Male Bonding2
For those who like to explore the concept and dynamics of male bonding. Men are socialized in different ways in different societies, and so many men would like to have close male friendships, yet after spending time establishing a career, primary relationship and live in general, find themselves without close male friends. Many of us want male friends with whom we can share openly without...
- created by AZdesertman
UPTIGHT GYMS VS RELAXED GYMS - Makes a Difference in Male Bonding?
Return to DiscussionsI wanted to explore more of this topic of uptight gyms vs relaxed gyms. There was anothertopic in this discussion group that briefly touched on this but i wanted to know your thoughtsabout this. I recently signed up at a new gym. The reason i liked them was bc they're open 24 hoursand i can go anytime i want. But one thing i was *Really* surprised at was thatthis gym not only has a lockerroom area but when you enter the shower area thereare empty stalls to change in across from the showers. It was definitely designed to reduce any nudity. I'm half expecting to find peopleshowering in a suit and tie. The LA Fitness in Pasadena & Alhambra don't have those extremes, but there is stillsome uptightness there. It wasn't until i visited an LA Fitness in Downey & the Equinox in Pasadena that i noticeeveryone at those gyms are very friendly and even more so - *Social*. Then i noticed the lockerooms.. everyone is running around naked.. talking while showering,or sitting naked in the hot tub. it was awesome. and it was funny because i felt more at home.Unfortunately one is too far, and the other is too expensive. Has anyone else had any experiences like this? What is your experience at your gym?Chris
I was in a LA Fitness near my office and after my workout I went for a shower then to the dry sauna. I went in naked and sat on my towel. Two guys were there and one got up and walked out. A minute later a LA Fitness guy came in and told me to cover myself out of respect. The two guys were from Afghanistan - Muslims. They were offended by nudity and reported me.
this is my point about the trend of having uptight gyms,where nudity is discourages in the most basic senseof the lockerroom. there are a lot of membersthat just dont use the lockeroom.. they shower at home.and those that dont care about nudity shower there..how come others are trying to change how we express ournudity in an acceptable area!!!
good question, it seems that some think that just because they have
an issue with that no one should do it and unfortunately one or two
can dictate rules for thousands of others. I had a Gold star Gym
tell me that I would have to wear something in the locker room. He
began to explain a lot of the men wore their underwear, I looked
back at him and said that won't work for me and he said why not, I
just told him that I don't wear them, so I don't have any. I went
on to explain that all I had with me was a pair of shorts and a t shirt to wear home.
The best gym I ever belonged to was started years and years ago by a local fitness guru, a "Jack Lalanne" type who was sort of a local celebrity, was on the radio, and worked with a bunch of the local pro athletes. After he passed away they gym was taken over by one of the local pro athletes.
The gym was men only and the managers knew everyone, so there were no membership cards or fitness classes or anything. It was a gym, not a health club or fitness center. They had a small locker room, but most of the guys changed in this big central hallway they had which just had benches running down both sides, hooks on the walls above the benches, and cubby holes above the hooks. No one worried about their stuff being stolen because it was a really small group of guys and almost everyone knew everyone else.
Guys would get naked in the central hall with no shame at all. Everyone dressed to work out, but afterwards everyone just stripped down and headed for the showers. The shower room was big and open, with no curtains or dividers or anything. There was also steam, sauna, a huge 16 man jacuzzi, and a pool. No one ever wore anything in the wet area, not even in the pool or jacuzzi. Best of all, there was a fenced in private roof deck where guys would sit in the sun naked, take a nap, chat, or read the paper.
The managers were awesome. One lived upstairs at the gym and near the end of the day would usually walk around in just a towel - through the weight rooms, the cardio room, everywhere.
I used to love going to this gym for a few hours, lifting weights out a bit, showering then relaxing in the jacuzzi, sitting naked in the sun on the roof deck, then maybe doing some cardio and another shower, some steam, and a quick swim. Most of it spent naked with other guys who were also naked.
