I came across this article about several gyms and workout services that are mixing cosplay and imagination with a workout.
There’s Nerdstrong Gym in LA, YogaQuest in Minneapolis, D&D Yoga, and HealthGoth.
I, myself, have used a phone app-based game called Ingress to encourage me to walk.
How about you? Would one of these less traditional approaches get you up and active?
Reading about this makes me feel my age! I don’t identify with any of the cultural niches but I’m impressed that this is being exploited for the greater good. I can easily identify with many people’s shock as they step into the typical gym’s jock and sports culture. For many, going to a gym for the first time resonates with the inevitable sense of not fitting in. It’s culturally jarring and off-putting. The whole scene screams, “You’re not one of us!”
We do like to feel included culturally in any space and time we spend during our recreational pursuits. I think this is a great movement because everyone should have the opportunity and space to pursue movement and health on a regular basis. I say, “Bravo!”
I suppose it’s better than not going to the gym so in that regard, it has value I guess. Can’t say it’s of interest to me even in the slightest way.
I’m probably part of the “Jock and sports culture” Terry4 recommended, and I often look at people and think to myself “You’re not one of us.”
To me, it doesn’t matter how much you lift, how big your muscles are, or how low your body fat percentage is. It’s about who came to the gym to work and who is working the hardest. Those are the people I identify with. That may be the guy benching 400lbs+, but it also could be the guy who weighs 400lbs+.
For me, the gym is therapeutic. It’s a place for me to test my physical and mental limits, it’s a place for me to achieve something I couldn’t do the week before, and it’s a place for me to take out all my stress, anger, and frustration on a big piece of iron.
I can’t stand the people wearing $500 worth of Lululemon chatting for 30 minutes while the take selfies in the mirror. They’re “Not one of us.”
Long story short, if you need cosplay and imagination to motivate you to go to the gym, fantastic. But…don’t half a** it. Be the best cosplay imagination exercise junkie you can be.
Anything that will get people going is a good thing, I think. Society has developed many things that motivate people to engage in ScreenNesting so anything that moves towards, well, movement would be good I’d think?
I haven’t been to the gym any time recently as I prefer huffing and puffing down trails but at gyms, trails and other places I’ve worked out, there’s always some diversity. If I see an older person walking in a knee brace on the trail or sidewalk, I’ll give them a thumbs up and many of them laugh. I’m not remotely the fastest person on the trail either and often am huffing and puffing a lot. There’s always the packs of shirtless and streamlined high school x-country folks blazing down the trails running 7:30 miles but I don’t think people who have crossed the workout bridge are so much into the competition, except maybe with themselves. I’ve seen the same sort of diversity at gyms, old people, young people and large people, all doing the same thing, trying to get or stay healthy or even, sometimes, working on some sort of rehab.
For me, the running costume is a bit less involved than a cycling costume but I have to say that wearing a significant costume would probably be 1) a barrier and 2) sweaty. We do yoga 2x. week at work and you can get plenty sweaty enough to fog up steampunk goggles in a string of sun salutations, crow, etc. I find the goal of exercising for me is to get into a Flow space with exercise (sort of like my goal with diabetes…) and a costume would get in the way of that. It might work for someone else though?
The “Ingress” app looks intriguing @Corinna! I’m getting cranked up for a run here and will see if I can give it a whirl…
Let me know how you like Ingress @acidrock23.
I found it to be a lot of fun. The factions here are very active, organizing meet ups to farm gear, for coordinated ops, and sometimes just get together and socialize!