Is there a disconnect between Gen Z gym-goers and older generations in the gym?

[danieltx]

LA are always good gyms, I was a district manager for a while and was grossing 40k monthly in PT sales in SD, met the CEO wife MISHU WELSH in lake forest OC at an elite meeting I saw her walk into my gym under cover, and fire almost an entire staff, tiny lil jap lady

Unforunately LA is very likely about to be sold to the owner's sister. LA always had the best balance sheet of the big chain gyms but the last few years have really hurt them. A big part of it was renovating the clubs to put in the CrossFit / TRX / functional stuff - they were 5 years too late on that and have had no return on it.

They do have a new concept called Club Studio which is a higher end gym but I can't see how charging even more for memberships will get them out of their financial hole. We have a Club Studio scheduled to open here in August so I will check it out if it does open.

 

[BBSQ5]

Unforunately LA is very likely about to be sold to the owner's sister.

They do have a new concept called Club Studio which is a higher end gym but I can't see how charging even more for memberships will get them out of their financial hole. We have a Club Studio scheduled to open here in August so I will check it out if it does open.

Keeping it the family, which may be a business plan to tread things above water again. It’s not a bad gym and the two near us are fairly new and the older ones all turned into their retired gyms, which everyone knows as Esporta.

I’d be interested in just slightly higher Club from them, if they offered Cold Plunge, Infrared, Etc., but you are likely correct in that it may not help dig them out.

 

[Cerberus777]

There's always been a disconnect between generations. It might be a little worse now. I'm pushing 50 now. And I try and remember that if it wasn't for the hard-core older crowd taking me in at 18 and later this board. I'd never have achieved anything. So I help those who want it.

 

[qbkilla]

these are public gyms and you have to accept the fact that most people don't come to train but "pretend to do something", talk to someone, etc. I also don't like it when someone blocks the equipment but I accept it because I have to - one day this will definitely be my goal opening his little private gym just for me

Agree..but it is annoying like many things and helps to vent about it.. venting is good. Also nothing wrong with people coming up to them when they waste time on equipment and let them know...if they get offended or defensive..fuck em lol

 

[qbkilla]

Switch gyms. As long as it doesn’t interfere with your workout or life it shouldn’t matter.

I don’t carry around a tri-pod, but kudos to these kids for having the balls to post their lifts online and keep themselves accountable. More than most guys can say on here. We can’t even get pics out of members.

I train at a gym that restricts all cell phone usage to the lobby only. And they enforce it. If a pro or national competitor wants a film crew there it has to be scheduled with a release signed.

Sounds like my kinda gym. I see your point but disagree on it being slightly positive...lol. and as for switching gyms...I've got 3 memberships...they all are clogged from 3-6. Could go early or night but I'd prefer to wait than switch up my schedule lose sleep. Rear delt machine and dip machine are the worst to get on. Even making legs Monday tons of people using leg equipment then too lol

 

[EricJ123]

There's definitely a disconnect where Gen Z thinks its ok to take photos in the locker rooms. To me that was always a big no-no and illegal. We'd use the aerobics room for posing/photos. For some reason now thats turned into the locker room.

Not quite related to this thread but where the weird shit goes down at public gyms is the sauna and steam room. Some fat people think a good workout means sweating so they do weird exercise shit in the sauna too. I had to call someone out for blasting lil-jon (no headphones) on their phone in the sauna. Like wtf does that?!

 

[bbxtreme]

Sounds like my kinda gym. I see your point but disagree on it being slightly positive...lol. and as for switching gyms...I've got 3 memberships...they all are clogged from 3-6. Could go early or night but I'd prefer to wait than switch up my schedule lose sleep. Rear delt machine and dip machine are the worst to get on. Even making legs Monday tons of people using leg equipment then too lol

I get it. The latest thing is magnets on the back on phone cases instead of tri-pods.

The younger crowds are sticking them to the machines and recording their stuff. Cool idea until someone like me lets down the full stack doing lat pull downs and knocks it loose.

If it doesn’t bother me or my workouts I let them be. If it keeps more people in this sport then I say let it ride out.

