The Evolution of Gym Based Sports.

The ‘Gym Athlete’ and the ‘Gym User’ the differences.

During the nineties the evolution of training in a gym took a new direction with the introduction of X Training as a sport. Brought to us by Ultrafit magazine and broadcast on channel 4’s Transworld Sport , the then next thing in gyms was seen as a breath of fresh air to many who had stagnated in training and needed that something extra to motivate them and get fitter – after all the gym they belong to was providing equipment  – now all they needed was to use that equipment and get fitter more then they could possible dream of.

But what happens when that happens? What is the effect within a gym of actually seeing the physical change from somebody who used to walk past a gym, to somebody who goes to a gym - somebody who  is compelled to visit, keep visiting and prepare for Gym Based Sporting events– is there now a difference?

The Gym Athlete

The ‘Gym Athlete’ competes for the love of training and getting results - results that show improvement year on year to their fitness levels. They know they have achieved the best they could on any given event because they give a true 100% performance , not just on one level of fitness – say running for instance – no, that is only the beginning , there is other events to challenge the body and its limitations, cycling, rowing, strength and abdominal work. Lactate thresholds will be challenged, aerobic thresholds will be challenged, anaerobic thresholds will be challenged all the muscle groups will be challenged and then finally after all of these tests , they will find a moment at the end of the race to say, today more then any other day I really pushed myself against the best that other gyms have to offer and I take away the satisfaction that for the last six weeks when I trained for this event – today I really achieved something.

This is the difference. Because watching on the sideline are those that do not engage in the sport of X Training – they just like to do their own thing, they will continue in the gym without any real direction and focus and wonder why they don’t really seem to improve or get the results, eventually possibly they will leave, blaming the gym for not achieving what they wanted to, or set out to do when they joined.

But the gym did its deal – it provided you with the equipment to use and you chose to use it and do your own thing. It is you that is at fault here, if you did not achieve what you wanted to , not the gym – there is no easy journey to achieving results , you get out what you put in and ‘Gym Athletes ‘ train out of their comfort zone to get this.

The Gym User

Can I quote and speak for those that do not compete in X Training challenges and the simple answer is yes, because I went from ‘Gym User’ to ‘Gym Athlete’. Before X Training I used the gym, but like so many others I lacked a focus to train and so consequently I would join a gym – train for a while and then not return , leaving my membership to run. I became victim to dormant fitness through not making the most of fixed term contract to my gym.

There is nothing wrong in being a ‘Gym User’ but please don’t begin to say that you are 'Gym Athlete' you don’t train like us, you don’t compete like us and your gym does not have the membership to compete against other gyms because the fear of member cross over to gym to gym frightens the management.

And so the tale goes on. Small pockets of members from gyms in the UK, have evolved this sport to the next level. It has not had the sponsorship or funding from any notable organisation. Gyms have let the events run, and we the 'Gym Athlete' have managed it for them. We count ourselves as the fittest members of gyms, versatile in speed , strength and endurance gym based sports and have the times to prove it.

The Gym Muscle

Guys train in the gym and like to look good. Who can blame them ? Every issue of any magazine has the body beautiful on it – always a media frenzy to look good and the gym is one place to get that look – these guys are Athletes and they train, eat sensibly and look great , but they are not 'Gym Athletes' that compete in Gym Based Sports. In fact, probably it would be counter productive to their training if they did, because the cardio effect would take it’s toll on bulking up – but make no mistake, they too train hard and are every bit as much the Athlete as any other person in any other sport.

Is X Training a Gym Retention tool ?

It is thought by the highest authority that X Training is a retention program to the gym – it should retain members to stay on longer. The UK GCA disputes this short term – retention is one thing , evolution of Gym Based Sport is something else. Does X Training work as a retention tool? And in my experience the answer is no – why should a gym try and retain members that are more or less guaranteed to renew their membership because of there passion to train at their gym? So in truth it is not a retention program. But long term it well could be, the community of those who compete would no doubt spread over years and encourage others to compete, so the initial poor figures of those who compete may well be in single figures, but in year three and four, Gym Based Sports in any gym may well have drastic results in retention.

Who is more important to a gym the Sales Dept or Personal Trainer

I think reflective salaries would be an interesting comparison. A personal trainer is the one responsible for making that difference once you join, but there needs also to be somebody to engage a member to join. Who therefore is the most important? Interesting if the government wanted to see figures for improvement in health and fitness of the nation, who would they turn to, the personal trainers or the sales dept from any gym? Who actually gets results?

Sport Specific Environments

It is not to say that we are the fittest in the UK , but sport specifically we are. The arena we choose to exercise in is the gym. The results we show are on the WGC web site and  for others to prove that they are better then us in as much the same way as football teams compete, rugby teams compete, or Tri athletes compete. Their environment is specific to them, just as ours is specific to us.

Gym Based Sports is growing and the common denominator in it is the gym and the recording of results.

The Royal Marines

Leading the way in Gym Based Sports is the best Fighting Force in the world, The Royal Marines. They were quick to adapt to the fitness aspect of X Training with figures such as Darren Robson and Chuck Berry – always encouraging participation in events and showing just what is possible when you train and get real results.

If the evolving sport continues, then the likes of Cpl Chris Lord, who is currently serving and dominating the sport will be few and far between, but those who would like to attempt and see just how hard it is to do are numbered in their millions, in fact 110 m world wide – any single one can try the world gym challenge and any single one can go from ‘Gym User’ to ‘Gym Athlete’.

The Ultimate Gym Athlete

On the 26th September at Fitness First in Chatham Kent, the UK GCA premier fitness challenge takes place. This event is based on the fixed challenge in the WorldGymChallenge database. It will be open to only 72 Entries – 12 of which will be judges, who have to compete the course to be worthy to judge you. Those that enter as judges do so for free, the others pay a fixed fee of £30.00 and £35.00 after Sept 1st, with the extra money be given to the British Heart Foundation. If you would like to secure a place you should contact info@worldgymchallenge.com , by doing so you will secure your fixed rate of £30.00 – but this has to be done before the 1st Sept .

The Ultimate Gym Athlete is in its first year – it has no sponsor and the costs to run it are met totally by entry fee’s. By competing this year, the opportunity to grade your self is possible. By completing the challenge in less than 15 minutes for all male entries and under 16 minutes for female entries  you will be considered  Elite Gym Athletes  and your colour in the database changed appropriately . Those male and female ‘Gym Athletes’ who get under 16 minutes and 17 minutes will be graded as ‘Advanced Gym Athletes’.  All entries are graded into your personal folders.

To compete in The Ultimate Gym Athlete event is to say, that you take your training seriously. That you are willing to take on the best from other gyms have to offer and that you are a 'Gym Athlete'.

The next event …

You will return to your gym, unnoticed , with no fanfare, there may will be personal trainers, and members who may ask you how you got on, but they will not understand just what it took to compete, to race against somebody where only you can push yourself again and again, feeling your heart rate beat harder, your aerobic and anaerobic tolerances challenged to the max, where halfway down the course you are feeling absolutely on your last legs and seeing your competitor push ahead and you having to dig even deeper to catch up, or just finish the course - something only those who compete will know about. And now  waiting in the wings is another gym challenge on the horizon – which will  take weeks of preparation for and you must start your training for it – and so you nod – say you did ok and return to the gym floor and begin your training for the next event. You are 'Gym Athlete' and the United Kingdom Gym Challenge Association salutes you all.