不平等和運動健身分道揚鑣

Sweating on purpose is becoming an elite phenomenon. In a darkened room at the edge of downtown Washington, DC, electronic music pulses over the speakers as a crowd of mostly sweaty young women bop up and down. Candles burn at the front and inspirational slogans cover the walls. Sadly, this is not a drug-fuelled rave, but rather a mid-afternoon spin class. It is run by Soul Cycle, which promotes the idea that riding an exercise bike to loud music is akin to entering a 「soul sanctuary」. The experience, which also involves awkwardly lifting weights while cycling, costs about $35 for 45 minutes.

有意流汗正在變成一種精英現象。在華盛頓市區市中心邊緣的一個幽暗的房間里，電子音樂衝擊著揚聲機，一群汗流浹背的年輕女子起起伏伏地跳動著。房間的前面點著蠟燭，牆壁上都貼著激勵性的標語。令人傷心的是，這不是藥物驅動下的狂歡，而是一節斯賓（spin class）課。課程是由Soul Cycle健身中心開設的。中心倡導和著強勁的音樂騎動感腳踏車類似於進入一個「靈魂的聖殿」。也有騎腳踏車時笨拙地舉重這樣的體驗，每一堂課45分鐘，學費大約為35美元。

This does not deter its well-heeled customers: 「Some of the women pay a lot of money to go here」, says a staff member, her eyebrows raised.The recession of 2008 damaged many industries. One which emerged remarkably unscathed was exercise. According to figures from the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, an industry group, gym members now number 54m, up from 45m in 2009. Twice as many Americans subscribe to gyms as in the mid-1990s. Yet the population has not got visibly healthier. According to the Centres for Disease Control, a government agency, in 2013 a quarter of adults engaged in no leisure-time physical activity at all beyond the bedroom. Between 2001 and 2012, the age-adjusted proportion of the population who are obese or extremely obese grew from 36% to 41%. That increase has slowed of late, but it has not yet reversed.

這並不會打消經濟條件好的客戶的念頭。一位工作人員抬著眉毛，說道：「一些女性花很多錢來這裡。」2008年的經濟危機使許多行業衰退，而明顯沒有受到影響的行業之一就是運動健身行業。根據行業組織國際健康及運動俱樂部協會的數據，健身中心的會員現在達到5400萬，超過2009年的4500萬，是上世紀90年代中期美國健身會員人數的兩倍，然而人們的健康並未因此有明顯改善。根據政府機構疾病預防控制中心的說法，在2013年有四分之一的成年人除了卧室的性生活外, 閑暇時間不進行任何鍛煉。在2001年到2012年間，肥胖或過度肥胖的人口比例由36%上漲至41%。近來上漲有所減緩，但比例還沒有降低。

The explanation of this paradox lies in who is doing the exercising. Where once 「prosperous」 was a synonym for overweight, being fit (and thin with it) is a marker of status. Outposts of Soul Cycle are to be found in the Hamptons and Westchester County in New York. In such places small gyms, yoga studios and the like, which make their money from hosting classes rather than through membership fees, proliferate. They advertise fitness as something close to religion. At CrossFit, which describes itself as a 「word and a phenomenon」, though it mostly involves weightlifting, customers are described as 「athletes」. Exercise is not quite yet a luxury good, but it may be getting that way.

關於正在健身的群體的統計解釋了這一矛盾的現象。「豐滿」曾是體重超重的代名詞，現在身體健康（保持苗條）是社會地位的標記。在紐約州的漢普斯敦（Hamptons）和韋斯切斯特郡（Westchester County）能看到很多Soul Cycle的健身中心。在這些地方，小型的健身中心、瑜伽中心及諸如此類的中心數量迅猛增加，他們不是通過收取顧客的會員費而是通過上課費盈利。他們打著追求健康就如同信仰宗教的旗號。健身中心CrossFit標榜自己的名字（CrossFit）是一個時尚的詞、一種社會趨勢。儘管它主要做舉重運動，顧客被稱為「運動員」 。健身還算不上奢侈，但它可能正在變得奢侈。