Truthfully, I don't know if gym culture was ever for me. The stereotype is it's all bros, right? I'm no Joey Swoll, self-described "CEO of gym positivity," one of those influencer types with a manic positivity that's either repellent or inspiring, depending on who you ask. As a casual gym-goer and as a woman, I've always felt the need to strike the perfect balance between exuding confidence and staying somewhat invisible. That's not exactly a recipe for community.
My focus today is on something simpler and broader: the quiet disappearance of gym culture, and what's been lost as solo at-home workouts become increasingly high-tech and accessible. My job has deepened this strange distance. I spend my days testing the latest smart rowing machines, adjustable dumbbells, and stair steppers—equipment so sophisticated and convenient that the question isn't whether you can replicate a gym experience at home, but why you'd bother leaving at all. I've cycled through enough gear to outfit a small fitness studio, each piece promising to deliver professional results without the commute, the membership fees, or the potential for uncomfortable interactions. And it works. The technology is legitimately impressive.
As smart home fitness tech increases, we're trading community for convenience, and we might not get it back. Echo Wang, a certified yoga teacher and founder of Yoga Kawa, says, "the gym used to be a social anchor. People went not just to work out, but to belong." Now that home fitness equipment has made working out at home simple, that gym atmosphere is fading. Wang says that watching someone push themselves hard beside you provided extra motivation—it was infectious. Those conversations between sets kept people engaged, while exercising alone at home makes it simpler to skip workouts and lose momentum.
Dr. Jesse Shaw, associate professor of sports medicine at University of Western States, says he built his training philosophy around competitive energy. From his military days through his current work in collegiate athletics, he's pursued being the biggest and fastest person in the gym—and when he wasn't, that drove him to train harder. He sees how home technology can fill this gap, pointing to how Peloton created a community and culture around their equipment that mimics this motivational aspect.
Shaw believes the at-home workout convenience that emerged from social and medical necessity remains a valuable exercise option. However, he's witnessed numerous gym closures due to weak attendance and poor recovery of membership numbers. Technology has altered both the pace and focus of current gym-goers, creating a need to document and share workouts online to feel a sense of accomplishment. Some home technologies, like Peloton, depend heavily on social features, building a culture and shared drive to improve and compete on leaderboards.
The type of gym you go to matters
For Kris Herbert, founder and owner of The Gym Venice, the cultural deterioration goes deeper. He's particularly concerned about low-cost, high-volume "value" gyms, where minimal financial and personal investment leads to vanishing individual responsibility. This lack of ownership creates spaces that are frequently dirty, disorganized, and dangerous. These gyms are places people use, rather than belong to.
Part of this shift stems from accessibility: Today, you can find answers to virtually any training question online without human interaction. While access to credible information can accelerate progress, it can't replicate the accountability, camaraderie, and shared energy of training with others.
How we can rebuild gym culture
To rebuild this culture, Herbert suggests starting small. Introduce yourself to regulars, offer to spot someone, ask a question, acknowledge someone's consistency. These simple interactions remind us that fitness encompasses social, emotional, and deeply human elements beyond the physical. The gym should be somewhere people not only grow stronger but also belong.
I still test equipment at home. I still appreciate the convenience of rolling out of bed and onto a rowing machine without navigating complicated social dynamics or waiting for equipment. But I've started going back to the gym twice a week, trying to figure out what this whole gym culture thing could mean for someone like me.
Maybe that ideal gym culture I'm imagining—the one where people belonged, where community thrived—was always more accessible to some than others. Maybe it was never perfect. But hey, even an imperfect community beats isolation. And maybe, if we're intentional about it, we can build something better than what came before—one shared set on the assisted pull-up machine at a time.
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