It is interesting to watch others in the gym. The gym I go to has the usual mix of casuals, stylists, and animals. Within the animals are range of personalities and body types. At one extreme, you can watch individuals working on improving their fitness and body shapes that are already at a high level. For most, it is not about showing off. It is primarily about taking themselves to the next level. I use the term animals because having their abilities, even getting to their starting points would be an amazing personal milestone.
There is another group that appears to be here for the experience. Group workouts, conversations, and shared experience are top on their agendas. While some break a sweat, others can go through their routines looking as good at the end as they did in the beginning.
There is a third group that I self-identify with. In this group, you have a wide range of body shapes. What is in common is the passion and intensity that each brings to their time in the gym. The weights may not be as high as others, but the strain on their faces and sweat on their backs document the effort they are putting into their work. Seeking advice from others comes easy; they know they do not have the answers. While some go it alone, others, myself included, have a friend or two that helps to motivate and guide them.
In both extremes, the boundaries are being pushed. The is a demand from each personally, metaphorically playing a scene as “young lions roar for their prey, clamoring to God for their supper.” (Psalm 104.21) Whatever it takes is accepted, challenged, and experienced! Pushing one’s self to the point of exhaustion is seen as a good thing.
I find myself wanting to takes this intensity and approach into the rest of life. Three core attributes, being open to good ideas, pursuing a shared goal with passionate intensity, and giving one’s total self in the process are ingredients that have the potential to change everything that follows.
