The Silver-Lining of Gyms

Soul Letter #27

Oct 26, 2021

Hello👋 folks, Shubham here.

I am back with another edition of Soul Letter 🗞

It has been more than a year since I last worked out at a gym. The pandemic has made me shift to home workouts that include general body-weight exercises and Yoga.

Yesterday I was contemplating my pre-pandemic life. The gym was a critical aspect of it. In my reverie, I had a surreal thought.

What is the best thing about Gyms?

The smell of dumbbells, the sound of moving machines, high tempo music, the vibe.

Nope, the best thing about gyms is people helping out each other.

You will see an amateur being mentored by a professional bodybuilder. You’ll see older people guided by young ones and vice versa.

One doesn’t even need to ask for help. If you do an incorrect exercise someone will point out what’s wrong and how to correct it?

People even share their workout routines, diet plans, and health tips for free.

I assume this is a universal behavior in gyms, and it got me thinking, for what reason does it happen?

Here is my theory.

Everyone Began as a Fresher

Even a professional bodybuilder who now flaunts a perfect body started as a beginner. He knows how arduous the journey can get.

It’s easy to get intimidated in a gym. You’ll see others lifting heavier weights, doing strenuous exercises, trying out multiple workout regimes while you struggle with a single push-up (been there).

It can become overwhelming for anyone especially a newbie.

I promise you one thing no person wants the other guy to quit. Everyone knows the struggle, how hard it is to keep hitting the gym consistently.

It is the main reason why people help each other. They don’t want you to throw in the towel.

There Is No Competition

So often in life people abstain from helping others. They assume if they assist someone, then the other person will overshadow or outperform them. You might have witnessed this in college or office.

Fortunately, people are more open-minded in the fitness community.

Everybody knows being healthy is not a competition. It is bigger than these trivial things. In gyms, people have nothing to lose while helping others. Hence, no competition.

Being fit is more about discipline, hard work, work ethics, improvement, personal development.

Fitness is not about being better than someone else… It’s about being better than you used to be.
— Khloe Kardashian

Every person going to a gym wants to be a better version of themselves.

Innate Desire To Help Others

Some of you might disagree on this but hear me out.

I believe there is an inbuilt desire in all of us to help. People may seem stolid but nurturing is inherent to all living creatures.

Let’s be frank many of us won’t make a big dent in this world. Helping others is our way of giving back to the community.

There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.
— John Holmes

Moreover, we feel good about ourselves when we assist someone else.

It makes us more human to help one another.

Final Thoughts

With fluctuating lockdown restrictions, I think I won’t be going to a gym anytime soon. I believe gym is a place where one can observe truly authentic interactions. The world will be a much better place if we all behave the way we do in gyms.

Hope you enjoyed today’s edition.

Signing off for today :) Until next time, Houdoe! 🙋‍♂️

Soul Letter