I noticed something this morning as I was working out at the gym — there’s not that much of a difference between those at the gym and the church.  Let me break this down for you:

1.  Casual Members: At the gym, I have labeled the casual goers as the ones who go just to go.  These are the people who sit down at a machine, maybe they know how to use, maybe they don’t.  They will typically sit down on a machine, get it all set, and then play with their music player or send a text message before they begin.  When they finally do a set of exercises, they will put it on the lowest possible weight, and half-heartedly do the exercise, and usually, they do it incorrectly.  I really should video some of the people who are like this, because its often comical.  After one set, they fiddle with their music player again, drink a lot of water, look around, and then maybe they will do another set.

After they are done with one machine, they will get up, while fiddling with their music player, look around for a different machine, and they will do this for about 30 minutes or so, repeating the process each and every time.  Finally, without so much as one bead of sweat on their brow, they head for the locker room.

2.  Social Members: There are two different types of Social Members — Beneficial Social and Hindering Social.  Let’s explore the two.

Beneficial Social — These are the members who come together, or meet each other at the gym on a regular basis.  They work out together, doing the same sets, same exercises, and encourage each other.  They will talk in between sets, usually about how they can do the exercise better.  These people usually get a real solid workout, and leave encouraged about the next time they will work out together.  They leave worn out, but in a good way.

Hindering Social — These are the members who hurt themselves at the gym.  They meet together at the gym, and do a whole lot of the same things that the casual member does, but they do it together.  Instead of fiddling with their music player or sending text messages, they gossip in between sets, and they have full conversations with each other while they exercise.  In order to talk while exercising, they use low weights and don’t even get their heart rates up enough to matter.  They leave, encouraged about the next time they will get together, because this is just a social thing they do together.

3.  Status quo Members —  Status quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin “statu quo” – literally “the state in which” – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are. The related phrase status quo ante, literally “the state in which before”, means “the state of affairs that existed previously”

These members come to they gym with one purpose, and that is not to lose muscle, not to gain weight, but to maintain.  These people are happy doing the same routine every single time they step into the gym.  They use the same weights, jog for the same amount of time with the same amount of intensity every day, and are totally okay with it.  While not losing anything from their health benefits, they certainly aren’t gaining much either.

Status quo members also are okay with missing the occasional workout, because hey, life is busy.

4.  Hardcore Members — These are a different breed of gym-goer.  They often come in to the gym with a mission in their eyes.  They have a big gym bag full of protein powder and energy supplements.  They are wearing proper gym clothing.  They may or may not have a music player, but if they do, it has a set amount of songs on it that are meant to pump them up.  They have a goal and a plan when they step into the exercise area.

These members go through a routine, but it changes a lot.  They are continually doing different things to make them grow in different ways.  They understand that if they do the exact same routine every time they come in, that they will plateau and cease to grow.  These people want to grow, either by gaining mass, gaining muscle, gaining extra speed…whatever it is, its in the plus category instead of the negative.  They leave looking better than before they came in, and they can’t wait for their next opportunity.

Connection

Obviously the connections are uncanny.  Part 2 will discuss the Church Connection.