
The Consumerist Church of Fitness Classes - wallflower
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/12/my-body-is-a-temple/547346/?single_page=true
======
eesmith
What the ...

Okay, that's crazy talk. That's the role that clubs have always had.

"Exercise classes often function just as much like a church as they do like a
gym: They gather people into a community, and give them a ritual to
perform..."

We can say the same thing about square dancing in the mid-20th century. Or
going to your local bar. Or quilting bee. Or .. you get the idea.

"“I think I’ve figured out what [people are] really drawn to, and that’s the
community aspect of it"

That's almost exactly what my salsa teacher said is the reason that people
take salsa lessons.

Only, without the "better, harder, faster, and more" emphasis.

~~~
chillingeffect
You're exactly right. the metaphor is strained through repeated,
unsubstantiated invocations of "ritual, ritual ritual."

Yet only one activity is given: exercising together. The span of rituals
doesn't apply to life changes such as birth, puberty, pair-bonding, death,
etc. The span of shared values doesn't reach morality, communication, family
life, money habits, ecological stance, etc. It's _only_ about time and money
for a fitter body.

As far as promoting capitalism? Also strained. yes, you pay to take the class,
just as one pays for any activity. That is certainly consumerist, yet
consumerist is not always capitalist. There are no activities promoting usury,
group ownership, abdication of responsibility through legal entities, or even
markets which are features of capitalist society. And _these are_ the features
of capitalism we ought to be critiquing. These are its harmful facets. Paying
to take part in an activity isn't leading us to feudalism, lifetime
indebtedness, massive inequality in quality of life. It's a distraction and
underestimation to indict exercise classes when there are _real_ robber barons
out there.

As far as "mimics the form of religious services?" I don't see the invocation,
offering, the sermon, the reading of traditional literature. Sure there is
special clothing and music, but like you say, same with square dancing and,
hell, almost any human social activity.

> "often subtly discourages people who are overweight [...] from attending.

Seriously? The entire marketing propganda can be summarized as "get fit!"
which _implies_ the consumer is overweight.

I think the author is struggling between making observations and reading too
much into things that aren't there without spending enough time in the
everyday.

~~~
akgerber
To your point— sport clubs were popular in the Soviet Union:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_Sports_Societies_of_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_Sports_Societies_of_the_Soviet_Union)

------
ajhurliman
How did we get to the point where simply buying something is a bad thing? And
meeting people in your community while getting healthy is also frowned upon,
too?

~~~
yodsanklai
> How did we get to the point where simply buying something is a bad thing

Nothing new here. Consumerism has been questioned by most religions and
philosophies. (for good reasons.)

> And meeting people in your community while getting healthy is also frowned
> upon

I remembered when I moved to the US from Europe, I was surprised to see how
fitness was such a huge industry. In my country, we tended to practice sport
in some types of non-profit associations. (even though US-style gyms are on
the rise.)

I liked this much better than going to the hassle of dealing with membership
fees and an agressive commercial structure. In particular, it was also much
more friendly than your regular gym. Students stayed on average much longer
than in a gym, and they were involved in running the structure.

------
projektir
I wonder if this person has actually been to a church.

Churches are much more communal in my experience, it's not unlikely to end up
drinking coffee and chatting with people, while at a gym, people often go in,
do their workout, and go out.

~~~
maxcan
Ever been to a crossfit gym? Its as communal as any church. The author is
referring to "boutique fitness" like CF, soul cycle, barry's etc. Not typical
"globo gyms" like Planet Fitness and others.

~~~
raverbashing
Ah yeah, the team building and communal aspects of CrossFit are encouraged

Too much cult like for me though

(Though I think CrossFit does a lot of things right, like no endless boring
"cardio" exercises and having actual strength training)

~~~
KozmoNau7
It depends a lot on the gym you choose. Some CF gyms are extremely RAH-RAH-
MILITARY and hardcore focused on competitions, they swallow the "party line"
hook, line and sinker.

Others (such as the one I use) are a lot more informal and use the WODs and
such as examples and suggestions for workouts, and are very good at scaling
the routines for those of us with a bit more mass to heft around. The "fittest
on Earth, no room for weaklings" thing may be appealing to some people, but it
also raises the bar for entry needlessly high.

~~~
maxcan
This was just posted on the mainsite fb page:
[https://www.facebook.com/crossfit/videos/10154940743797676/](https://www.facebook.com/crossfit/videos/10154940743797676/)

I think most affiliates are like mine or yours these days. Supporting
competitive athletes but overall focussed on serving the broader population.

------
nateburke
Mark Greif's "Against Exercise" offers a much more thorough criticism, e.g.:

"Today we really can preserve ourselves for a much longer time. The means of
preservation are reliable and cheap. The haste to live one's mortal life
diminishes. The temptation toward perpetual preservation grows. We preserve
the living corpse in an optimal state, not so we may do something with it, but
for its own good feelings of eternal fitness, confidence, and safety. We hoard
our capital to earn interest, and subsist each day on crusts of bread. But no
one will inherit our good health after we've gone. The hours of life
maintenance vanish with the person."

I'd post a link, but I don't think a public one exists. You can read the whole
essay in his "Against Everything" compilation.

