Sometimes I dream that it’s 1978 and I’m the only white guy at an Earth, Wind and Fire concert.
I’m on the dance floor, grooving and when they break into a three song run of “Boogie Wonderland,” “Fantasy” and “September” the place goes absolutely bat shit crazy and it’s the best 20 minutes of my life.
Does this happen to anyone else?
No?
I really need to stop eating spicy foods before bed.
In any case, as the euphoria of experiencing what is, undoubtedly, my coolest self wears off, I try to piece together what this means. Because I believe it was either Freud or Randy “Macho Man” Savage who famously said that “your dreams reveal more about you than your reality”.
When I bring up these types of questions to my therapist she just rolls her eyes, says that I am once again deflecting and asks if we can spend our time on my actual issues - of which she claims there are many.
So I’m left to interpret this for myself.
In addition to being a fan of soul music I am also a meathead.
And these fever dreams make me want to bring the two worlds together. Because I think a lot of people believe they are going to experience the dark side of my fish-out-of-water dream-concert-going experience when it comes to attending the gym. They worry that they are going to feel out of place walking through the door, stared at and secretly made fun of when they try a new exercise in the middle of the training floor or will hold the class back when they check out a new group fitness studio.
This fear makes sense. New places can feel scary and mysterious. People are self-conscious about how they look and how they move. Gyms are filled with tan, string tank topped muscle bound jerks who only communicate in grunts. And everyone is scrutinizing your every move.
Except none of that is actually true.
At their worst, gyms are filled with people who are minding their own business. Zoning out while cranking reps on the leg extension or holding back tears while listening to Billie Eilish during a 45 minute elliptical session (perhaps that last one is just me).
At best they are filled with people who want to help you when you seem new or confused and, oftentimes, build connections and friendships with others who like to be in the gym and value their strength, health and well being.
In facilities like ours, the interaction and connection is actually a key part of the entire experience. Sure, it’s the coaching but beyond that it’s the relationships and bonds created between the members that is the unexpected “x factor” that makes it all so special.
And before you know it, it becomes the opposite of the fish-out-of-water story. Instead the gym transforms into your very own aquarium. Filled with fake plants and a plastic diver in an old-school helmet that blows bubbles and neon-colored gravel.
Ok, I took the metaphor too far there. But I think you get the point. Find the right training facility and not only do the scaries go away, it becomes a place that you look forward to showing up at. Where you find strength and self-confidence and new friends to go out to a protein pancake-filled brunch with and everything you hoped someplace new would deliver but so rarely does.
Find the right gym and it ends up being the thing that dreams are made of.