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In Which the Author Joins the Health Club Culture

Last night I went to a gym for the first time, and let me tell you, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had first supposed. I used to think gyms were a realm exclusive to all negative aspects of masculinity with which I had come to distance myself: a zone of flowing testosterone characterized by aggression, competition, arrogance, and stupidity. I imagined it a modern day pagan temple, where people offered up themselves as sacrifices to their own bodies, which have become their own personal idols. I had imagined our society was sickly infatuated with self-image and personal beauty.

Well, it turns out that’s all true, but there is more to it than I had previously imagined. For one thing, recent studies have showing the high level of obesity among Americans started to shake me up. It was easy to imagine, as a young skinny adolescent, that I’d always be young, skinny, and healthy without any effort on my part. I see now that this is not the case, and if I don’t do something about it within a few years I’ll be joining the ranks of unhealthy, overweight, and under-exercised Americans. In order to counter-act my natural laziness, I’ve set up a program with my roommate which will require us to go to the gym together. This should keep either of us from flaking out.

With this new mindset, I saw a different aspect of the people at the gym. Sure, many of them were obviously dripping with narcissism, but many seemed genuinely interested in living long, healthy lives, and I can’t say I have any problem with that. And after a thirty minute jog on the treadmill I felt worn out, sweaty, achy, and wonderful. I’ve decided that being the introverted intellectual that I’ve become does not require being out of shape. It’s been quite a revelation.

In a stroke of twisted genius, my roommate and I decided to take pictures of ourselves in order to compare our old bodies with the new ones we will hopefully shape in the coming months. Perhaps, if the results are noticeable and encouraging enough, I will post these before/after shots of myself on my blog for the world to see. Then again, maybe not. We’ll just have to find out just how much of an exhibitionist I really am.

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