~~~
Retric
This discounts the enjoyment of a heathy body and a good workout. It's like
complaining about people eating food.

------
scarface74
This article is a puff piece where the author tried to make a connection where
there is none.

I took fitness classes for awhile and taught them for 10 years. Most organized
fitness classes except for cycling were so choreographed that you could never
get in the zone because you had to spend so much time thinking about what to
do next and keeping up with the instructor.

I found the people taking the classes to be so judgemental at the higher end
clubs and corporate clubs. They would not take classes if the person teaching
didn't "look" like an instructor. I didn't look like the typical instructor -
I was short muscular and aggressive. But that was a benefit.

~~~
CalChris
Before Les Mills commoditized everything, teachers did their own choreography.
And it was a lot more interesting. Some teachers had amazing musical
interests. Ok, some didn't too. But now everything is mediocre.

That aside, I agree with the _ritual and community_ observation. But the music
is so awful I drifted away to the weight room. Yeah, I do a 5x5 program (on an
iPhone app) which is very simple to follow but the lifting itself is quite
meditative. I was surprised.

~~~
scarface74
It was a part time working hobby for me. I did my own choreography, mixed some
of my own music with CoolEdit (bought by Adobe became Audition) and I saw the
writing on the wall. Everything became about Les Mill and dancing. My simpler,
athletic style of teaching became less popular and I had neither the time nor
inclination to learn other people's choreography.

------
maxcan
I've always thought of crossfit as combining the best community aspects of
religion with rituals that actually deliver on what's promised..

------
spicymaki
I don’t see what’s wrong with getting together with others and trying to
improve oneself. Sure you can overdo it, but that is all part of growth. This
article seems a bit overly cynical.

~~~
ElatedOwl
It kills me a little to see them say overdoing it, there are so many factors
at play and intensity of workout is only one variable. No mention of diet,
sleep or programming...

I think the author touches on a fair point, people want to push themselves
harder than they should, but it's not going to kill you and your body is going
to put a stop to it whether you like it or not. Seems to me author is just
generally naive about fitness.

------
hashkb
My religion is Phish. It's a massive cathartic ceremony, and with the correct
chemicals, I hear the angels.

I get what they're saying. It's dumb to restrict spirituality and even
"religion" to certain institutions.

~~~
alexasmyths
Spirituality and Religion are not quite the same thing.

Even hearing Angels is not necessarily very religious (and of course, we may
hear a lot of things with chemical help ...).

Spirituality is a personal, intellectual, possibly experiential thing.

Religion often entails cultural overhead, community, and generally a lot of
work: those who have had the opportunity to 'see angels' have the
responsibility of then promoting their new understanding in the world, living
as examples to others yada yada, i.e. it's mostly hard work and heavy cross-
bearing, i.e. 1% inspiration (seeing angels) and 99% perspiration (being a
good person, which is hard).

~~~
turc1656
_" Spirituality and Religion are not quite the same thing."_

Exactly. I've been saying this for years to anyone who asks me if I'm
religious. I say "no, but I am spiritual". I reject the notion that God takes
attendance every Sunday and doesn't like me eating meat on Fridays. I also
find zero need for organized religion. Spirituality is something different.

But, hey, if the religious thing works for other people, then have at it. It
doesn't work for me, but maybe it does for them.

Spirituality doesn't require religion, just as getting in shape doesn't
require a gym membership or a group class.

~~~
alexasmyths
"Spiritual but not religious"

Maybe you missed my point?

I'm kind of saying spirituality is easy, less practical part. :)

The 'work' of spirituality is hard. It's often done through religion.

Crazy point: those who 'religious and attend services' are least likely to
commit crimes, but those who are 'spiritual but not religious' commit the
most! Sorry no reference. Point being, we are creatures of habit, and action
speaks louder than words.

I guess there is a lot of theological debate about whether or not it's more
important to 'have faith' which is a matter of spirituality, or to 'go to
church and be a good person' ...

------
forkLding
I can see this more as I'm going less to fitness classes and going more to the
gym.

I go to the gym to work out but it also relieves stress as I often enter my
flow state and am very meditative. I find its very easy to think once you're
working out very hard and entering a routine. I also find thinking about
developing new features keeps me semi-distracted from all my physical
tiredness and keeps me going.

In many ways, theres a spirtual dependence on the gym for me.

------
dilyevsky
By that logic you can call nearly any group activities "religious". Dumb
article.

------
nephrite
This reminds me how muslim preachers condemned coffee houses because they
would draw people away from mosques.

------
junkscience2017
Atlantic articles are now mostly indistinguishable from satire

------
nradov
Who cares what the motivations are. If people are getting more exercise that
can only be a good thing.

~~~
catawbasam
The point is that more than exercise is involved. Getting exercise does not
require an expensive membership in a club.

~~~
nradov
Well sure there are ways to exercise without a club membership. But having
access to a facility with good equipment, instructors, scheduled classes, etc
sure makes things a lot easier. It's all about removing obstacles and
encouraging people to make good choices.