 

[275bills]

When your working out beside a tractor and a diesel welder in your garage…pulling a PR that blows capillary beds in your eyes….you love the means.

spot on

 

[scmtnboy]

Im 47 and my first gym membership was in 1997 at a World Gym owned by Dave Draper. Of course it is different now but I actually think it’s better. There is so much more information available (of course not always good) and their is more access. I never want gym culture to be elitist or like some special society. Of course there is lots of stuff I shake my head at and laugh. But I love seeing all these young kids at my gym trying to get better. I think I’d be fine either way. I’m always able to ge try work done and on some level I do like that fitness even bodybuilding to a certain degree is considered cool amongst younger generations. I admittedly probably only care about that because I have kids 16-20 years old and it feels good to be admired and respected by their friends for taking care of myself and being fit at my age.

 

[FK86]

There's definitely a disconnect where Gen Z thinks its ok to take photos in the locker rooms. To me that was always a big no-no and illegal. We'd use the aerobics room for posing/photos. For some reason now thats turned into the locker room.

Not quite related to this thread but where the weird shit goes down at public gyms is the sauna and steam room. Some fat people think a good workout means sweating so they do weird exercise shit in the sauna too. I had to call someone out for blasting lil-jon (no headphones) on their phone in the sauna. Like wtf does that?!

I can't stand when people listen to music in public without headphones. It's the ultimate "fuck you" to others and sometimes an indication of such pathetic loneliness that it's like they're hoping someone will like the music and want to talk to them about it.

 

[CorgisOnTren]

The difference is that now these young kids have acquired presence and don't respect the big boys. They don't understand the implicit hierarchies.

Perhaps. Most of the guys my age I talk to still definitely respect the larger guys (though maybe that’s just because I try to avoid the blatant sarm goblins), but it’s just not what they happen to be striving for so they show very little thought/interest. My mind is very all or nothing in ways, so when I think bodybuilding I look towards open and am impressed by the biggest of the biggest. Also probably has a lot to do with the fact I started incredibly skinny.

Lots of young guys seem to think classic is more achievable, which honestly is funny because of how much a genetic component there is to it. Sure maybe they won’t have to put on as much size, but to think they’d actually be competitive without the right structure is silly.

I’m kind of just rambling now lol.

 

[stackdizzy]

I think just the whole gym culture as changed. "The Man" has been replaced by a youtube channel. Young people think that advertisers give a shit about them, I did to at that age so I understand. Plus advertising is more effective than it used to be. Its not a magazine anymore with 100 pages of advertisements you don't even read. I have no business telling a 20 year old who doesn't even diet anything beyond he needs a diet. Think of the retention rate of kids when we were young that were done training by 25. Never to return. Most people I see do the easy stuff but the hard stuff they don't do. I imagine this pours out into every aspect of their lives. Some of these people will be lower middle management one day simply because everyone else was good at their job.

 

[alfresco]

So I am doing leg curls and right next to me is a personal trainer sitting on an exercise machine poking his cell phone.

So I say to him “I didn’t know that personal trainers were allowed to use a cell phone while on an exercise machine.”

Without even looking up he says “You are not going to stop it.” He says more and so do I but is the jist of it.

Wrong guy to say that to. Using cell phones while on exercise machines is my hot button.

I am livid. I want to send this guy to the moon. Instead I play the long game.

On the way out after working out, I go upstairs to give management a new credit card for our monthly billing. That’s it.

Always super nice they are. Handing me the card back she asks if I had a good workout. I say “Yes, except for the personal trainer next to me talking on his cell phone while sitting on an exercise machine.”

“What?” she says. “Tell me more.”

So I spill the beans. The whole nine yards. This is an epidemic here. Bla bla bla. I am livid.

I am driving home and my phone rings. I pick it up and it’s one of the owners of the gym calling me. Nice.

I give her the spiel. I tell her I am livid (get the picture?). She asks me more details, all of which I will not share with you but suffice to say he is going to get a taking to so she says. Big deal I’m thinking to myself.

She also said that if “I don’t feel comfortable asking a member to not use their phone while on a piece of equipment there are plenty of trainer and management to do that for you.” Sure. Like am going crying to them every time every Tom, Dick or Harry is using their cell phone. What do I look like, a cop? Of the trainers would get off their lazy asses and actually get

So I go back in to the gym after a short break and sure enough he is still there and so are all the others (I am exaggerating but not by much.) He is still there and so are all the lemmings.

Guess what? He was right . . . are not going to stop it.

 

[Pandapanda]

Not quite the same but during Covid I didn’t have money to buy an at home gym. I did have two downed telephone poles so I cut them into a bench and squat rack, found a 10ft rusted metal pipe, and used cinder blocks as weights. Honestly the most fun I’ve had working out

OK.. that's core and funny.. reminds me of Rocky 4. Where there's a means....

