As Christians, is our attitude different in church from what it is out of church?  Of course it is, we're not perfect.  Do we represent Jesus no matter our current whereabouts or the people surrounding us?  Most would have to honestly answer probably not.  Is the gym one of those places in which we have a different attitude?  Probably.

Any regular lifter can tell you that the gym has its own subculture.   The bodybuilders are businesslike concerning their workout.  A couple of them might already have a whole slew of dumbbells lined up in front of a bench getting ready for a round of drop sets regardless of who might need to use them.  A group of four to five powerlifters might be grunting and screaming about being monsters at a squat rack  in the corner.  It may seem that they are just hanging out between sets, but they do rest longer, because, well, they are lifting REALLY heavy.  Regardless, they will be there a while.  These are over-simplified stereotypical examples.  However, the point is that the gym is a sort of selfish place where one goes to work on oneself physically.  How we do that might have an impression on someone else.

It is easy to spot whether your gym demeanor match up with your everyday attitude.  Ever drop an F-Bomb after missing a deadlift?  Ever chewed out a training partner in front of everyone for doing a sloppy job while  spotting your heavy skull crushers?  Would you allow your preacher to listen to the workout mix on your iPod without first cleaning up your playlist?

In Philippians 4, Paul states that we should always be full of joy in the Lord.  The gym should be no exception.  He goes on to state that we should fix our thoughts on what is honorable, right,  pure, and admirable.  In fact, we should do this and pray for peace because these things will help protect our hearts and minds.  The gym can be full of temptations - steroids, lust, spending too much time away from family, etc.  It is our attitude that is our first defense against these.
 
Here is an excerpt from a recent email to our website.  This person understands  the struggles of the gym atmosphere and made a change in his gym attitude:

"I found it's very easy to leave God out of powerlifting.... the people are rough, everyone's tattooed, the music is always hard metal, the intensity is high and it actually helps to get/stay angry. I like your approach though because it still has that hard edge.
I bought a shirt and cap from your website to wear it in front of my crew/train in it to kind of introduce it to them.  It's my gym and I'm kind of the leader - as far as setting up the training routines and digging up the latest info for advancing our strength. Maybe if they see me wearing your stuff, they would get interested and want it to.  I hope to buy more of your gear in the future and perhaps it will be on my buddies' backs as well."

This person bought a few shirts to work out in as a way to witness to his buddies and to be accountable to his actions while representing his belief and trust in God.  You don't need one of our shirts to do that - just the attitude that is apparent in his email.   He knows that his leadership will be an inspiration to his crew.  He is accepting that responsibility and is choosing how to inspire them.

Here is another excerpt from our interview with Christian Powerlifter Michael Tuchscherer that exemplifies this attitude.

"DTG:  What is your mentality while training?  What do you think about?

Michael: Generally, I’m happy and try to always be approachable.  But don’t think that means I’m not serious.  There has to be focus while training.  There has to be drive and determination.  There has to be work.  But you don’t have to be angry to accomplish those things.  Something that really bothers me about some of these so-called “Hardcore” powerlifters is that their mentality is nothing more than egotism and anger.  That’s not hardcore and it’s certainly not admirable.  I used to train at a local YMCA and I would get asked almost every day what the chains were for.  I was always willing to explain it because who knows – that might be a powerlifter in the making.  Or more than that, if I’m a jerk to that guy and blow him off, he walks away thinking, “Wow, Powerlifters are jerks.” We don’t want that for our sport.  And let’s be honest, a lot of the elitist, “I’m better than other gym-goers” attitude is just a need to feel better about oneself.  So drop the charade and be decent to others.  That’s “hardcore”… whatever that means."

The gym is a ripe opportunity to witness.  You don't have to hand out tracts while waiting your turn on the bench, but if you are a serious lifter and are approachable people will come to you.  You may even be able to share the true source of your strength.