The gym at Coors Fitness Center: A place to work out, to de-stress, to let go of the rest of your world and take some time for yourself. Or is it?
Have you ever been on the elliptical machine, minding your own business, when you get a competitive vibe from the girl on the next machine over? Maybe there has been a day while using the upstairs equipment when you noticed a group of people watching you in the mirror reflection.
Perhaps you feel as though every time the incline or speed changes on your machine, your neighbor’s machine seems to change as well, increasing intensity to ensure competition. Coors Fitness Center is more than just a gym-it’s a fishbowl.
It seems that the double-decker workout room flaunts cute girls in stylish workout attire, as well as tough guys longing to show off their newly acquired muscles.
Is this the type of environment a gym should be, or has society become too involved with unforgiving vanity for people to go to the gym for simple exercise?
Perhaps a competitive gym environment holds potential for individuals to push each other to their physical extremes, allowing for more intense workouts and health benefits.
On the other hand, however, this atmosphere could cause more stress than the exercise can relieve.
The gym should be a sanctuary where no physical competition or judgment occurs. It should be a place where people get the rare opportunity to escape from their overwhelming schedule, plug into their favorite music and disappear from the world for a brief period of time.
I cannot imagine what kind of a person enjoys the prospect of being checked out while sweating and panting during a workout. Going to the gym should be anything but a beauty contest.
My advice to the loyal workout community at Coors Fitness Center is this: put away your cute clothes, stop staring at each other in the mirror reflection, and cover your speed and intensity on your machines with your towel.
Return to the time when working out was purely a means for exercise, stress release, and health promotion.
