Field Notes: Set Two

Field Notes: Set Two

Date: Saturday May 11^th

Time: 10 a.m.

Location: Coors Fitness Center

In analyzing my first set of field notes it came to my attention that my observations were primarily based upon the physical setting of the gym and the ways in which I perceived people to be using the facilities. Although these observations would definitely give me a concrete foundation upon which I could build further connections, I had not yet taken into account people’s personal perspectives of what the gym meant to them personally. It is for these reasons that the majority of my second set of field notes revolved mostly around three interviews I conducted within the gym. I wanted to get the most comprehensive look at the various uses of the gym possible so I categorized my interviews into three parts: employees, male athletes and female athletes. I thought by interviewing these three demographics I could attain valuable insight into the gyms various uses.

Interview 1 – Desmond (an alias used to preserve the subjects identity) is a towering 6’5 man who works as an employee of the Coors Fitness Center. Luckily, I had enrolled in a speech class with Desmond earlier this year and built a rapport with him. I felt for this reason I could gain some more in-depth insights into his uses of the gym, the following is a transcribed summary of our interview:

Desmond began his interview as suspected, mildly tentative and put off by the formalities encapsulated by my pen and notebook and the overall “interview mode” that had been imparted upon him. Soon enough however he loosened up and began telling me about his involvement with the gym. “I’m on a big scholarship right now so any extra money helps out big time,” he explains. “The funny thing is I don’t even lift {he chuckles} I mean every once and awhile ill play ball but other than that I don’t get how people can be in here so long.” I asked Desmond why the gym? With so many other places to become employed why had he chosen the fitness center? “I guess I like being able to see kids I go to school with, ya know, friends and teachers and stuff.” “The pay is also not bad and I can do homework when the days are slower”. It seemed as though Desmond had found a perfect medium between generating income while maintaining a presence with his fellow classmates. I then inquired as to why it was important to have a job at all? This was the point at which some more insightful answers began to surface. “Growing up one of three kids in a single parent place is tough, but my mom was tougher [smiles] she always made sure that we knew nothing would be handed to us, and that good things were a product of hard work.” I was astounded at this, as I had never heard Desmond’s back-story during the time we were in class together. I began to realize that the gym to Desmond was not a place to cultivate an exterior image, but was an avenue of self-sufficiency and independence. “I feel like I’m earning my way here you know? Like, I know my mom is still back home working for my little brother to go to school. I don’t know. It just would feel wrong to have her back home working and me not doing anything out here.” I was amazed by both his candid nature and his ability to stay loyal to the values instilled in him a long time ago. The interview went on but nothing during that time came close to the importance of the previous lines. I concluded my interview shortly thereafter and let Desmond get back to Work.

Interview 2 – Molly was a girl that I had spotted upstairs on one of the ellipticals. I decided to interview her because she seemed to be on the “cool down” phase of her workout and the machines to the sides of her were vacant. I had lucked out with Molly. She was an upbeat, energetic sophomore who was more than willing to talk to me. Her preparation included nothing more than popping her earphones out and quickly wiping her hands to shake mine. The following is a transcribed summary of our interview:

