Have you ever asked yourself,
What does my gym mean to me?
What value does my gym bring to my life?
At its core, what is my gym?
Regardless of what type of gym you enjoy – whether you’re like me and a boxing gym is your favorite place, or you get your kicks in CrossFit, love your spin studio, or you spend hours in your outdoor group fitness class – any place where you can dedicate yourself to your passion for fitness becomes like a second home.
A gym is a community of people of different backgrounds, in different stages of their lives, brought together by one shared goal.
Fitness is a common ground. Having the discipline to show up every day shows self-respect, dignity, patience, and a strong work ethic. If you didn’t share these characteristics with the others in your fitness path, you never would have crossed paths.
And you don’t even have to know them – not their goals at the gym, not their jobs outside it, not even their names. All it takes is that you see them regularly enough at the gym to know they are pursuing the same goals as you. That alone is encouragement. After all, you’re spending time doing one of your favorite activities, whatever it may be, alongside them.
I have enjoyed spending time at many different gyms in Miami and attending many different fitness events. I have shared these wonderful experiences with people that I might never see again and yet they enhanced that experience.
I always say that even though Miami is a big city, it’s really just a small town at heart. More than once, when I’ve been out-and-about running errands, I’ve bumped into someone I recognized from the gym and struck up a conversation on that alone. Sometimes, when talking, we’ve come to discover that we have multiple fitness friends in common. Thus, a bond begins.
However fleeting, these interactions weave themselves into the fabric of my daily life, and give it a sense of continuity.
That is what my gym means to me, and what it brings to my life. And at its core, it is more than just a place for fitness: it’s a hub around which much positive human interaction is centered.
Although these days, I’m doing lots of workouts at home on my Wavemaster and with virtual lessons, the times I spend at the gym are still my favorite – when I get to be fully in my element, surrounded by other equally hard-working people, all pursuing our own goals of health!