Idea: Men-only gym without music (non-Muslim countries)

[Berber-Shia]

السلام عليكم

So recently I canceled my gym because the burden was getting too heavy. As you probably all noticed, these last years, gym culture has become quite popular for men and women, so as a result gyms are relatively more filled than a couple of years ago. Moreover, as you probably noticed as well, women clothing has become more degenerate, especially sports clothing, to the point where keeping your gaze down is not sufficient anymore. On top of that, the music in some of these gyms is so loud and obnoxious, even wearing headphones doesn't change it.

So I thought of an idea: a gym where only men can sign up with no music. What do you guys think?

PS: Where I live they already have women-only gyms so that issue needn't be addressed.

[Abu Hadi]

Salam. 

I used to go to the gym and I came to the same conclusions you came to. It is now becoming impossible to just 'cast down your glance' at most gyms because it is all around you. You look up, down, sideways, etc you can't escape it. I came to the conclusion that the physical benefit I was getting by working out was not worth the spiritual and moral damage I was doing to myself by being there. I still work out, btw, but I got some equipment at home and I work out at home now. 

I think a men's only gym is a good idea but it would require a monumental change in the way brothers view the activity. Unless they care about 'casting down the gaze', and tbh even most Muslim brothers don't care about this (sorry to say) much less the non muslims, so a 'men's only' gym would have no appeal to them. Who it would appeal to is '...' you guessed it and you probably don't want to appeal to them. I am not saying it is a bad idea, but it needs alot more research to see if it is a viable business, because it would need to be run as a business. 

For now, I suggest brothers work out at home. There are tons of workouts you can do at home with no equipment or just a few pieces of inexpensive equipment that will get you in shape, so long as you follow a routine and a program and again, there are tons of those online that you can research and find the one that is most effective. Most of the brothers that go to the gym, it is because they want to be in that environment and be surrounded by those types of scenes, unfortunately. You and me are a small minority. 

BTW, the music part is not as big of a deal as the other thing. For the music, you can get some noise canceling bluetooth headphones and listen to news, lectures, audiobooks, etc while working out. The music part you can escape. The other part is difficult or impossible to escape. You can't walk around the gym with a blindfold on, lol. 

Edited August 24 by Abu Hadi

[Berber-Shia]

4 minutes ago, Abu Hadi said:

tbh even most Muslim brothers don't care about this

Unfortunately, that's the number one feedback I got in real life when I presented the idea.

 

5 minutes ago, Abu Hadi said:

Who it would appeal to is '...' you guessed it and you probably don't want to appeal to them

I didn't even think of that.. yeah no I'll skip the idea then lol

[Abu Hadi]

1 minute ago, Berber-Shia said:

Unfortunately, that's the number one feedback I got in real life when I presented the idea.

 

I didn't even think of that.. yeah no I'll skip the idea then lol

I don't want to discourage you, I am just saying you need to think about it from all angles

[Abu_Zahra]

The idea works if you somehow integrate it with a mosque or Islamic Center. This way you don't get undesirable visitors and at the same time you encourage people who attend the mosque to also join the gym. However you would need quite a large community for this idea to be financially viable 

[Diaz]

In the place where I live, we have only segregated gym but the music is really loud and it will be little bit difficult to ignore the Music because when you listen to lecture or other stuff like what brother abu hadi said, you can still hear the music which is annoying, unless you increase the volume till max and your ears might hurt. 
 

Me personally, I prefer jogging/walking and sometimes home workout without equipment. 

[ShiaMan14]

Most gym memberships are so expensive that you may be better off buying exercise equipment instead...provided there is room of course.

[Diaz]

3 hours ago, ShiaMan14 said:

Most gym memberships are so expensive that you may be better off buying exercise equipment instead...provided there is room of course.

How much does gym cost in the place where you live brother? Like decent gym not the luxury ones.

[ShiaMan14]

4 hours ago, Diaz said:

How much does gym cost in the place where you live brother? Like decent gym not the luxury ones.

Anywhere from $25 - $200 per month

[Diaz]

8 hours ago, ShiaMan14 said:

Anywhere from $25 - $200 per month

Great, for us it starts from $80 to almost $500 per month xD

[notme]

In the US, due to increased and still increasing numbers of neurodiverse adults, many shopping and public places are introducing "sensory friendly" hours. When you are looking for a gym to join, ask if they have sensory friendly workout times. During those times lights may be dimmed some, and music volume will be decreased or music will be stopped.  

 

[ireallywannaknow]

1 hour ago, notme said:

In the US, due to increased and still increasing numbers of neurodiverse adults, many shopping and public places are introducing "sensory friendly" hours. When you are looking for a gym to join, ask if they have sensory friendly workout times. During those times lights may be dimmed some, and music volume will be decreased or music will be stopped.  

