// posted June 01, 2006 by Lou Schuler

I've belonged to gyms and health clubs continuously since I graduated from college more than 26 years ago. And in that quarter-century of hanging out amongst the fiterati, I've gotten maybe two dates, neither of which amounted to anything. (To my credit, though, both of them occurred when I was single.)

So I was always amused by the idea that gyms were the fern bars of my generation, the prime pick-up joints. Of course, I never got dates in fern bars, either, so maybe there's a pattern.

Anyway, despite my failure to join in the fun, the perception of gyms as singles bars prevailed far past its sell-by date. That's why the New York Times decided to step in and declare that image officially dead:

That gyms have evolved into a more professional, largely flirt-free zone has as much to do with demographics, time management and the advent of the iPod as it does with spandex and sexual politics.


In the early days, the confident and the taut frequented gyms, not the saggy masses. "It was 6 or 8 percent of the population who went, people who were comfortable with their bodies, not grossly out of shape," said Rick Caro, who co-owned a handful of gyms in the Northeast in the 70's and 80's.


"It was all about looking sexually attractive," said Sandy Coffman, a fitness consultant in Bradenton, Fla.


And gym bunnies, both male and female, dressed to accentuate their appeal ...

Ah! So the trend only lasted as long as ugly people stayed away. It was all over for the era of hunky hegemony when the chunks decided they should exercise, too:

By and large, gym members today aren't the sleek 20-somethings of a generation ago. People aged 35 to 54 account for a third of all health club members, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, a trade group. The over-55 crowd makes up another quarter and is the fastest growing segment of gymgoers.


"You take the 50-, 55-, 60-year-old person, they're not going to be checking out the scene the same way they did in the 1970's," Ms. Coffman, who is 64, said.


Today's exercisers are also more likely to be hitting the treadmill on the advice of a doctor, or to get rid of a lower-belly bulge, rather than to perfect their preternaturally tight abs.

Which brings me to an unrelated issue: Back in the days when I had preternaturally tight abs, nobody talked about abs. By the time abs finally became fashionable, I'd managed to cover mine up.

I just can't catch a break here.

Tags: exercise