Carl Dagher0:00 What's up y'all?0:01 I was at the gym just now, and you know, I noticed that the lady next to me was live streaming her workout, which I thought was quite interesting.0:10 Um that brings up kind of a concern I have with the the gym community and the um kind of the toxicity that's that's kind of plagued people who go to the gym and the environment around the gym.0:23 I mean, the gym I go to here in Atlanta, I I've seen maybe three to four people, new people each week filming their workouts.0:32 Um I've had to film someone's workout for them, which I thought was quite strange.0:37 And you know, I asked them what what was what were they doing with these videos, and they say they post them.0:43 And you know, I understand like there is a market, there's a monetization around the gym.0:49 I mean, you see all these fitness creators making all this money, making like promoting supplements, promoting their workout plans, promoting their fitness um equipment and stuff like that.1:01 But I think people have really really lost the ball on on why why the gym is so important.1:09 And again, like a lot of people have their different motivations.1:12 Some people go to look better, some people go to feel better, some people go just because it's something to do.1:17 But I think at the end of the day, people should be able to do what they want in the gym, but it's created a really toxic environment where people are starting to get body dysmorphia because their their body doesn't look perfect.1:29 I mean, a lot of your your physique is depending on your genetics.1:33 That's not something you can control.1:34 Um, and overall, just like the gym should be a place to decompress and kind of focus, be one with your body, not just so much technology and and pressure and and all this advertising.1:46 Um I think it's yeah, it's just created a really toxic environment.1:50 I mean, I'm able to tune it out, but I think it discourages a lot of people from going to the gym because they feel like oh, I'm not good enough, I'm not big enough, I'm not strong enough.2:00 But I mean that's something I think we should work on, and you know, I understand the spread of social media, social media videos of going to the gym will always be a thing, but yeah, it's just something really interesting I noticed today, and and I've been noticing and I really haven't noticed it until recently.2:16 Maybe it should be the new gym I I started going to here in Atlanta.2:20 Um but yeah, I found it very interesting.
Vansh Patel0:00 I think you brought up a very strong argument on why the introduction of social media has brought along with it a level of toxicity to the gym community.0:11 I mean, this is an issue I've seen firsthand with many teenagers who possibly just want to go try out the gym, and they witness a bodybuilder who monetizes his gym journey and post it online, but is far more advanced than the average kid.0:34 And I think some of those images that these these teenagers are seeing nowadays can cause harm to their minds.0:44 And I think there's become an image that's so advanced nowadays that these teenagers are trying to replicate it, but are just not possible without possible uh forms of enhancement.1:00 And I think it's really harming most teenagers' minds, but I think there's also a unique, another unique perspective to it.1:09 I think that's the benefit of social media and the gym.1:14 I think access to the internet has severely increased the number of people that are now going to the gym.1:23 And a lot of people that may have not had that access before are watching workouts and learning how to work out for themselves.1:32 Um which is something that they used to not have access for.1:37 And especially free, uh, the internet and social media has really made widespread access to information that is beneficial to the health of many.1:49 So I think there's really two perspectives when looking at it, but I think you made a very fair argument.
Casey Comerford0:00 Yeah, Carl, I 100% agree.0:02 I think it's it's kind of just the social area now as opposed to what it really should be.0:06 Um that's why I do think, you know, I'm not saying going to the gym is a bad thing at all.0:11 Um and you know, some people do like to, you know, see I mean film themselves while like so they can compare their improvement.0:19 But a lot of it is purely um to show themselves off or to, you know, feel good about themselves as another people rather than actually just going for their own health for their own improvement.0:30 Um so home gyms are a completely different thing.0:33 Um but like I know just from my experience going to a school gym when it's super crowded.0:38 Um I don't know, you do see people filming yourself and it's it's almost like people will be there for two hours because instead of just getting to work and obviously you need rest, but instead of getting to work, it's almost like they'll just walk around.0:52 I don't know.0:53 I just feel like it is as an area of just immense judgment, which isn't what it should be.0:57 And that's also deterring people from even going back, because if you're a starter, you're obviously gonna want to look you're gonna look around and see the people just I don't know, lifting way more than you because they're on substances or whatnot.1:09 Um and then you may feel like you're getting judged if you see people like watching you then lift, um, or you see people like filming themselves and stuff like that.1:17 Um so I feel like I definitely have experienced that in my um just in the feet in the times that I've been um to my school gym.1:25 Um but I'm sure that's the same thing for gyms all across the country and world.
