engl-assignment 2-summary edited by kevin

7/30/2019 ENGL-Assignment 2-Summary Edited by Kevin

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Jordan Highfill

Summary

Going to the gym means something different to each and every person who walks

through the door. Whether their intentions are to train to become successful at a certainsport, or to get in shape, every person who makes the effort to move beyond their comfortzone and go to the gym have one underlying goal: to see what theyre made of! With this

having been said, the gym can be viewed as a figured world, complete with specific

artifacts, literacy practices, actors and specialized vocabulary. Actors within this figuredworld can be separated into many categories, including bodybuilders, Cardio Bunnies,

athletes, and New-Years Resolutioners. An overgeneralized definition of bodybuilders

would be people who want to get ripped. Cardio Bunnies are mostly girls who want to

lose weight, athletes want to excel in their particular sport, and New-Years Resolutionersactually arent at the gym anymore because its March. Each of these groups is

categorized according to their specific goals; however, no two individuals in the gym

operate with the same drive and intensity. This brings us to the concept of artifacts.Depending on the intensity with which they are applied, courage, motivation, willpower

and perseverance are the artifacts that separate the successful from the weak. Sometimes,

these values are not easily recognized among members of this figured world. After

spending five days a week in the gym for the past twenty-eight weeks, I now recognizethe majority of the people who have the same passion for training as I do. Each of us

could be placed into the discourse community of bodybuilders. We tend to communicate

with specialized language pertaining to specific exercises, routines, diets, supplements,and techniques. The conversations including these artifacts are the literacy practices that

contribute to the successfulness of our discourse community. While our individual goals

vary, as a discourse community, we share the goal of helping each other. Trust is an

important artifact within our community, because many of the exercises we performrequire assistance to minimize risk of serious injury. One example would be performing

shoulder presses with dumbbells. Shoulders are very unstable muscles and near the end

of a set of shoulder presses, it is easy for proper form to diminish. In this case, it isimperative to have an assistant, known as a spotter, who is ready to alleviate the weight in

the event of muscle failure. Shoulder injuries can take many months to properly heal;

therefore we have to trust that, not only do our spotters have the strength the take theweights, but have also the ability to recognize the moment to take action. Pretending to

spot someone and then letting them injure themselves would be an excellent example of

unacceptable behavior within the figured world of the gym. Unfortunately, this is just the

beginning of a very long list of unacceptable behavior. Many people, myself included,who are serious about their workouts and dont have time to be interrupted, use

headphones to convey a message: Im busy. Of course this never stops people from

impatiently approaching you and asking how many sets you have left before they can

take your place. Next on the list, we have a very small gym with only two squat rackswhere bodybuilders are capable of performing the exercise of squatting. Apparently this

doesnt matter to certain people who insist on loading a measly ten pounds onto the bar

and performing curls in the squat rack, rendering it completely unusable to those whowish to squat. How would they feel if someone started doing squats in their curl rack next

time they wanted to use it? Furthermore, it is unacceptable to leave weights lying around

after youve finished your exercise. Although its time consuming, everyone needs to be


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considerate and re-rack his or her weights. A normal speaking volume is expected,

however, the occasional loud grunt slips out when someone is performing a particularly

difficult exercise. Lastly, the gym can be a very busy place where dozens of people aresimultaneously participating in their own activities in a close proximity to one another. It

is important to remember to be aware of your surroundings and be considerate. Overall,

to me, the gym is a place I can go to alleviate stress and break new boundaries. Its agreat place to build friendships to encourage and motivate each other. Its a great placeto learn how to live outside of your comfort zone. Its a place to see what youre made of.

