David McHenry April 27, 2014 Miss Hinnant English 1102-015 The Road to Newfound Image If you enter

the University of North Carolina at Charlottes gym at 8 a.m. on a Monday morning, youll find it to appear as if it is an empty concert hall. You come in a few hours later, and it would be easily comparable to the streets of New York City. Either way, the pale yellow walls are covered with the dim fluorescent lights, the music is blaring a mixture of rap and hiphop, and there is a radiation of heat that could only be found, and transferred from the depths of hell. Upon entering, a person would begin to sweat profusely, and if you continue walking forward, you would find a well-organized arrangement of free weights, treadmills, and yoga mats: each of them occupied by sleepy, sweaty, and motivated students. These students appear to be sporting their own sense of color and design; whether its the norms such as the dull colors of Nike and Under Armour, or the fluorescent blues and greens found by Adidas and Asics, each student represents their own image. With a closer look, you will find that there is segregation between what they wear. The men: shorts and sports shirts, both displaying the sports they were previously a part of, as well as the high school fame they received; ladies: shorts or yoga pants, tight tops hiding sports bras, and a head band holding back their long hair. With these conclusive features, you will also find water bottles, gym bags, and their inseparable appendages of iPhones and iPods. Each body inside this desolate place, intermingled among the various workout benches, treadmills, and free weights, represents the altered students of UNCC. These students, liberating themselves from the stress of school, and sacrificing their precious hours of sleep, are transforming their bodies; trying to lose every unneeded ounce of fat, and adding as much

muscle as their weak arms and stout legs can handle. So what motivates these individuals to exercise on such an incessant basis? Why do they transform their outward appearance? Section I: The Story Behind the Characteristics I first began my three week observation and study of UNCC on Monday January 27. 2014; a very cold and windy morning. I cross through the frame of the door, and immediately find myself out of place. Everyone inside the room is wearing some form of sports attire, meanwhile, I find myself in jeans and an American Eagle hoodie, nowhere near their level of comfort, and so I quickly conceal myself in the corner. Here, I am able to scan the whole room, as well as lend an ear into the conversations and lives of each student who crosses into this secluded chamber. As I begin my research, I immediately wonder why these students have chosen to appear here so early. After all, I had chosen this time to arrive only because I knew that I needed to get a jump start on my work, and I found that this would be an ideal time to get a great description of the setting and colors of this expendable room. I never expected to find anyone here, let alone fourteen students in all; ten males and four females, two Asian, three black, and the other nine Caucasian. More importantly though, I wonder why they have even begun working out. As I look around the room, all of them appear to be physically fit and none of them are anywhere near obese by societies standard, let alone overweight. So what is their reasoning for working out? Why are they even here? When I begin my interviewing process, the reasons become evident as to why these students enter into such a rigorous and life changing process; societies views on body image. Body image is the main reason for working out, it is the only reason. (Dixon). James Dixon, a

pre-Kinesiology major, and avid body builder, explains to me that his motivation and reasoning behind working out comes from his background and early childhood years. James grew up in suburban Davidson where he was involved in football. He went on to tell me that his only reasons for even starting to workout came from his first football practice: When I was in 10th grade, I was overweight and I wanted to play football. I then went to football workouts and I realized that everyone there was bigger and stronger than me, I looked like a baby. My arms were small, I was fat, and I was 5 10 and 190 lbs. so I went to the gym and started working out. (Dixon) James, like so many other students, felt out of place in society when compared to others. This was seen several times while scanning the room. Students were flexing their arms, measuring their weight, and evaluating themselves in the mirror; checking to make sure that they were above the norm, and would fit in with the ideal image. Seen throughout my study, students were consumed with this motive on an occasional basis, but other times, it was seen in between each rep, almost as a way to exhibit their size, and flaunt their muscle mass. Also, on several occasions, and whether it was to draw attention to themselves or not, girls would sit there and complain about how fat they were and how they looked pregnant. Allowing me to conclude that women have become so consumed by the false realities that media has exhibited in modern America, that they view themselves as unworthy, unequal, and incomparable to what they see around them. Never once dawning on the fact that what they see, is not the truth, and that most of those perfect women, are photo shopped or unhappy with themselves because of their demanded size and criticism they receive from onlookers. As I continue my research, I notice another notable feature of these individuals; dedication. Throughout my two day study, as well as my interview process, I notice that several