Gaines Gunn0:00 Yeah, Carl, I think you make a really interesting point about the gym and the environment that it is now.0:06 Um I I wanna add on that like I feel like the gym is really difficult for beginners.0:11 Um it's hard to know exactly what to do in the gym, and especially when you don't have a ton of experience.0:17 When you're doing these new workouts, it seems awkward, it seems like you could be doing it wrong, and maybe people are looking at you, or um someone comes over to try to give you a tip and you think that it's judgment, but it's really just they want to help you succeed.0:29 So I think there's kind of uh a dichotomy there.0:32 It's almost like it is oversaturated with people who are putting too much focus on how you look.0:38 But it's also I feel like there are people in there, it's a good community to go to.0:43 Um if you do want to get a little bit um, you know, stronger or better looking.0:48 Um and so I agree.0:50 I think that there is kind of this weird stigma with the gym.0:56 You know, I from I'm I'm from Charlotte, so in Charlotte they just built a gym and it's an influencer gym, and it's like this the the lighting is like special and the mirrors are special so you look better and so that the content that you make is better, and then there's all these like posing areas, and I think that's kind of stupid.1:13 I don't want to go to a gym that's like that.1:14 I want to go to a gym where like I said, the community is there and they want to help you do the exercises right and then help you with your progress and do better.1:23 So I think it's a very interesting conversation.1:26 I think it's a good point.1:27 Um, and I agree.
Wesley Joyce0:00 Yeah, Carl, I I completely agree with you there.0:03 There definitely is a toxic nature that um has gotten into the gym, especially some of the videos you see of the people in the gym, like analyzing how other people act behind them, or like say like a pretty girl like will like if anybody looks near like zoom in on their face or something stupid and be like, look how this guy looked at me at the gym just because it gets clicks.0:26 And I think that that is definitely a kicker.0:30 But I will say I do feel like a lot more people who would have literally never considered to go to the gym, um, see influencers that encourage body positivity the right way and encourage everybody to go to the gym no matter their skill level.0:48 So, you know, obviously there is a toxic culture that has emerged among this, but I think there's also a very welcoming one, and it depends on you know what your algorithm shows you, but I feel like for for many people the internet has been a chance for them to see people turn their lives around in the gym and want to follow in their footsteps.1:12 Um there's toxicity everywhere on the internet, but I think the exposure as a whole is still probably better for people looking to go to the gym because the vast majority of people want everybody in the gym.1:24 But yeah.
Adi Patel0:00 Yeah, um I'm actually in the gym right now and I think you made a lot of good points about how the actual increase of people videoing themselves and posting it to social media, TikTok, etc.0:12 has really created a a bigger sense of body dysmorphia around people that go to the gym on a daily basis because I think there's a lot of people who obviously video themselves to like to just spread information on like TikTok.0:27 But again, there's people who have been working out for years and years who also do this and then once they see that these people's physiques on social media and all that look way different than theirs, they start getting anxious, they get starting nervous, they start feeling like they're not enough for themselves.0:44 So I think you made a lot of good points discussing that because I think part of the gym community is getting a pretty toxic because a lot of people that start posting, there's a lot of people on social media who are negative towards them, and that's what makes it harder continue going in the gym because there's all these things getting said against you.1:04 But I also think that the increase of people posting in the gym has also led to an increase in like overall people going to the gym to try to obtain the physique that they see online and on social media.1:15 But I think it's a lot of good points to make there.