What Makes A Gym Elite [In My Eyes]
By the nature of being an American but staying in India for most of the year, I have the unique opportunity of observing two, sometimes very different, cultures. “Different” of course is not negative, it’s just Different. Contrary to what most Indians seem to naturally think, not all things in the US are ‘better’ — in fact, far from it! Not only do both cultures have so many incredible intricacies and diversity that it’s simply unfair to judge their contrasts so definitively, but the fact is that both have very powerful things to learn from one another. To oversimplify, the West has much to learn from the East, and vice versa.
Regarding workout gyms, I have tried to be objective, but I admit inherent bias in my opinion. My desire here is not to compare cultures or to make a group of people or their opinions appear in any way inferior to another. In everything I strive to flee from ethnocentrism. I am simply trying to put a spotlight on one very small element of life and culture, assuming my dual-culture perspective adds some value.
Here are some things that make a gym ‘elite’ in my eyes:
1: Etiquette
This to me is the biggest differentiating factor between one gym and another. After all, the gym is not just the equipment right? The gym is also the people who workout there. Especially in a place like India where gyms tend to be more crowded, this element of how people workout becomes increasingly relevant. The short list below includes some key things, which are to me, matters of gym etiquette.
The Mentality: Member vs Customer
As an underlying principle/ideology, we might say these matters of etiquette will be more zealously followed when each person at the gym sees themself as a gym member versus being a gym customer.
What’s the difference?
Customers use (and sometimes abuse) the gym facilities because they view the equipment as their own. Members on the other hand steward and care for equipment because they know they are sharing it with their co-members. Members do these simple things so that they, and their fellow members, always feel ‘at home.’ It may take time to develop some of these habits, but I would bet a lot of money your co-members will appreciate you (and the gym overall) for it, and it will cycle upward as it creates a new gym culture and more ownership in the heart of every member.
It should be noted that all of this starts with gym management, trainers, and employees. Gym employees are also members, and likely workout at the gym. Therefore people are watching them as examples to follow. Not only that, but the gym employees are also training people, and many of the people they train might not be familiar with gyms and how gyms operate. At this point, the trainer has an incredible opportunity to build a certain gym culture into the gym’s members. I would highly encourage trainers to consider the fact that they are not only training people how to use the equipment, but also how to steward the gym and have a member mentality. Quite frankly, if the trainers don’t do it, no one else will.
Now for the practicals.
Re-Racking Weights
Many gyms have signs which say something like, “please re-rack your weights after using,” or, “if you’re strong enough to lift it, you’re strong enough to put it back.” Unfortunately, more often than not these signs go unread, unnoticed, or otherwise unheeded.
Someone might ask, “Why do I need to put my 10kg dumbbells away when so many people use them? Someone will pick them up right after I put them away anyways!”
This may be true, but there are several reasons:
1) Safety First. Having unattended weights laying around all over the place is very unsafe. When people are carrying their weights to their own lifting zone, or moving benches around, they should not also be gaining extra cardio from dodging and dancing around miscellaneous plates, dumbbells, and barbells. The floor should not only be clear for people doing pushups and other exercises, but it should also be clear so that someone doesn’t trip over something with heavy weights in-hand. This may easily cause injury to them or others, or might even result in broken equipment or mirrors. Not only that, but if people are having to search for their weights, they’re likely going to have to walk around more people than necessary, distracting others from their workouts, and maybe having to duck under someone bench pressing in order to grab the weights they were searching for, putting themselves at risk of injury, and then having to navigate back across the gym to actually use the weights they finally found. When you add the general busyness of an Indian gym during peak timings, this becomes more and more important.
2) Communication. When the gym has a culture where weights are constantly put back in their correct places, a new level of ‘flow’ and efficiency can be attained because the position of the weights ‘speak for themselves.’ In the gym where weights are always put back in their place, it becomes clear that weights on the floor are in use, and weights on the rack are available for use. If someone is in the middle of a super-set between dumbbells and cables, this system alleviates you having to search for them and interrupt them at the cables, or worse, carry their dumbbells somewhere else in the middle of their set. If you want to ‘go the extra mile’ on this point, you might even consider leaving the cable clips empty when you’re finished; everyone will know you’re done!
3) Equipment Preservation. Thankfully I have only seen this once, but it certainly warrants mention. Barbell plates should also be included in this ‘re-rack’ discussion, for all of the same reasons mentioned above. Additionally, I once saw a barbell plate hanging — hanging! — on the pin for one of the cable’s weight stacks. Unfortunately, when a culture develops where weights are left all over the place, things like this are possible, and people may put things where they don’t belong and ruin other equipment.
The truth is, barbells and dumbbells almost always have designated places. Smith machines and bench presses typically have extra stationary bars for racking the plates according to their numbers. Furthermore, I don’t think it’s possible for gyms to buy a large set of dumbbells without obtaining a rack for those dumbbells. Your gym might even have a rack for all the barbells! There is certainly no reason or excuse why these things can’t be put back in their places. When we assume “that’s someone else’s job,” then we are no longer members, we’re just customers.
It should also be noted that machines like leg presses often become ‘storage’ places for these plates. Either too many people are skipping leg day to care, or there are frustrated people like me who don’t enjoy taking off 5–7 plates from each side before beginning my workout. Taking the plates off of the leg press (and every other machine) after use is a simple common courtesy to your co-members who will be using the equipment next and might not lift as much as you do.
Do you need to re-rack the weights in between your own sets? No, of course not. However, when you’re done, signify that you’re finished, and invite others to use those weights by putting them where everyone knows to look for them — on the rack. Indeed, “If you’re strong enough to lift it, you’re strong enough to put it back.”