 

That's good to hear. I had the same idea because my son loves bowling but the deafeningly loud and obnoxious and haram music makes me think twice (same roller skating). So I was wondering why these types of places don't have quiet hours for people who don't want the music and or can't take that much sensory input. Good to know that initiative has already started to some extent. 

[ShiaMan14]

2 hours ago, Diaz said:

Great, for us it starts from $80 to almost $500 per month xD

so like a bowflex <insert equipment of choice> runs from $600 - $800 so it pays off in less than 1 year.

so my wife and I used to go to the gym. Outside of the issues around dressing and music, it was becoming pricey. We only used their elliptical and some weight machines so we ended up cancelling our membership and then bought an elliptical for $450 and some weights.

we put the elliptical in front of the TV so we would get on it for 1 hour each while binge watching our favorite show(s).

[notme]

23 minutes ago, ShiaMan14 said:

we put the elliptical in front of the TV so we would get on it for 1 hour each while binge watching our favorite show(s).

I really like this idea.  

[ShiaMan14]

3 hours ago, notme said:

I really like this idea.  

it worked out really well and while 1 hour on the elliptical seems a lot, it would fly by because of the shows.

[Diaz]

4 hours ago, ShiaMan14 said:

we put the elliptical in

I had one but I sold it for $200, now I regret my decision 

[Guest weak_anon12903]

On 8/24/2023 at 6:18 AM, Berber-Shia said:

السلام عليكم

So recently I canceled my gym because the burden was getting too heavy. As you probably all noticed, these last years, gym culture has become quite popular for men and women, so as a result gyms are relatively more filled than a couple of years ago. Moreover, as you probably noticed as well, women clothing has become more degenerate, especially sports clothing, to the point where keeping your gaze down is not sufficient anymore. On top of that, the music in some of these gyms is so loud and obnoxious, even wearing headphones doesn't change it.

So I thought of an idea: a gym where only men can sign up with no music. What do you guys think?

PS: Where I live they already have women-only gyms so that issue needn't be addressed.

Go in the mornings. I've noticed this as well, after work time, ~4pm till about 9-10pm, there are (comparatively) many women in ridiculous attire. If you go at like 6-8am there are very few people there and almost no women, the women who are there, are generally dressed ok. They don't have enough time to cake their face in layers of makeup, make their hair, and squeeze into their clothes that early. I'm still struggling with this as well, I go late at night and still see some women like that, trying to fix my sleep to go in the mornings instead inshallah.

Or, build a home gym. Get a squat rack, a bar, bench, weights, adjustable dumbbells, pullup bar and you are set. Can probably cost ~1-2k total, maybe less.

Unfortunately living in the west, you will have to deal with the degeneracy here.

[Haji 2003]

On 8/25/2023 at 2:47 PM, ShiaMan14 said:

so like a bowflex <insert equipment of choice> runs from $600 - $800 so it pays off in less than 1 year.

 

On 8/24/2023 at 12:35 PM, Abu Hadi said:

There are tons of workouts you can do at home with no equipment or just a few pieces of inexpensive equipment that will get you in shape, so long as you follow a routine and a program and again, there are tons of those online that you can research and find the one that is most effective.

I can't recommend highly enough how useful rebounders are.

Advantages

• You can do all sorts of leg-focused exercises. Starting with low-intensity work outs, you can build up to sprints. And 'high knees' on a rebounder makes you feel like Superman. You can also work your arms by holding weights / and as you move your arms as you would in a running motion, they get a work out too.

  • What Are High Knees? “High knees” refers to an exercise or running drill that involves sprinting in place or in a forward direction while driving your knees as high up as possible towards your chest.

• Best of all you can get these for around $50-$100.
• Unlike treadmills or road running, you don't kill your knees in the process and I use mine barefoot, so you don't even need expensive trainers.
• People go to a gym for one long workout (per day), which is not a good way to exercise. If you work from home, you can use one of these several times a day (for a few minutes each time).

Downside

• The only downside is that they may not work well for people living in apartments above the ground floor.

Mine looks very similar to the one below, solid metal construction, only downside is that the legs don't fold. But I don't have a storage problem. There are rebounders that have folding legs.

Try it!

This is the sort of product with low financial risk. Try it out to see if it fits into your lifestyle, (because that's the most important thing).

If it does not resell it or give it away.

[Haji 2003]

The gym business model

I think it's worth knowing about this. I've made some text bold.

Quote

Gyms have built their business model around us not showing up. Gyms have way more members than they can actually accommodate. Low-priced gyms are the most extreme example of this. Planet Fitness, which charges between $10 and $20 per month, has, on average, 6,500 members per gym. Most of its gyms can hold around 300 people. 

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/12/30/373996649/why-we-sign-up-for-gym-memberships-but-don-t-go-to-the-gym#:~:text=The reason gyms can charge,are getting an amazing deal.