The Gym
Separation of mind and body
In ancient Greece, the gymnasium was a space for the development of one’s body, mind, and soul. For Socrates, the development of one aspect and the neglect of the others would result in corporeal forms short of ideal. Speaking about the effects of only developing one’s body, Socrates said a person will become hard and brutal. And for the philosopher that neglects their body only to develop their intellect they will turn soft. In order to develop an ideal citizen, there would need to be a place dedicated to their development. For Socrates, this institution was the gymnasium. Today, far from what Socrates had in mind, gyms have become devoted to the development of a body divorced from the mind. Go down the street to a local gym, and you won’t find debates taking place; unless they happen to be about who had the equipment first. No longer a space for philosophers, the gym has become devoted to the development of bodies. While today’s gym might seem Cartesian because it lacks equipment for the development of one’s intellect, the inseparability of mind and body reveals a development of a mind, albeit one that belongs to a body that has become hard and brutal.
The branded subject
As I approach the gym, I notice the name which has become widely recognized. Large, capitalized, bold, white letters, printed on a plain black background, connotes a sense of seriousness that has become a key aspect of the gym’s brand. Branding, which has early connotations with cattle, reveals the quick identification of something with its aesthetic form. Today’s notion of being self-branded reveals the masochistic tendency to create, maintain, and grow one’s aesthetic form. As I enter the building, I notice everyone working out. Clanking metal and the dozens of spinning treadmill belts create a soundscape evocative of a factory. As I walk towards the locker room, passing by everyone, I wonder what their motivations are and the sacrifices they’ve had to make. Each one becoming a different version of themselves. Walking down the hall, I see a bright red branding iron spiraling towards me. Struck by it, my flesh melts and the image of the gym as a tool for self-branding is seared into my mind.
Spectacle
Changing in the locker room, I feel some eyes avoiding contact with my body while others encounter it. The gym as a private-public space can feel like a stage -- a choreography of bodies. But where did this choreography come from? In the 20th century, the gym reemerged and took two interesting directions. First, by the YMCA, which promoted the gym as a place for the growth of mind, body, and spirit. Secondly, by Jack LaLanne, who founded The Gold Gym in California, near Hollywood in the late 1950s. Tracing the choreography of bodies back to its origins near Hollywood, we find the organizing power of the spectacle too close to be a mere coincidence. As I leave the locker room, I notice everyone wearing AirPods. The music in the gym conceals the silence that's present. Not speaking, not listening, just looking, the gym takes on the feeling of a Hollywood movie set.
Through repetition difference is produced
Out in the main room, as I'm exercising, I find myself engaged in a series of repetitions. Between sets, I imagine two men in ancient Greece wrestling while others throw javelins in the background. While each javelin thrown is a form of repetition, the exercises today are comically repetitive. Although it might feel like one isn’t making progress in the gym, there comes a point where one starts to feel a bit stronger or lighter. And eventually, one starts to see that difference. The gym, through its focus on external changes, reveals the temporal nature of Being. To those outside, the gym can appear to aggrandize a static form of being, but for those inside, the gym is more about the dynamic process of becoming.
The gym is a singularity
As a place for the transformation of the self, the gym can be conceived, in Deleuzian terms, as a singularity. The intensity of the gym's singularity, as Socrates alluded to, can transform one’s entire existence. The gym can alter one's daily schedule, diet, sleep, health, friends, routine, attention, and desires. But the image of the gym is associated with a certain type of body that lends itself to an ontology of being. The gym as a singularity shifts our attention from the body to one’s life. It extends itself beyond the physical location.
Everything is a gym
As I leave the gym, I notice it following me. I see it in my food, my schedule, and my decisions. Looking around, I notice it following other people too. The facade of each gym takes on a slightly different appearance. I watch as someone at the bus stop does ten reps of Instagram on their phone. Each rep slowly transforming their life. The world reveals itself as a multitude of objects that connect with the body and, through becoming entangled, transform it. The gym, as a transformative life machine, can be extended to all objects we encounter.