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. They lost their lease or something and moved to a new location. The new location has a traditional locker room which is small and really cramped, a jacuzzi barely big enough for two, no pool, no steam, no sauna, small showers with dividers, a weight room that's too small for all the equipment they had, and worst of all - no sundeck on the roof. I remained a member for a little while but it was never the same. The new layout discouraged the relaxed, let's just hang out naked together feeling that the old place had.
I still miss that gym. It had the most relaxed, old school feeling about male nudity that I've ever experienced anywhere. It reminded me of the locker room when I ran track back in high school, and it's what I imagine college and maybe even pro team locker rooms might be like. There were definitely some gay members, but there was no hooking up and there wasn't any kind of cruisy vibe. It was just a cool, laid back, guys gym, where men hanging out naked together didn't mean anything. Man, I miss that gym.
The best gym I ever belonged to was started years and years ago by a local fitness guru, a "Jack Lalanne" type who was sort of a local celebrity, was on the radio, and worked with a bunch of the local pro athletes. After he passed away they gym was taken over by one of the local pro athletes.The gym was men only and the managers knew everyone, so there were no membership cards or fitness classes or anything. It was a gym, not a health club or fitness center. They had a small locker room, but most of the guys changed in this big central hallway they had which just had benches running down both sides, hooks on the walls above the benches, and cubby holes above the hooks. No one worried about their stuff being stolen because it was a really small group of guys and almost everyone knew everyone else.Guys would get naked in the central hall with no shame at all. Everyone dressed to work out, but afterwards everyone just stripped down and headed for the showers. The shower room was big and open, with no curtains or dividers or anything. There was also steam, sauna, a huge 16 man jacuzzi, and a pool. No one ever wore anything in the wet area, not even in the pool or jacuzzi. Best of all, there was a fenced in private roof deck where guys would sit in the sun naked, take a nap, chat, or read the paper.The managers were awesome. One lived upstairs at the gym and near the end of the day would usually walk around in just a towel - through the weight rooms, the cardio room, everywhere.I used to love going to this gym for a few hours, lifting weights out a bit, showering then relaxing in the jacuzzi, sitting naked in the sun on the roof deck, then maybe doing some cardio and another shower, some steam, and a quick swim. Most of it spent naked with other guys who were also naked.Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. They lost their lease or something and moved to a new location. The new location has a traditional locker room which is small and really cramped, a jacuzzi barely big enough for two, no pool, no steam, no sauna, small showers with dividers, a weight room that's too small for all the equipment they had, and worst of all - no sundeck on the roof. I remained a member for a little while but it was never the same. The new layout discouraged the relaxed, let's just hang out naked together feeling that the old place had.I still miss that gym. It had the most relaxed, old school feeling about male nudity that I've ever experienced anywhere. It reminded me of the locker room when I ran track back in high school, and it's what I imagine college and maybe even pro team locker rooms might be like. There were definitely some gay members, but there was no hooking up and there wasn't any kind of cruisy vibe. It was just a cool, laid back, guys gym, where men hanging out naked together didn't mean anything. Man, I miss that gym.
I can see why you miss that gym what a great place just to hang naked with other men.
The managers were awesome. One lived upstairs at the gym and near the end of the day would usually walk around in just a towel - through the weight rooms, the cardio room, everywhere.
that reminds me of a coach i used to have in college when i played football,he was the o-line asst. coach.. and i think at the time he was late 20's early 30'sbuilt like a spark plugshort but very stout.. He was like the gym managers, whenwe were done training he'd throw on a towel but for some reasonhe'd always take a while to get to the showers with this towel over hisshoulder.. i think he was a secret nudist/exhibitionist like the rest of us,he'd shower with us.. and talk football with us.. there was this one timethough, where one of the guys kept talkin about this 3some he was inwith two girls and he was listening asking questions and the story got to himcause he was proudly showing, but the best part was he dind't bother hiding it..he showed off proudly.