Gym Experience

Last week I joined a gym.  This is also a cultural experience.  The last gym I went to was Fitness Circle, which I owned and operated.  Since then I have taught aerobics out of my home, done P90X, and now Focus T25.  I'm not a newbie to exercise.  So the first day at this new gym, which is a ladies only gym but only has male trainers, I picked up some weights to work my arms.  The trainer dude came over and told me to stop what I was doing and he handed me different weights and demonstrated how to do bicep curls.  So I did that.  Then after I did his bicep curls, I started some other arm work.  Before I even got to 5 of whatever I was doing, he was back telling me to stop, taking my weights away, giving me different ones, and having me do a new exercise.  So I decided to pretend I knew nothing.  I told myself I could probably learn some new stuff and from then on I only did exactly what he said.  After each exercise I went up to trainer dude and said, "Next?"

I don't know if this is a common trait of Indian culture, but I have experienced it in other aspects.  I explain it as being that a person has to show their superiority by first pointing out that you're an idiot.  They need to show you how wrong you are so they can teach you the right way.  I call it "guru mentality".  It clashes with my cultural upbringing.  Especially the gym going culture of America.  Americans grow up with P.E. and a basic understanding of fitness.  Most know lots of exercises and have gone to gyms.  A trainer doesn't tell us what to do unless we specifically ask for help.  And a trainer would never slap your hands away as you are adjusting the speed of your treadmill so he can get it at the speed he thinks you should be going.

But I am embracing Indian culture now.  I won't be telling them about my gym or and experience I have had.  I will just do what trainer dude says.  I will leave the thinking to him.