[duxup]

The fitness phenomenon is interesting to watch. My neighbor's older high school age children will be looking for something to do and they go to the gym.

When I was in high school ... nobody went to the gym. There weren't many gyms around, now there are a lot.

I do worry though that it might be cost prohibitive or even just limited to some social groups.

[michaelt]

> I do worry though that it might be cost prohibitive

Modern gyms can be surprisingly cheap.

Gone are the days of the 1980s when the only option was $$$ for a 'health club' with squash courts and swimming pools, stuck in a year-long contract whether you went or not.

There has been a rise in 'low cost gyms' which are less of a glamorous club, and more of a warehouse with a load of free weights, treadmills and stationary bikes. Often there's barely an employee in sight. In a lot of places $25/month can get you 24-hour access - with no joining fees, and you can cancel whenever you like.

Of course it's still not as cheap as sports like running. But just because someone goes to the gym, doesn't mean they're paying $250/month.

[short_sells_poo]

This is so true. I noticed only last year how many young kids go to my gym. They aren't skimping on it either. They do all the core exercises, they don't skip leg day, they help each other push more on the bench, etc. I think it'll build a certain form of discipline and character: there are certain things in life which don't have shortcuts. A gym is a great equalizer in many aspects, because you need little to no money for a good gym with good equipment. The most important equipment is a bunch of free weights, and rich or poor, results will need more or less the same amount of work. It's a place which welcomes everyone, and where hard and consistent work is rewarded.

[elijaht]

Reminds me of this (slightly melodramatic) article: https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/articles/the-iron-by-henry-...

Lifting has definitely played a changing role in my life. As a kid it definitely did instill the idea of working for results. It was extremely rewarding to see that when I worked out consistently and with a plan, I was stronger than my friends who went inconsistently or with poorly planned workouts. As an adult now it's more therapeutic - so much of my day is ambiguous, out of my control, or searching for how to apply my leverage instead of actually just applying my leverage. So it's very nice to have an hour of my day where I decide what I am working towards, and be able to hit clear goals largely by putting in blind effort.

[ghaff]

On the other hand, a lot of people played pickup basketball, went running, got exercise in countless other ways, etc. Even if gyms are more popular, I would need to be convinced that those (and fitness trackers, etc.) actually correlate to better fitness and health levels overall.

[EPWN3D]

High schools have gyms. Hell even my high school had a pretty decent weight room. Also don't forget that parents bought a ton of at-home exercise equipment during Covid, so the teenagers probably tried it out too.