students were there on a regular basis, and in that group, a select few even kept a very concise record of the exercises, reps, and events that they participated in on that particular day. On average, it was estimated that a student went to the gym four times a week for a little over an hour. At that rate, a student would spend around two hundred and ten hours a year at the gym; equitable to a little over a week. With this large amount of time spent at the gym, I soon found the various reasons and explanations as to why these students removed themselves from the rest of society and indulged themselves in the gym environment. It was made known that students spent most of their time at the gym because they felt that they were in control. It was a safe environment without judgment, and it gave the individuals comfort to govern what they did. Victor McClure, an avid member of this schools gym, explained to me that it was one of the few things in her life where she could make her own choices, rather than being told what was expected of her. Also, I found that the students enjoyed going to the gym for reasons coinciding with the ways in which they felt. Most students agreed that they hated working on parts of the body where they were the weakest, or had the largest amount of work to do. Instead, they enjoyed working on the visible parts and the areas of their body which are exposed when wearing a swim suit; chest, legs, arms, back, and the stomach being the most common. On top of everything else, there were also students like Tiffany Ruther, who said that they enjoyed going to the gym because they felt, accomplished, and the next day, when [feeling] sore, feel accomplished then too (Ruther). This being something that I feel like each of the students felt, but yet didnt verbalize. Taking all of this into consideration, it seems apparent to me that the generalized notion is that working out makes these individuals feel comfortable with themselves. Due to the fact that they could set goals, watch themselves change, and eventually reach what they were striving
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for, allows me to confidently deem them an extremely dedicated group of individuals. Also, because they spend so much of their time in the gym, changing their bodies bit by bit, it is extremely important to keep in mind the amount of control they have. Rather than being like most men or women seen in the gym, these select individuals appear to have control over what they are doing, and appear to know exactly how they want to go about the changes that they are making to themselves. Again, exemplifying a characteristic of dedication to their own personal views, rather than latching onto the views of those around them, especially those exploited in media. Section II: Participation within the Gym As my research continued, and while I remained an observer in the room, I also found another unique characteristic; it was rare to see someone working out alone. Throughout my two day study, and several interviews, it became apparent that working out was considered a partner activity. That individuals sought the assistance and help from friends, both for motivation, as well as friendship and company. When asked whether the individuals had two groups of friends; those that worked out, and those that didnt, the overwhelming majority said yes. Their friends were described as intermingled (Ruther), and one even set up the scenario with the fact that, we all have those guys and girls that workout alongside of us, and those that we just mess with and spend time outside of the gym with. (Dixon). Though this was apparent, it wasnt until my second day, when I observed the gym in the afternoon, that I found an odd fact; segregation. While observing a group of students on the treadmills and ellipticals, I found a gender bias segregation between the two sexes. Not only did I find that men were only working with men, and women were only working with women, but that these individuals only worked out

with someone who was of the same caliber physically. Rather than reaching out to individuals who were not on the same level physically, and trying to boost that individuals moral, it became apparent that the individuals were competing against their partner. They looked at this time in the gym as a means of public competition and a chance to see who could do the better job, instead of a means to motivate and encourage those that they worked alongside of. Also, women never went to the free weight section, but rather, hung around the machines and ellipticals, focusing more on abs and legs. I believe, this was done so that these women could utilize these machines as a way to help them develop that swimsuit body mentioned before. Though, still confused by the scenario, I began interviewing individuals. Within my interviews, I specifically asked them their feelings on the gym being a two gender site, and whether or not they thought it should be a mans place solely. Knowing that everyone would say that the gym should not be a mans place solely, I was more concerned about the first part of the question. Surprisingly though, everyone said that they liked it being two gender because it gave them motivation and a drive to do better. By having the other sex present in the room, it gave the men the desire to perform for the women, and the women the chance to show off what they consisted of. The gym appears to be comprised of two distinctly different atmospheres. One, to continually build muscle and burn fat, and another, a platform for the two sexes to flaunt what they are made of. Put best by Victoria, the gym is simply a means by which, men can help encourage women, in the same sense that, women can help men (McClure), through the common nature of trying to impress one another. If this was the case, men seeking women to help them work out, I wondered if they had ever artificially enriched their bodies. I was curious to see whether or not the individuals had ever resorted to body enhancers, and other supplemental vitamins, as well as, what their views

