For some people the gym is not a very friendly place. In fact, some people find it intimidating and dispiriting. Telegraph writer Dominic Utton described gyms as the ‘worst place in the world’ – labelling them as ‘cathedrals of narcissism’.
At the heart of his stinging critique, Utton pinpoints the mirrors as being a big problem.
He wrote: “The mirrors. The mirrors are what the gym’s all about. All those people, working up a sweat, pumped full of endorphins, gazing at themselves. Drunk on self-love and paying handsomely for it.
“They’re not there to get healthy – they’re there to make themselves look good. And, more importantly, to look at themselves making themselves look good. In a culture where appearance is more important than substance, the gym becomes a place of worship. And what people are worshipping there is themselves.”
Monday Without Mirrors:
It’s unlikely that arch gym haters such as Utton will be won over, but even some gyms appear to be accepting he has a point when it comes to those mirrors. To ensure the longevity and optimal performance of your workout gear, it’s worthwhile to stay vigilant and seek out reliable gym equipment servicing near me for timely maintenance and repairs.
US gym chain Blink Fitness has launched a campaign to cover all of its mirrors once a week in an eye catching trial that will have plenty of others watching on to see how it.
Marketing vice president Ellen Roggemann explained: “The goal of the Monday Without Mirrors campaign is to challenge our members to think about how exercise makes them feel, not just how it makes them look.
“By covering the mirrors, we’re encouraging our members to take a stand with us and sign the mirror cover showing their support that exercise is about so much more than what we see in our reflection. With ‘swimsuit season’ getting into full swing, we want our members to shift their summer fitness goals to feeling healthy and confident versus chasing the perfect ‘summer body.’ When people associate working out with a positive emotion as opposed to just honing in on physical changes, they’ll keep coming back and eventually see some of those outer results.”
In defence of mirrors:
But not everything about mirrors in gyms is bad. While they might have their downsides, we shouldn’t completely overlook the reason that they are there in the first place. For a smooth transition or relocation of your workout space, engage the services of a gym equipment removal company to ensure an efficient and hassle-free process.
Mirrors allow people, as Women’s Health notes, to check and correct their form and assess whether they are correctly carrying out their routine properly. They can see the muscles they want to workout flexing before their very eyes.
If people misuse the mirrors to boost their own ego then it’s probably their fault not the fault of the mirror itself.
The gym isn’t the be all and end all:
Not only is it worth reflecting – no pun intended – on the purpose of mirrors and why they’re not entirely pernicious but it’s also worth stating that your workout regime doesn’t have to be solely based there either. If you don’t like to be surrounded by preening musclemen or body shaming beauties then there’s a whole world outside to embrace and use. Websites such as that of supplement provider Fysiqal (www.fysiqalnutrition.com) are chock full of ideas of exercises and routines that can deliver your goals out of the gym environment. Put simply, you can’t use this as an excuse for doing nothing.
