When muscle and meaning come together

“Your body is the vehicle for your spirit. Treat it with love and respect” – Tony Robbins.

If you’ve ever wondered what is happening to church attendance over the past few years, it’s all painted very clearly in any data you choose to look at. Here’s a chart from Gallup:

Meanwhile, gym membership is going in the opposite direction. The current global market is worth $96.7 billion but is projected to grow to $125.23 billion by 2030.

These two sets of figures may sound like they have nothing to do with each other. But maybe they are flip sides of the same cultural phenomenon, and it’s not that we’re getting less religious, but that some of that spiritual energy is being re-channelled into gyms. Could it be fitness clubs that are becoming the modern gathering places, filling the void left by traditional spaces like churches?

Certainly, many in both the religious and gym worlds acknowledge common themes and flavours.

Perhaps this is clearest in disciplines like yoga, which are physical fitness practices but offer spiritual and mental health benefits as well. The spiritual benefits are often cited as increased awareness and mindfulness. Doctors often say yoga improves mental clarity and calmness, and body awareness, relieves chronic stress patterns, relaxes the mind, centers attention, and sharpens concentration. 

In fact, many of the benefits that religious people claim they get from regular worship.

The regularity, the structure of a workout, the emphasis on improving oneself, and the shutting out of other streams of thought so you can concentrate on something singular are all common themes between religion, churches, exercises and gyms. Even a prayer mat found in Islam and orthodox Christianity calls to mind an exercise mat with partially the same function: defining an area of clean personal space that frames the activity.

Joe Rogan, a 57-year-old prominent advocate for physical fitness, mental growth, and a Podcaster, during a workout, when he was ‘meditating’, he turned off all the music/sounds around him and just lifted his weights. He says:

“Working out is a form of meditation. You’re in the moment, fully engaged, and pushing yourself to be better than you were yesterday.”

Today, many gyms in the USA now incorporate mindfulness practices, community challenges, and even charity events, which resonate with values of service and unity found in Christian teachings.

The fitness-spiritual connection

It’s interesting to note that there are many overlapping concepts between gyms and religious practice in the bible. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Saint Paul uses athletic metaphors, drawing from the Isthmian Games held near Corinth (Municipality in Greece), to encourage discipline and perseverance in the Christian life. Just as athletes must train their bodies with discipline, believers are called to cultivate spiritual endurance and self-control. This connection underscores the idea that physical discipline can mirror and support spiritual growth.

A concept still meaningful today

Former Navy SEAL and fitness advocate Jocko Willink believes that discipline creates a pathway to liberation. Similarly, fitness routines demand structure, commitment, and effort, traits that transform the body and shape the mind. 

“Discipline equals freedom.” – Jocko Willink

Like the rituals in religious practices, maintaining discipline in fitness can be a form of devotion, offering clarity and strength to face life’s challenges.

A new kind of gathering

Whether it’s a spin class or a yoga session, these gatherings mimic the sense of fellowship that faith institutions have long encouraged. But health and fitness are things one does for oneself so how does that reconcile with the notion of devotion to others?

Chris Williamson, a British podcaster, motivational speaker, and fitness enthusiast, concluded says: “People think self-care is selfish, but in reality, taking care of yourself gives you the capacity to give back to others.” 

Just like the church once called on people to nurture their spiritual lives for the greater good, gyms remind us that by strengthening ourselves, we’re better equipped to support those around us.

“The mind is the battlefield.” – David Goggins

Goggins, celebrated for his endurance feats and mental toughness, reminds us that fitness is as much about the mind as the body. The struggles in the gym often reflect the battles we face in life, providing a safe space to conquer fear, self-doubt, and insecurity. Fitness clubs can become training grounds not just for strength but for resilience and spiritual grit. 

Fitness and spirituality are two sides of the same coin

For gym owners like Dustin Burnside of Socialflex gym in Hillsborough, North Carolina, this connection between spiritual and physical exercise has become very clear.  He now has a maxim which goes “Lift weights, lift spirits, and build community.” Dustin saw service in Afghanistan and you can about him and his gym on our blog, “The story of SocialFlex gym”

Burnside is fond of quoting John Vervaeke, an award winning professor at the University of Toronto and creator of the hit You Tube lecture series called Awakening from the Meaning Crisis.

Certainly, it seems the rise in gym popularity is partially explained by the need for a spiritual missing rather than just a physical challenge that’s been missing in people’s lives.

As the gym market gets more competitive, it’s likely that people will look for more and more that differentiates what a gym can provide. It could be that the spiritual dimension becomes increasingly defined as part of the offer.