Five days off from work and I’m out of the habit — overslept, so had to give Keely a short walk (sorry, baby!) before heading out to catch the bus. Bleargh!
The F45 fitness studio was already busy, and the Midtown CrossFit (the old Purdue Automotive Center at 7th and Monroe) was starting to rev up as well. We have EIGHT fitness studios within a five block radius of my house* which strikes me as excessive, but as I glanced into the F45 studio I realized it’s less about fitness than culture. F45 is for young, already fit people looking to up their game and be seen doing it, as the studio is brightly lit and has a wall of glass facing the street with zero tinting. Orange Theory also has some windows facing the road but they are all heavily tinted, while Drip Drop has very few windows and those are all covered with heavy drapes.
Each fitness studio has it’s own “vibe” that is only incidentally about fitness, I think. It’s ironic, then, that none of them are “about” fat people. I know this because there are a lot of fat people in society and only a very, very small number of them are attending these studios. They can claim to be ‘welcoming to all shapes and sizes!’ but in the end, what they welcome are fat people who want to lose weight. If you are fat and just want to work out for the sake of fitness, then you will feel very unwelcome at best, pressured to lose weight at worst.
I’ve joined so many such gyms over the years, only to back out eventually due to feeling out of place. Which is ironic, because society tells us that fat people need to be working out regularly, but then makes fun of us and stigmatizes us when we do.
Which are deep thoughts for a chilly Monday, I guess. Here, have a Keely who is definitely, absolutely, not in any way begging for treats, nope, not her!
* This list: Orange Theory, Sweat Therapy, Midtown Crossfit, Califlo Yoga, Queen of Hearts, F45, Anytime Fitness, Drip Drop Fitness