Letter to the Editor: No, the gym isn’t your enemy

In the recently published op-ed “We should all stop going to the gym,” Arvind Chettiar argues that gym culture reflects a commodified, isolating version of wellness — one that prioritizes individual optimization over genuine community, and ultimately fails to address the broader loneliness epidemic. The framing overlooks what Sophia Sachs outlined just days earlier. She detailed what resistance training actually looks like: improving cancer survivability, preventing diabetes, strengthening cardiovascular health and extending lifespan. The science is solid; read it. To be fair, some of his critique lands. As the author points out, the loneliness epidemic is real, building community matters and the wellness industry does commodify self-care in ways worth critiquing. Those points are valid. But the piece makes sweeping, inflammatory claims about gyms and the people who use them that don’t hold up. I work out regularly — or try to. Most people who work out aren’t the hyper-disciplined, obsessive caricature that the op-ed is predicated on. Spend a few days at Marino Recreation Center, and you’ll see a much broader range of people: beginners figuring things out, athletes cross-training and students decompressing after long days. People go to manage anxiety and depression, recover from injuries, stay mobile as they age or feel capable in their bodies. Not everyone lifts — some run, do yoga or bike. It looks different for everyone, and genuine friendships may very well be formed there. That “gym bro” character is a straw man, and it’s doing the heavy lifting the argument can’t do on its own. If one’s only experience of the gym is through a fitness influencer’s feed, you haven’t truly seen the gym. The op-ed frames working out alone in a gym as complicity in capitalism, arguing that improving yourself is “unpaid maintenance on a body that someone else profits from.” But while the fitness industry is commercialized, the benefits of exercising manifest as strength, health and resilience. Pushing through a tough set or a long run is empowerment, not exploitation. Inequities in healthcare and fitness access are real, but they don’t negate self-improvement. These are not mutually exclusive. Let’s be clear: most gym-goers don’t see the gym as the only valid form of exercise, or as something opposed to community. Many of us hike, bike and run outside, too. We’re not dismissing other types of movement or social connection — we’re just choosing one tool that works for us while also participating in others. And gym alternatives aren’t as ideal as the article suggests. It says community sports are “better than the gym,” but better for whom? A pickup basketball game is great until someone lacks a group to play with. A hike requires transportation and decent weather. Dance and martial arts classes cost money, often more than a gym membership. Everything has tradeoffs, and people choose what fits their lives, schedules and bodies for good reasons. The op-ed highlights the loneliness epidemic — comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day — and lays it at the gym’s feet. But that crisis was largely driven by social media fragmentation, remote work and the decline of third places. The gym didn’t replace those. For many, it’s one of the few places left where they see familiar faces week after week. The truth is, most people work out for themselves in ways that fit their lives, often alongside other forms of exercise and community. Dismissing gyms as inherently harmful ignores the real choices people make to get stronger, healthier and more capable. Sean Finch is a third-year computer science major. He can be reached at finch.s@northeastern.edu. If you would like to submit a letter to the editor in response to this piece, email comments@huntnewsnu.com with your idea. The post Letter to the Editor: No, the gym isn’t your enemy appeared first on The Huntington News.