http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,115122,00.html
Exercisers Get Spiritual at the Lord's Gym
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Looking for a little worship in your workout? At a Florida gym with plans to become a nationwide chain, you can get fit and get God simultaneously.
At the Lord's Gym (search) in Clermont, Fla., faith is just as important as form, and exercise classes include gospel spinning, "praisercise" and "yo-god," all done to new-agey Christian music.
"We do see it as [a] growing trend," Peter Sikowitz, editor-in-chief of Men's Fitness magazine, told Fox News. "There are a lot of Christian gyms (search) in Florida and California -- it definitely has a chance of catching on. There are a lot of Christian businesses ... more and more people are getting back to their spirituality."
The gym's Christian theme isn't hard to find in the décor. According to Men's Fitness, "a wall by the Stairmasters is covered with a floor-to-ceiling mural of 'Daniel in the Lion's Den' ... the steps are each inscribed with a different line from John 3:16 ... and the juice bar sells smoothies with names like 'Land of Milk and Honey,' 'John the Baptist' and 'Joseph's Surprise,' in two sizes -- David and Goliath."
The hottest fitness trend over the past few years has been yoga -- an activity its followers find both physically and mentally beneficial, some to an almost spiritual level. But Lord's Gym owner Paul Sorchy says yoga's popularity is not what spawned his facility.
"Yoga is not what my focus was about. It was about keeping the focus on my Lord Jesus ... We don't call it yoga. It is called yo-god," Sorchy told Fox News.
But don't throw on a leotard at this gym -- tight-fitting clothes are not allowed.
"We do have a dress code," said Sorchy. "We are simply asking folks to be considerate. They don't want to be revealing too much flesh or skin."
Sorchy says the wardrobe restrictions are meant to provide a "comfortable environment."
"We don't have the G-string bound Barbies. We ask them to wear a T-shirt that's long enough to cover their bottom."
Greg Snowton, who told Men's Fitness (search) he typically visits the gym three times a week, says the lack of sports bras and bare bellies don't bother him.
"I'm a Christian, but that's not everything that drew me here. I just like the wholesomeness of the place. Believe me, I enjoy looking at pretty women in tight Lycra as much as the next guy, but that can take away from the focus of a workout. All I know is that I work out just as hard here as I do at other gyms, but when I leave here, I feel much better about myself."
Sorchy says the most popular items seen on the backs of those sweating in his gym are Christian-themed T-shirts.
There's "a small level of competition behind who can have the best Christian shirt," he said, adding that the Lord's Gym shirt, which reads: "His pain, your gain. Bench press this!" is the most popular Christian selling T-shirt of all time.
Some might accuse Lord's Gym of using the Lord for commercial reasons; the gym's logo depicts a buff Jesus doing a push-up with a cross on his back inscribed "The Sins of the World." But Sorchy stands by his business.
"We are simply offering a vehicle for those who don't want to be in a secular gym where they would have that meat-market mentality," he said. "There's the pressure of having to be the real buff person, having to look a certain way. Here it's just that it is all about acceptance."
