair with a receding hairline. He had on work clothes, and he was sporting a big pair of wire-rimed glasses. These are the kind of glasses my grandpa would wear. This guy was probably in his late 40’s, but his karma made him appear much older. Anyway, as he’s approaching, I asked him if...