My friend Gym

I used to have a crippling fear of the gym, or any other athletic space where strangers were forced to perform, succeed, fail, and disrobe in front of each other. When I was a young lad in grade school, I was teased and harassed by the jocks. Although I truly do enjoy athletic competition, I couldn't seem to get a hang of the aggressive bonding culture that seems to go hand in hand with it. I just wanted to have fun, enjoy the exercise and move onto the next thing. How much more ignorant and foolhardy could I have been?
Sports and exercise are about manipulation, intimidation, and domination, right? At least that's how I used to feel. After being forced to go to New York Sports Club in the past 3 years to perform maintenance on my aging body, I've come to understand a little bit more about how the mindset of a "gym-goer" is formed. First there is the fear of public failure. Then, you have the unavoidable and obvious sexual titillation that stems from loosely clothed, sweaty bodies in motion that is simultaneously terrifying and alluring. And lastly, you have the forced socialization. Sharing space, equipment, and air with a group of people can cause one to feel pangs of sympathy, a sort of kinship of action as well as disdain and suspicion. So what is a "gym-going" brain to do? Block Block and again I say Block!
When I was younger, I wasn't able to discern negative harassment from adolescent ribbing and suffered greatly because of it. Now, I'm much better positioned and trained in the art of group dynamics. I can ignore looks from people, block my person from being offended by another person's proximity etc. Taking all of the good vibes in while actively keeping the bad vibes out is the key. In fact, I may even be well on my way to enjoying going to the gym and seeing the faces of the other people who share my new mindset about bodies and how they can workout together without having the minds attached to them colliding in misunderstanding and fear.