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were on these drugs. Throughout my research and observation of the students, I found that almost all the men carried around bottles that contained liquids that didnt resemble water, Powerade, or any other electrolyte drink. Instead, the liquids were swirled with pigments of powders, or chocolate, and the students conversations were buzzing about the new drinks that GNC and other vitamin stores had put on the market. Upon interviewing individuals, I found that everyone, including the women, had resorted to some type of vitamin or supplement; most of them admitting to taking protein and your general drug store vitamins. Though, when asked what their views about the supplements were, Tiffany summed it up by saying, you can go without them, because the things that come from [the vitamins], never outweigh all the negative effects that [they] can have (Ruther). They agreed that these supplements were more of a mental booster to get individuals hype, rather than an actual muscle enhancer, or any other assistive means of building muscle. Section III: Influences of the Gym After spending almost four hours in the gym, and interviewing several individuals, I realized that there was a general trend between working out and the chosen profession. Of the four individuals that I interviewed, three of them were Pre-Kinesiology majors, preparing to move into their subsequent major, Exercise Science, and Victoria McClure was a Nursing major. The individuals told me that working out often did help them chose the professions and majors they would strive for. Jacob then went onto give me a more in-depth reasoning as to why he chose his profession: I am studying to be a physical therapist, and since I have gone through intensive physical therapy two or three times, I know my way around a gym if you know
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what I mean. I know what I am doing and the various exercises you can perform in order to isolate and support the muscles in your body. (Harris). Studying this fact, I felt that it showed the amount of care and compassion the students felt between their majors and occupations, and the way they work today. A person who reflects their occupation will allows those they assist, a sense of comfort and care, because they exploit a level of consideration for their patients well-being. With their passions invested in working out and intensive amounts of time spent on bettering themselves, it would seem evident that time spent on homework and extracurricular activities would drop. To my surprise though, this was not so, and Tiffany went on to explain that, If you have certain times that you do your homework, and certain times you go to the gym, you will be a more regimented person, so it will probably improve your schoolwork (Ruther). This was also evident in my observations. When students would come to work out in the afternoon and early evening, they were there to get work done. It appeared that they had a set schedule, and knew exactly what they had to do, how long they had to do it, and would often come, workout, and leave immediately. They never took time to rest or breathe, but rather plowed through what they had to do. Taking all of this into consideration, and observing the conversations of several individuals, I wondered if there was a kind of language used between gym attendees. Being that they spend countless hours studying, exercising, and pursuing their future occupations, it came without a surprise that there were phrases and generalized terms used while working out. Though when addressing this question, I learned that this language was no different than the English we speak today. We have kind of formed our own terms. For the most part, I would say that we just shorten the words and use abbreviations when talking about the certain areas.
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(Harris). An example that Jacob provided me was that, biceps would be referred to as Bis or bench pressing would be referred to as benching, but there were no special terms involved. In fact, most of the terms that were used, or generalizations that were mentioned, were common terms utilized by physicians and therapists when talking about the various exercises. The only form of language that was really distinct from our daily language, was the usage of text terms while chatting with friends. Taking away my original idea that a measurable level of dedication and motivation could be administered by the various terms they utilized. Section IV: Reflection and Conclusion Now that I have finished interviewing and observing such a diverse and intriguing subsection of our campus culture, I am truly privileged to have this opportunity. I feel like I was able to disprove a whole spectrum of myths and ideas about working out, as well as being capable of portraying and expressing the lifestyles of these individuals. My studies have lead me to believe that these individuals are an insecure population, and that they appear to be molded by societal views. Rather than being secure about what they have, and what they are capable of doing by themselves, these individuals have proven that what you see, is not always who they are. They are a prospective group of individuals who are shaped by their habits and enjoyments, and with these certain habits, go on to make up such a crucial part of sports medicine, a subsection of the medical field. They have proven to be a dedicated group of individuals as well. Between their countless hours of working out, and balancing school life, they have shown that they are capable of tasks that some would consider unattainable. Overall though, I feel they have shown that they are no different than the average population on campus. Although they are bigger, faster, stronger, and more fit than the average student, they were once in our shoes, and like everything else, it took

time for them to reach their goals. I would not describe myself as an expert on this topic, but rather, I would call myself a eluted individual on the topic of UNCCs school gym. A gym which has proven to be a desirable avenue for individuals to reach both internal and external satisfaction with their image.

Works Cited Dixon, Michael. Personal Interview. 12 Feb. 2014. Harris, Jacob. Personal Interview. 12 Feb. 2014. McClure, Victoria. Personal Interview. 10 Feb. 2014. Ruther, Tiffany. Personal Interview. 14 Feb. 2014.