hitting the gym

I want to start a gym! I had training last week in phnom penh and while walking to the gym one of my friends suggested I start one at my site. I thought about it and it actually sounds like a really awesome idea! I love going to the gym and I love what it does for my health. I have even bought weights that I use in my room every other day and I always feel my best after a nice work out. I have come to realize that these Cambodians are lazy lazy lazy and something needs to be done about it. Whats worse, is they are so self conscious about their bodies they don't eat enough of the right foods all in the name of staying skinny. They want to be ripped and they want to be skinny, but they are against doing anything that requires physical exertion. Having a gym at my site would solve pretty much all of those issues and lead to a healthier group of people that understand the benefits of physical activity.

I will give them one thing... its hot here. Many days I can't even muster up the balls to start lifting because of the stifling heat and humidity. I have even started working out without any clothes just so I can save some of my already sweat ridden shirts from further destruction... plus its not something I will ever be doing in the States. I get that its hot, but these people are used to it and I feel like they use it as an excuse more often than not. The good thing about a gym is that they don't have to be in the sun, there is no running involved, which they hate, and the stationary motion keeps them from overheating like they can easily do playing soccer or volleyball.

Right now, I am thinking about the items used to lift with. The bars would be metal and I plan on just using cement to make the weights. Many of the buffer kids in the village use cement that they made into weights and they actually work pretty well, plus they wont rust if they get wet and if they are stolen, then they are easily replaceable. I was thinking of creating some pull up bars which would have to be sturdier and even some benches for things like sit-ups and bench pressing. There are a couple other things I am looking into but you get the gist. After materials, I am thinking about where to have it run. I would love to be able to get an NGO help me out with acquiring a building or something like that, but for now I will probably just run it out of my house (or underneath it). Once those two things are done, I will think about having classes and such which promote healthy exercising like a girls day and a heavy lifting day for the bigger guys out there. Idealy it would be at the school so the kids would get more use out of it. Many of the adults are hopeless at this point in there lives. They have drank one too many cups of palm wine to get rid of that belly they have formed. The kids are where its at and I really think it would make a huge difference in their health and overall well being. Whats everybody else got to say?