Wednesday 4 April 2007

Gyms are for Tories

They are aren't they? Sanitised, narcissistic temples of preening self-worship, perfect for an atomised overworked society. Everything about them puts me off - the strutting; the individualism; the clunking, sexless bump'n'grind by numbers R'n'B tunes that are often piped in; the, er, fact that I'm a bit scrawny and not very good at lifting stuff.

Socialist exercise comes from team sports or running. Playing football or cricket or whatever involves collaboration, helping people out, working towards a common goal, the inevitable sociable drink afterwards. Running, meanwhile, gives you a chance to commune with surroundings, dodging dextrously through crowds of American tourists on the South Bank or slaloming around geese on the River Lea towpath, finding out new little hidden highways and byways of your neighbourhood.

The gym session, by contrast, is geared for a society where overwork and being time-poor is seen as normal. It's of a one with the stresses and strains of eating-lunch-at-your-desk culture. Come the revolution, their days will be numbered.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My gym is run by the council in North Manchester.
I would be amazed if anyone who had ever been in had voted Tory!
In the ward where the gym is the Toires were beaten by UKIP last year and only just beat the Greens.
What about all the gyms in East germany where the sisters pumped iron for the revolution?
Good too see you have a blog Tom.
I'll be linking.

E10 Rifle said...

Just having a bit of playful class-based fun Miles - it's just living near the City encourages such prejudices. That, and me being crap at lifting heavy stuff.