After explaining to Molly exactly what this interview would entail, she agreed to participate. So why are you at the gym today? “well I had quite a night last night so I’m making myself pay for it today” She said. I asked her to explain and she stated simply “when I go out I feel obligated to come to the gym and work some of it off.” I can, with a high degree of confidence, infer that Molly was speaking about partying and consuming excessive food or alcohol. It seemed as though Molly utilized the gym to keep her social life and physical well being on an even keel. “If I go out a lot or even if I just don’t come to the gym for a while I get antsy, almost, and find myself getting very irritable.” Essentially a lack of gym attendance correlated strongly to an overall feeling of laziness and unproductiveness. I then asked Molly if she had realized the separation of males and females in the gym. “Oh absolutely, I never go down there [referring to the main floor of the gym, interview conducted from upperlevel].” When asking why, Molly had a few reasons as to why she never ventured onto the main floor. “I guess it’s a little intimidating, a lot of the guys down there are huge and you’re afraid that you’ll get in the way and be a victim of some serious roid rage.” Admittedly, I thought this was a refreshing view of the male female gym dynamic and we were able to share a laugh. She continued “plus I don’t really need any of the stuff down there, none of it does what running does for me.” I asked her why she chose running over other exercises and she explained that “running makes me feel like I’m actually sweating calories out, like I’m actually working hard. Plus it’s a great way to slim down and keep the sophomore slump [a continuation of the freshmen 15] at bay.” Molly went on to speak about how she associated lifting weights with a bulkier more muscular physique where running resulted in the more sought after “slimming” figure that women love. This fundamental difference in appearance was something I wanted to expound on. I asked her, so do you think that pre conceived notions of attractiveness dictate how men and women will choose to workout? “For sure” she declaratively stated. “ We’re all well aware of how were supposed to look. And for me, attractive is a lean figure that I can only get from running or the Stairmaster.” Molly had given me incredibly insightful and useful information into why women were hesitant to wander onto the gym floor. Their resistance to the floor stemmed from two primary concerns; mere intimidation or uncomfortably from the men and a fear that weight lifting would leave them with a bulkier less desired look than that of a more cardio-based exercise.

Interview 3 – My final interview came from a strapping young man named Matt. I had seen Matt frequently in the gym and had met him a few months ago simply by being in the gym often. Matt was most certainly a “vet” and touted his strength in the gym regularly. He was always one of the strongest males in the gym so I thought his interpretation of its inner workings would be valuable. Normally I would not have gotten a chance to interview Matt as his workouts are propelled by an intent focus that is not to be disrupted. Luckily, however I caught up with him on the way out and walked with him back to Nagel Dormitory. I first asked Matt why he though that so few girls frequented the gym floor. “Well, I guess I never really noticed that. I mean it’d be kinda weird if you saw some girl who was bigger than you [he chuckles]” I asked Matt about the intimidation factor and whether or not he found that to play a part in the segregation. “Yea that makes sense, I mean I know a lot of guys who shy away from working out if they see that they’re one of the smaller ones out there. So it’d make sense that girls would shy away too.” I then asked Matt why he had made working out such a big part of his life, his answers wee surprising. “Well I started lifting my junior year in highscool actually. I played football but I wasn’t very good. I was one of the smallest kids out there and I used to really get thrown around. Then in college I started to grow into myself and lifting weights really started to show. I never wanted it to stop. It kinda became an obsession. To get bigger, and eat well and be noticed as a strong guy was something that meant a lot to me.” Never would I have guessed that Matt’s passion for lifting weights was actually deeply seeded in some insecurities that arose in high school (although it made perfect sense). I then asked what outside influences, if any, delegated what and how he would workout. “Yea, well, no one wants to be small. No matter what anyone says a big strong guy is going to have a leg up in almost every facet of life. Someone whos visibly in shape allows people to assume that they care enough about themselves to work on their body.” Essentially Matt was telling me that he craved not only the physical outcome of lifting weight, but equally important was the assumptions that came along with a strong individual. I wanted to touch base with the male-female dynamic and how he viewed this, another interesting revelation surfaced. “Its funny cause I think that the gym is just another social setting for men and women to socialize. The girls get to see all the guys below working out and it almost becomes sort of a MAN-SHOWROOM.” This dynamic was exactly what I was trying to unveil and investigate. Matt had seemingly deconstructed the creation of the gym and deemed it a way for men, to tout there strengths among other to acquire a social rank not only among themselves but among the ever-vigilant female eye watching from above. “Its also pretty motivating when you have 20 girls up there running ya know? I mean if I know that many girls are up there and some of em are looking…. Lets just say its motivation for that last rep” These insights offered by Matt were among the most helpful and helped me grasp a view of the gym that I had not yet noticed.