An old School Gym or a Modern Gym?

When choosing a service or product, clients nowadays always have a wide variety of choice. Today, we'll analyze the different characteristics of old-school weight training centers and modern fitness centers.

Each athlete has their own personal tastes and styles, not only when carrying out an activity, but also when choosing a place to workout. A favorable environment will always promote psychological benefits to your training sessions. And so the debate begins: an old school gym or a modern gym?

Choosing a training center is key to developing yourself as a person and athlete, and not just an aspect of infrastructure. It’s also because of the people with whom you’ll share your space; your interactions with them will either affect you positively or negatively.

The old school gym or the modern gym?

This is a choice that depends on many aspects that’ll make us opt for one gym or another. However, within the bodybuilding or the fitness world, we can catalog two basic models:

• Old school.
• Modern gym—mega sports centers.

To give you an example of an old school gym, remember Jack Lalanne in Oakland, United States, opening his first classic gym back in the 30s? Or the old school beach gym in Santa Monica, where bodybuilding celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger or “The Rock” trained?

Modern gyms are the opposite of these. When business people saw the success of these gyms, they successfully founded international fitness centers. Many of them are distributed in many countries around the world.

Old school gym

This is where the great history of fitness and bodybuilding began, with some unique characteristics that continue to evolve day after day. Below, we’ll discuss some of its particularities:

Rudimentary machinery

Don’t believe that this aspect is an inconvenience; sometimes, the excessive pulley system of current machines makes it easier for people. However, the traction of old machines, even a little resistance accumulated over the years, makes the musculoskeletal system do extra work.

A hardcore aesthetic

Although many people like colorful and modern decorations, others prefer hardy, rawness. Accompanied by motivating music, metal lovers will be happy.

A family-friendly environment

Being a center for residents of a neighborhood, they usually promote the meeting of friends and lifetime acquaintances. It’s an essential aspect to involve social activities while taking breaks in between exercises.

Working out with higher loads is better in the old school gym

In the opening stages of these centers, not much was known about sports science. Therefore, the main objective of working out with external loads was to increase muscle volume through weightlifting. Today, however, other alternatives are sought with more specific results.

Years of experience in the gym

Work-out centers usually have their origins in the sixties or seventies. So, if they’re still offering their services, they’ll have over 30 years of experience in the sector; it may not be on a scientific level but on a practical level.

Old school gyms offer acceptable monthly fees

By not belonging to megacorporations, but to family businesses or dependent on the local councils, the cost of the gym membership is adapted to the salary of a middle-class citizen. This gives citizens more access to the possibility to practice sports.

The modern gym

The large-scale evolution of the classic gym is the representation of capitalism in fitness. Currently, it’s an immense and lucrative business structure at a global or national level. It’s been adapted to future and social progress. Let’s see what it consists of:

Aesthetics and innovative equipment

In the world of fitness, the new hype is countless types of machinery and implements similar to the Ferrari of the automotive industry. In other words, their infrastructure was designed by experts to make clients feel psychologically aligned with the activities they’re practicing.

A huge variety of activities

There are many variants to choose from, whether that’s strength training, endurance, collective activities, or personal training. Everything that exists in the modern gym is offered so that the user possesses choice and diversity.

A good deal

They may not have the familiar surroundings of a neighborhood gym; however, it’s common to elucidate values ​​of respect, order, and commendable civility. This very carefully designed decoration incentivizes the practitioner to have more hygienic and harmonious habits with the rest of the members.

Higher prices, but more services than an old school gym

So that the administration can manage to maintain these businesses, they need to demand high monthly payments. However, the range of resources available to clients makes such a fee worthwhile.

Open every day

This is a crucial factor since not everyone has availability to attend the training session during the “traditional” schedules. The flexibility of the timing means being able to work out even on Saturdays or Sundays. It’s worth mentioning that some of these centers are also open 24 hours a day.

An old school or a modern gym: every business is its own world

Although we’ve cataloged the two basic systems, you’ll find an infinite number of models that mix characteristics of both gym styles. This depends on an endless number of factors, such as business volume, budget, location, economic agreements, etc.

The key lies in visiting the gyms that interest us as a test and analyzing which of them best suits our preferences. Nonetheless, don’t forget that the most important thing isn’t where you work out, but the mere fact that you’re working out.