Observations

Friday 10:45-12:30

Upon entering the gym, I noticed it was sparsely occupied. A few treadmills were

occupied as well as various machines and benches. Around 11:00, more people startedshowing up and beginning their workouts. A few of my friends came in and greeted me

briefly in a normal volume before letting me continue my exercises. The radio was

playing at a considerably high volume, however many people used headphones to avoidhaving to listen to Justin Bieber, which would inevitably drain a bodybuilder of all his

motivation. One of my friends, Lucas, began to do leg presses. For his first set, he loaded

5 different 45-pound plates on to each side of the leg press machine. This was fairly

lightweight for him, so he finished the set with little effort. However, upon reaching histhird set, Lucas had loaded 10 different 45-pound plates on each side, for a total of 900

pounds. At this point, Lucas must mentally prepare himself for this final set. He ignores

the risks and doubts and draws upon his courage and motivation as he perseveres throughthe pain of the leg presses. This is a great example of artifacts pertaining to the figured

world of the gym. As people finish up their workouts, they head over to the tables, grab

their bags, and leave.

Tuesday 10:50-12:30

Compared to Friday, the gym was more crowded. Most of the machines and

benches were occupied, but many treadmills were still available because UNCCs gymhas an overabundance of cardio equipment. The radio was at the same volume, however

the employee at the desk had the station playing rock instead of the usual pop. During my

workout, I find that all the benches are occupied, so I ask two guys if I can work in withthem. Without hesitation, they agreed. After my first set, I could tell I had gained their

respect because I lifted more than they did. They politely introduced themselves as

Danny and Josh. Respect is an important artifact within the figured world of the gym.

After my workout, I interviewed my friends by asking them the following questions.

What motivates you?

Garrett: Getting stronger, feeling better and meeting my goals.

Nathan: Working out with people motivates me. It creates an unspoken competition,which makes me lift the most I possibly can.

What are your goals?Garrett: My short-term goal is to reach 160 pounds. My long-term goal is 170.

Nathan: To gain weight and look aesthetically pleasing.


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What is your biggest challenge?

Garrett: Pushing myself in the gym and eating healthfully.

Nathan: Finding time to eat and workout would be my largest challenge.

How long do you plan on continuing to workout?

Garrett: As long as my body allows.Nathan: I never want to stop.

How much time do you dedicate to working out?

Garrett: 4-5 hours a week.Nathan: I usually spend around 5-7 hours in the gym each week, but eating healthfully

takes up many hours as well.

Tuesday 2:20-2:50Immediately I noticed the gym was completely packed. It contained about twice

as many people as it had between 11 and 12. The music was louder to compensate for the

excess conversations. Every bench and machine was occupied and many people werestanding around waiting for other people to finish. Weights were laying everywhere.

Someone was curling in the squat rack, preventing others from squatting. Very few

serious bodybuilders were there because they know to go when the gym isnt as packed.

Literacy practices changed. Many people discussed sports while gazing up at the TVswhereas people are more focused on their workouts earlier in the day. The gym had now

become a crowded, loud, busy, unpleasant place to be.


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Storyboarding

Here, I encourage my friend as he performs a squat with 225 pounds.


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Here, a random individual performs a 245-pound deadlift. His back starts to round

in the beginning of the lift, which could possibly cause serious injury. Many people

within the figured world of the gym do exercises with poor form because they are

eager to lift a weight that is too heavy for them.


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For 29 weeks, I have taken notes of all my workouts, recording the number of sets,

reps and the weight used. This encourages me to constantly set new goals every

week.


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I view my calluses as trophies because they represent every sacrifice Ive made to

stay consistent with my routines. They constantly remind me to live outside of my

comfort zone in all areas of my life.

Here, Cardio bunnies endlessly run on the ellipticals.


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As the gym gets more crowded, unacceptable behavior becomes more prevalent.

Here, a spotter abandons the guy doing shoulder presses. Even though he is using

relatively low weight, he could still potentially injure his shoulder if he lost control.

Here I encounter a creative form of decline pushups, which monopolizes this bar

and rack.


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Weights are left lying on the floor instead of being properly returned to their racks.

Finally we see the infamous Squat rack curler. Fully aware of the people waiting to

do their squats as he renders the squat rack completely useless.

engl-assignment 2-summary edited by kevin

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