 

[VaginaBoob89]

The GenZ/Gen Alpha gym going crowd are lucky AF. I run into 19 year olds who are already running super optimized Dr. Mike style PPL splits. When I was first starting we had some fairly dumb stuff like Max-OT that was popular and it was so difficult to figure out how to actually lift correctly. Kids have access to just incredible amounts of really good information now such that anyone with a moderately high IQ can start their bodybuilding journey very optimally from the jump. I started with olympic lifting rather than bb, and back then the info on the net about how to train, technique, learning the snatch+clean and jerk, and programming especially was especially dumb and counterproductive. I envy the younger generation for not having to go through the process of trial and error and doing dumb shit when they first started like we did. I remember Starting Strength, another really bad program, was popular for beginners back in 2008 when I was first starting. Kids these days have it so good...

I mean the real lifters, of course. The social media influencing types are whatever. I don't deal with any of the male ones here in China as that doesn't really exist, but there's a handful of attention whoring females who only lift for social media.

 

[VaginaBoob89]

Also I've noticed the 35+ crowd is its almost all dudes. No joke, probably 80%. Where did all the women in the late 20's to 40's go?

I worked as a personal trainer for 14 year and 99% of the time when the girl would land a boyfried she'd quit, fatten back up, repeat the process.

I'm 35 and yes this is true. There are basically no women my age in the gym, but there are a ton much younger than me or much older than me who are retired and just trying to kill time. Retirement age is 55 for women here in China. It's cool that the younger generation of gym goers are a bit more diverse with respect to ethnicity and gender.

 

[pickapeck]

I'm not going to bitch here. I just wish men and women would be a bit stronger all around. We are going to need it.

 

[Alzadosghost]

There’s no disconnect if I don’t see them doing all the stupid shit they do in the gyms. I get along with plenty of younger guys. I’m approached alot and asked a ton of questions and a lot of the time I’m happy to help. But U fortunately a lot of the younger guys just walk right up to me and ask me what I’m on. Rude disrespectful and arrogant. All the qualities of a retard. I just get sick of that shit.

 

[bbxtreme]

So I am doing leg curls and right next to me is a personal trainer sitting on an exercise machine poking his cell phone.

So I say to him “I didn’t know that personal trainers were allowed to use a cell phone while on an exercise machine.”

Without even looking up he says “You are not going to stop it.” He says more and so do I but is the jist of it.

Wrong guy to say that to. Using cell phones while on exercise machines is my hot button.

I am livid. I want to send this guy to the moon. Instead I play the long game.

On the way out after working out, I go upstairs to give management a new credit card for our monthly billing. That’s it.

Always super nice they are. Handing me the card back she asks if I had a good workout. I say “Yes, except for the personal trainer next to me talking on his cell phone while sitting on an exercise machine.”

“What?” she says. “Tell me more.”

So I spill the beans. The whole nine yards. This is an epidemic here. Bla bla bla. I am livid.

I am driving home and my phone rings. I pick it up and it’s one of the owners of the gym calling me. Nice.

I give her the spiel. I tell her I am livid (get the picture?). She asks me more details, all of which I will not share with you but suffice to say he is going to get a taking to so she says. Big deal I’m thinking to myself.

She also said that if “I don’t feel comfortable asking a member to not use their phone while on a piece of equipment there are plenty of trainer and management to do that for you.” Sure. Like am going crying to them every time every Tom, Dick or Harry is using their cell phone. What do I look like, a cop? Of the trainers would get off their lazy asses and actually get

So I go back in to the gym after a short break and sure enough he is still there and so are all the others (I am exaggerating but not by much.) He is still there and so are all the lemmings.

Guess what? He was right . . . are not going to stop it.

Mine is anyone who sits their stuff or just sits on a machine or bench between sets, especially if I or someone else needs it. I realized I was asking the wrong question.

The correct question to ask those people is- “are you actually using this?”

I have found that it works 99% of the time. Sometimes I think people who are actually using it give it to me because it throws them off.

 

[Mufasa123]

I'm not going to bitch here. I just wish men and women would be a bit stronger all around. We are going to need it.

I came across this the other day.

"Think about it: what weakens us is feeling offended by the deeds and misdeeds of our fellow men. Our self-importance requires that we spend most of our lives offended by someone.

Carlos Castaneda, The Fire from Within"

Hadn't read those books since high school but plenty of decent quotes. A good portion of our society need to embrace this one. Published in 1984 but supposedly conversations with Yaqui wise man took place in the 1960s.