At the end of May/beginning of June, I decided not to renew my membership at the local gym. There are a few reasons why I didn’t renew the membership, but paramount among them was the fact that the atmosphere in that place wasn’t what I needed for physical fitness success. What does that mean, you ask? Well, it means that the gym where I was a member turned out to be the type of place that I couldn’t get a good workout in and feel comfortable – the atmosphere in that place was all messed up for my tastes.
The primary issue that I had with the gym was the fact that the owner (who also offered personal training sessions to the members) was really rude to his clients. Look, I played sports in high school and I didn’t ride the bench – I was right in there in the mix of things as a starter on championship teams. I “get” that there is a certainly level of playing around and cynical insulting that goes on in the locker room and among the guys when they’re training at the gym. In fact, that was one of the most enjoyable aspects of being part of the football and wrestling teams in high school.
However, there is a big difference between me telling one of my fellow lineman, “You can’t lift that weight because you’re a gigantic load of marshmallow fluff you fat, disgusting wildebeest,” and the owner of the gym that I was attending telling his clients, “You’re a weakling and you make me sick. Why can’t you lift this weight? You’re a fat mess and a joke.” Good grief! There is no connection between that trainer and that client other than a financial arrangement based on training services to be rendered. And I understand that different trainers have different styles, but this idiot would say these things out in the open in a gym that was no bigger than 30 feet by 40 feet in total (no locker rooms in this place).
The way this guy insulted his trainees in public was way too awkward for me to continue going to that gym. About one year ago (May 2009), I was going there everyday – everyday. But after hearing the way this guy berated his clients, I stopped going completely. Sure, every once in a while I’d feel like I should utilize the membership so I went there and worked out a little bit, but I’d always see the same thing – this guy was riding his clients by using degrading insults and he was doing it out in public in front of everyone. It was disturbing.
The other major reason why I didn’t renew at this place was because as an Adjunct Professor at the local college, I get to utilize their brand new, one-year old gymnasium for free. The option of choosing a $550, 16-month membership at a really tiny gym with a horrible atmosphere or a completely free two-year membership at the brand new gym on the campus of the college where I teach was a pretty easy decision to make!
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