If I were the Boss IV

Today’s business is a GYM!

I’ve had a recent experience that made me think about how I would want to run my gym. Last year I took some exercise classes at my job, which is mostly non-white. The class was run by an average sized sista, which means her size was over 10, who’s body shape wasn’t typical, no cola bottle, no apple shape, no brick house, she was just…hmmm well anyway, the sista didn’t fit into any stereotype of what “fit” is supposed to look like. She had some huge thighs, but they were solid muscle. My point is, she had some weight and size on her. I had so much fun in that class because very few people in the class were “fit”, there was no unreachable expectation of what being in shape was. It was a class full of working people (yes we had guys too) who had made a decision to get right. We bitched and moaned, but we had fun.

Recently I bought a pilates dvd. I call myself working out at home. I popped the tape in and got ready to stretch and strengthen my core and up popped these two skinny white girls on the screen. They were telling me how to lift and stretch and roll, and all I could think about was how easy it was for their lean bodies to roll and lift and how I was struggling because my thighs are bigger than they used to be, how my boobs and stomach and legs all squish together when I try to roll into myself and how I just didn’t think I was doing it right. I was NOT motivated to continue. I miss my own “real world” instructor (yes I know I’m going back to the class at work, sheesh).

SO if I had a gym, I would have “real world” instructors. I would get some girls with some meat on them, some instructors that reflect my target population to lead the classes. Yes I do have a target population, my people!

At the gym I pay for, we have a chiropractor. At my gym I’d have a dietitian.

At the gym I pay for, we have a juice bar. At my gym I’d have a mini grocery store stocked with the kinds of food we should be eating, the alternatives to the crap we crave. Often when we tell people to find healthy alternatives, they have no clue what you mean. I want to actually SHOW people what is meant by a healthy alternative. Education is a lifelong endeavor.

And maybe a free martial arts class for the kids while the parents are working out…

Maybe a collaborative effort between schools who can’t afford good gym equipment and training programs for athletes with potential. An Olympic training program for high school athletes maybe… *ok these guys aren't trying out for the olympics, but they could. just a little motivation disguised as eye candy. The City Gym Boys.

So far that’s all I have brewing for my “real world” gym targeted towards ethnic peoples.

How would you run your GYM?