What if we just didn't watch news while we worked out?
Life Time, a Minnesota-based gym with 130 locations in 27 states, announced last week it was removing cable news channels from TVs in its facilities, including CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. (Local news channels are still permitted.) In a statement posted on Twitter, it said showing politically charged news content at the gym did not mesh with the company's "healthy way of life philosophy." It also said that over time, some members had asked for this change.
And then, because this is America in 2018, where red-blooded humans feed off politically-charged anger, backlash ensued.
The majority of those against the policy seemed to see it as a form of censorship, a word used in more than a few replies to Life Time's statement. One man tweeted, "Staying informed is actually HEALTHY!" Others argued they should have the "freedom to choose" what they watch at the gym. And Pete Hegseth of Fox and Friends and Fox News, both of which will no longer be appearing on Life Time TV screens, called the decision "pathetic and weak" in a tweet.
The flip side of all this being that users can still use Wifi to stream cable news on their own phones when the work out. Or, they could benefit from not watching the news. As one Life Time member told The New York Times, “having that on 12 different televisions while you’re trying to run on the treadmill is not the most conducive.” And with all the buzz about mindful workouts, focusing on the task at hand and not the latest national controversy could make gym time more productive.
The takeaway to all this disagreement seems to enforce that there's nothing as controversial as the media these days, even the places we go to sweat. