Re:Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition
by jakemal on Wednesday August 19, 2020 @12:25PM
(#24212228)
I can seriously relate to this. I have been going to the gym 5-6 days a week for years and absolutely loved it. As soon as the gyms closed down, my motivation to stay in shape plummeted. It was like a light switched off. I did absolutely nothing fitness related for a few months, just waiting for the gyms to open back up.
I finally started biking recently, but I struggle to get motivated and get out of the apartment to do it. That was never a problem when going to the gym.
Re:Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition
by pitaj on Wednesday August 19, 2020 @12:29PM
(#24212276)
Same here. I can't work out if I'm not at the gym.
Re:Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition
by nip180 on Wednesday August 19, 2020 @12:24PM
(#24212207)
I’ve been thinking about this problem, and I wonder how important smell is to rituals and it what extent we can use olfactory sensations to trigger different mind spaces.
Ive had a certain degree of success mimicking this by adding smells via essential oil defusers are key points like “starting work” or “preparing for bed”, but I can’t say I’ve found a silver bullet. Still, I think there’s something here.
A thing that is very important about rituals is that there are almost always triggers of when the ritual should be performed. Often that trigger involves being in a specific place.
For exercise, that trigger is going to the gym.
For work, that trigger is going to the office
For religion, that trigger is going to the church / temple / etc.
When you deprive people of the ability to be in the correct place, then their trigger is blocked and their rituals don't happen.
Yes, you could retool your rituals (work from home is the biggest example of this), but for many things, the motivation or desire just isn't there.
The spaces are too important to the ritual itself.
So I can totally see why people would want to go to the gym even if they weren't supposed to.