“The culture of the gym has changed,” says Dane Garnon, a trainer at Platinum Fitness. According to LiveStrong.com, gyms were created to promote health and fitness. The first gyms were dark and eerie. Throughout the years, the gym has evolved into a more social environment.

Some people believe that the gym has become too social, which hinders their workout. Catherine Aracil, VHS senior, is a fitness guru, who goes to the gym six times a week.  One of Catherine’s biggest pet peeves is when she has to wait for a machine because people are talking. She believes that “the gym would be better if people went alone.”

Jon Tosh, VHS senior, steers clear from socializing at the gym. “When I go the gym, I’m all business,” says Jon. He prefers to go to the gym solo because he feels that he is more focused. Jon, a member of Platinum Fitness, estimates that there are over 100 students from VHS who are members of Platinum, which adds to the social scene at the gym.

However, others believe that the social climate at the gym adds to the intensity of their workout. Haley Tole, VHS senior, thinks socializing at the gym is an advantage. Haley prefers to go to the gym with a friend because she feels that she gets a better workout when she is with someone else. “People make you work harder because there is someone to push you, to compete with,” says Haley.

Lou Gencarelli, a trainer at Hardbodyz Fitness, believes that the social evolution of the gym has been an advantage to the gym industry.

“Being social is a way of life,” says Gencarelli. “It helps people push themselves.” Gencarelli sees no disadvantage to being social at the gym and says that people workout better in pairs.

Still, some remain unsure as to the advantages or disadvantages of the growing social presence at the gym.

Christopher Demond, VHS football coach and gym teacher, has been a member of seven to eight different gyms since he was a teenager. In some situations, Demond believes that taking a friend to the gym will create the wrong frame of mind and will decrease the intensity of the workout. In other instances, Demond encourages people to bring a friend to keep the workout safe and intense. “I pick people [to bring] who are stronger than me, so they can push me,” says Demond.

After several years of working at the gym, both Demond and Garnon say that boys contribute more towards the socializing aspect at the gym than girls do. Garnon feels that it is a competitiveness between boys that makes them socialize more at the gym. Demond believes that girls are more focused when they go to workout, which is why they tend to socialize less.

The gym environment has evolved throughout the years, but did it change for the better?