Will the last real gym please stand up!
Its sad but gyms these days are pure business. Its about how much revenue they can generate per square foot per month, nothing else. The gym I use for cardio is like this. Don’t get me wrong, its a great gym. Its spotlessly clean, its beautiful, ample equipment, and it smells fresh as a daisy. Trouble is, they really don’t want powerlifters, bodybuilders or ambitious teens because these folks come every single day, often even twice a day, clogging up the gym so more memberships cant be sold. No, they design their gyms to lure in those with money who will use the expensive in-house personal trainers to generate lots of revenue. The ideal customer for them is the middle aged successful local professional or the stay at home housewife.
It the early days of bodybuilding, it used to be the people who opened gyms were passionate about fitness. They would organize local contests. They would sponsor and promote local athletes and pay their way to regional powerlifting and bodybuilding events to add to the prestige of their gyms. Not any more, gyms are run by MBA’s who talk about “moving product”.
If you know of a local gym owned by someone passionate about fitness and supportive of local athletes, please post the name and address of the gym here! Gyms that allow chalk and allow powerlifting. Gyms that at least have a glass case or bulletin board to congratulate their members who have done contests. Bonus points if they sponsor some athletes. Are there any gyms like this left in the world? Lets give them a shout out if there are any!
Support your locally owned and operated gyms!