Positioning
In the game of golf, there are strict rules that all players are expected to follow. This is officially called ‘etiquette’ and there are reasons behind every rule, even the ones that might seem silly. For example, one golfer should not walk across the ‘line’ where the ball is expected to roll. As a result, you’ll see golfers walking behind one another while they take turns putting their balls.
Similarly, working out is as much mental focus as it is strength. Therefore, even though it might seem vain, it’s actually important that each gym member can watch themselves in the mirror. This is important for the sake of maintaining good form, especially when the member is getting tired. It is also important for visualizing the specific muscles being strengthened so that the member can really fully contract and fully extend the right areas of their body.
Therefore, as a fellow gym member, it is always good to be aware of your co-members. Are they in the middle of their set? Are they using a specific mirror? They will appreciate you not walking through their line of sight to the mirror (if possible), and especially not standing or doing your own set between them and their mirror. Just like we sometimes share weights, consider sharing mirrors too!
Equipment Care
This one should be short and sweet, because unfortunately we all know that guy at the gym who uses the cable and drops the whole weight stack when he’s done. He might even let out an aggressive grunt just in case everyone didn’t hear the weights crash together. Don’t be that guy…
It should be obvious, but this practice is bad for both the muscles and the equipment. It’s bad for the muscles because he isn’t getting a full and focused extension on that last repetition; at least in a small way, he’s not getting the most out of his workout. Additionally, being jerky and haphazard with our motions when we have a lot of weight in our hands causes injury.
Of course it’s also bad for the equipment. Weight stacks and gym equipment is designed to be strong, yes, but it’s not invincible. We don’t want to cause injury to ourselves or others who might be using the equipment in the future. We’re members, not customers, remember? So we want the equipment to last as long as possible. If the gym is always replacing equipment, fees go up for all members. Let’s keep the cost low and take care of our stuff, co-member!
Social
Part of gym etiquette (in my eyes) is remembering that not everyone comes to the gym to be social. Some of us come to ‘get in and get out.’ If you are a trainer, employee, or a co-member, remember to consider giving people some ‘social distance’ — global pandemic or not.
Patience
Expectations are the source of disappointment. It can be easy to go to the gym expecting to have an efficient and seamless workout. After dieting, mentally preparing, and completing our warm up, it’s especially disappointing when we realize our next machine is taken. Of course, we can always consider alternating on that equipment, but sometimes that’s not practical. Perhaps I’m using different cable attachments and settings, or I’m using more plates on the barbell than the other person. To unclip the plates and keep rotating them on/off the bar is a hassle for me and for the other person.
The unfortunate thing is, sometimes we just need to wait our turn. Here is another point where the idea of membership comes into play, because we need to remember that other people are paying to share this equipment with us, and us with them. It’s not ours, and sometimes we don’t get first dibs. Kindness and respect will earn the same in return from our other co-members.
Payment
As members, it’s important to remember that we pay our gym memberships on time. Your gym might look flashy and have nice equipment, but it takes a lot of investment to keep a gym going and no one is getting rich. Our gym relies on our prompt payment to be able to do their part in maintenance, quality training, and everything else.
2: Atmosphere
If you’re an owner, manager, trainer, or employee, this section is mainly for you as you set up (or later improve) your gym atmosphere for your members. When I’m ‘shopping’ for gyms, these are some things I look for, in addition to observing the etiquette issues mentioned above.
Lights
To me, having bright [cold] lighting on at all times and in all areas of the gym is important. None of us are at the gym to read a book and take a nap, and as an American, those are normally the only times I don’t have the lights on. Scientific studies abound on the topic of room lighting and its effect on our energy and productivity. I love natural light, but most gyms simply don’t have enough of it. I also totally understand wanting to save money on utilities and electricity. However, I’d rather my gym try to ‘cut costs’ elsewhere. I’ll pay a little extra to have a productive and energetic atmosphere in my gym.
Mirrors
I mentioned this above under the section on ‘positioning.’ Call me vain and self-absorbed but there are other [great] reasons to have mirrors in front of all of the equipment, and if I don’t have mirrors when I’m working Chest/Back/Arms/Shoulders, I’m not going to retain my membership for long. Most gyms are good about this, but it is definitely something to consider with every piece of equipment you place and how you layout your floor plan.
Clean Music
Of all the things discussed so far, this is the thing which is perhaps the most unique to me and my setting. It could be argued that this is not entirely relevant since the majority of gym members wear headphones and listen to their own music anyways. That said, if you are an owner/manager creating your gym culture, this is certainly something to consider.
An issue I face regularly in India (not only in gyms) is the often vulgar and obscene music that is played over the loudspeaker. Of course, at this point I must apologize because I realize most of it comes from my own culture. The problem is that English is a second language to many, and as a result, it seems that there is often no one else in the gym who understands how deeply offensive some of the music’s lyrics and themes are. It’s been a long 3+ years now of listening to “Shape Of You” on repeat everywhere I go, which is essentially about getting drunk and having sex with a girl whose body is glorified and her character never mentioned.
As a general rule, it would be great if every place — restaurants, Printos, and especially the gym (where we’re co-members) — would make a greater effort to stray away from anything about sex, drugs, crime, and otherwise illicit behavior. Would I want my kids to be members at my gym? Not without their own headphones!
Being An Elite Gym Member
This is a high bar to reach (no pun intended). I do understand, and no gym does this perfectly — no matter which side of the world I’m on. Yet, by definition, being ‘elite’ means attaining the ‘highest bar.’ The things above are what makes a gym elite, in my eyes, and it starts with each member.
