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Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

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Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#21

Post by espadagroup »

dfxm12 wrote: post #6

I don't get it. Unless you're training for a very specific purpose (like an MMA fight or football season), why do you need specific indoor gym equipment? Shelter in place orders are largely lifted, so you can workout outside: run, do pull ups on a tree branch, ride a bike, lift a heavy stone, do an outdoor yoga class, etc. Hell, you only need maybe a 6' x 6' area for a perfectly effective body weight routine, even in…

For a lot of people serious about the gym, they are way past just getting any workout in. They are very specific about what workout, what machine, what day of the week, etc.. Just switching to running is like telling some backend architecture programmer to just switch to Photoshop; to an outsider they're both tech on computers..But in the bubble we all know it's world's of difference.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#22

Post by hirundo »

dfxm12 wrote: post #6

I don't get it. Unless you're training for a very specific purpose (like an MMA fight or football season), why do you need specific indoor gym equipment? Shelter in place orders are largely lifted, so you can workout outside: run, do pull ups on a tree branch, ride a bike, lift a heavy stone, do an outdoor yoga class, etc. Hell, you only need maybe a 6' x 6' area for a perfectly effective body weight routine, even in…

Acting normally during a mass hysteria sets a good example.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#23

Post by agentwiggles »

dfxm12 wrote: post #6

I don't get it. Unless you're training for a very specific purpose (like an MMA fight or football season), why do you need specific indoor gym equipment? Shelter in place orders are largely lifted, so you can workout outside: run, do pull ups on a tree branch, ride a bike, lift a heavy stone, do an outdoor yoga class, etc. Hell, you only need maybe a 6' x 6' area for a perfectly effective body weight routine, even in…

I started a bodyweight routine (the Reddit recommended routine) in March and have had awesome results so far. It can be daunting to get started but you can do full body workouts if you buy a set of rings and a pull up bar. I eventually put a bar up in my garage but I was able to start working out with one of the basic door mounted bars at first. So you really can get started with very minimal upfront equipment costs.

I could probably target my leg muscles more effectively at a nice gym with barbells, but after 5 months, I'm still working through bodyweight based progressions for deadlifts and squats, so I don't feel like I've plateaued yet. I've made big progress too. When I started I could barely do a single pull-up and now I'm up to 3 sets of 6 per workout. Similar story for pushups, I can crank out 20-30 of those now no problem, where I struggled to hit 5 before.

The ease with which you can get fit at home has been one of the pleasant surprises of this pandemic.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#24

Post by slg »

dfxm12 wrote: post #7
have_faith wrote: post #4

> Her work makes it hard for her to talk to reporters, so we're not using her last name Surely if you feel it necessary to omit someones last name you should err on the side of caution and omit their first name too? A fist name narrows a search down significantly.

How do you know they gave her real first name?

I didn't attend J-school, but that sounds like a questionable practice ethically. A person has a right to be anonymous, but it should be noted they are anonymous. Making up a name for someone without disclosing that fact is questionable.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#25

Post by abeppu »

mbosch wrote: post #5

I started toying around with the idea of building something out for a gym sharing idea. https://gymlender.com

Related, I really don't understand why gyms in my city haven't turned to renting out their equipment. I know people that bought dumbbells, over paid, and picked from really limited inventory. Meanwhile, the gym a block away has a giant pile of weights not being used, and has basically no revenue right now.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#26

Post by crisdux »

dfxm12 wrote: post #6

I don't get it. Unless you're training for a very specific purpose (like an MMA fight or football season), why do you need specific indoor gym equipment? Shelter in place orders are largely lifted, so you can workout outside: run, do pull ups on a tree branch, ride a bike, lift a heavy stone, do an outdoor yoga class, etc. Hell, you only need maybe a 6' x 6' area for a perfectly effective body weight routine, even in…

Two points stand out to me.

It can be very hard to keep the same high quality of workouts without going to a specific facility and training with the guidance and motivation from peers. Not to be rude, your suggestions sound like ideas from someone who doesn't really work out much. Pull up on a tree branch? Lift a heavy stone?

Everyone's risk profile is different. I work in statistics and data, so I certainly have a different understand that gives me a more realistic perspective on the dangers.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#27

Post by war1025 »

jkhdigital wrote: post #12
dfxm12 wrote: post #6

I don't get it. Unless you're training for a very specific purpose (like an MMA fight or football season), why do you need specific indoor gym equipment? Shelter in place orders are largely lifted, so you can workout outside: run, do pull ups on a tree branch, ride a bike, lift a heavy stone, do an outdoor yoga class, etc. Hell, you only need maybe a 6' x 6' area for a perfectly effective body weight routine, even in…

Going to the gym is a ritual for many people, and rituals can be an essential part of maintaining one’s mental health. I’m not justifying the speakeasy gyms, but I completely understand why someone would feel compelled to use one.

> Going to the gym is a ritual for many people

A thing that is very important about rituals is that there are almost always triggers of when the ritual should be performed. Often that trigger involves being in a specific place.

For exercise, that trigger is going to the gym.

For work, that trigger is going to the office

For religion, that trigger is going to the church / temple / etc.

When you deprive people of the ability to be in the correct place, then their trigger is blocked and their rituals don't happen.

Yes, you could retool your rituals (work from home is the biggest example of this), but for many things, the motivation or desire just isn't there.

The spaces are too important to the ritual itself.

So I can totally see why people would want to go to the gym even if they weren't supposed to.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#28

Post by jniedrauer »

agentwiggles wrote: post #23
dfxm12 wrote: post #6

I don't get it. Unless you're training for a very specific purpose (like an MMA fight or football season), why do you need specific indoor gym equipment? Shelter in place orders are largely lifted, so you can workout outside: run, do pull ups on a tree branch, ride a bike, lift a heavy stone, do an outdoor yoga class, etc. Hell, you only need maybe a 6' x 6' area for a perfectly effective body weight routine, even in…

I started a bodyweight routine (the Reddit recommended routine) in March and have had awesome results so far. It can be daunting to get started but you can do full body workouts if you buy a set of rings and a pull up bar. I eventually put a bar up in my garage but I was able to start working out with one of the basic door mounted bars at first. So you really can get started with very minimal upfront equipment costs.…

You're coming from the perspective of someone who is still getting newbie gains. If your goal is to be reasonably fit and healthy, you're on the right track.

But some people have been going to the gym for decades and take it very seriously as a hobby. Losing access to the gym will set them back years.

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#29

Post by Ansil849 »

This seems incredibly dangerous. Are the speakeasy gyms requiring negative COVID tests? Are they doing temperature screenings upon entry? How diligently are they sanitizing equipment? How well ventilated are these various areas?

Why are people ignoring all of these risks, what kind of threat model do they have?

Re: Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

#30

Post by scarmig »

dfxm12 wrote: post #6

I don't get it. Unless you're training for a very specific purpose (like an MMA fight or football season), why do you need specific indoor gym equipment? Shelter in place orders are largely lifted, so you can workout outside: run, do pull ups on a tree branch, ride a bike, lift a heavy stone, do an outdoor yoga class, etc. Hell, you only need maybe a 6' x 6' area for a perfectly effective body weight routine, even in…

You shouldn't be doing pullups on tree branches, no matter how sturdy they look. I know someone who was seriously injured while using a seemingly healthy tree branch to exercise.

A 6x6 area can be hard to find. In my apartment, getting that requires moving two bulky pieces of furniture.

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