Gyms no longer the pick-up scene they were in the 70s and 80s.
When men and women first began working out together in the late 70’s and early 80’s, the atmosphere at many gyms was as sexually charged as a John Travolta-era disco: beefy men and lithe women pumped iron, Jazzercised and gave each other the eye.
Rolling Stone magazine picked up on the trend in 1983 with “Looking for Mr. Goodbody,” a cover story which proclaimed health clubs to be “The New Singles’ Bars.”
The article served as the springboard for the cheesy 1985 movie “Perfect,” in which the still-gyrating Mr. Travolta was cast as a muscle-bound investigative reporter wooing a buff aerobics instructor played by Jamie Lee Curtis. For many people who joined gyms in those days, getting healthy was an afterthought. But now, trainers, gymgoers and fitness industry experts say, expectations have reversed. Health is often the key motivator, and, with a few exceptions, the idea of the gym as a pick-up spot is about as passe as neon pink leg warmers.
Oh, God. Leotards and legwarmers. What a trip. Check out the picture of the Rolling Stone cover, with Christie Brinkley in a shiny pink leotard with a belt. Feel the cheese:
That gyms have evolved into a more professional, largely flirt-free zone has as much to do with demographics, time management and the advent of the iPod as it does with spandex and sexual politics.
In the early days, the confident and the taut frequented gyms, not the saggy masses. “It was 6 or 8 percent of the population who went, people who were comfortable with their bodies, not grossly out of shape,” said Rick Caro, who co-owned a handful of gyms in the Northeast in the 70’s and 80’s.
“It was all about looking sexually attractive,” said Sandy Coffman, a fitness consultant in Bradenton, Fla.
And gym bunnies, both male and female, dressed to accentuate their appeal (or so they thought).
“Jane Fonda made it O.K. for us to exercise almost naked in public,” Ms. Fox said. “There was a whole sexual revealment ? a thong leotard with a flesh-colored tight. It was like, butt cheek, hello! When I look back on it now, it looks like an exotic dancer outfit.”
Men liked to flaunt their assets, too. In “Perfect,” Mr. Travolta wears crotch-hugging short shorts, and he’s not afraid of the hip thrust.
Now, older people and the “saggy masses” are going to the gym, and they’re going to get fit. There’s little chance, mercifully, of getting groped by a young Arnold Schwarzenegger just for being on the gym floor like there was in the 70s and 80s. Women belong at the gym now, and their memberships cost just as much as men’s — so it’s good business for gyms to treat them like they’re full members. And the same goes for fat people and old people.
Another change is that, when gyms were pickup scenes, people used to spend hours at them socializing. Now, people are more likely to be in and out. Even as far back as the early 90s, the idea of one’s social life revolving around the gym was changing — back then, I belonged to a gym in Connecticut that had been built in the 70s (oh, how lovely that slanted wood paneling looks today), and it was shutting down its once-popular lounge and hot tub area for lack of use. I think they were still using it for all-night graduation parties at that time, but they eventually just got rid of it and put in additional aerobics rooms. The place just screamed “fern bar”; it was like the Regal Beagle, but with a whiff of chlorine.
Of course, the pick-up scene is a little more active at gyms that cater to gay men. And even at the “straighter” gyms, there’s plenty to look at, but cheesy ploys for attention that might have worked in the 70s seem kind of silly today:
“If you see some hot guys at the gym, you’re going to check them out,” said Jennifer Vanlerberghe, 29, who works for a travel company and belongs to the Reebok Sports Club in Manhattan. “But chances are you won’t talk to them. You wouldn’t be like, ‘Um, can you show me how to do a bicep curl?’ I would be embarrassed because I should know how to do a bicep curl. And I do.”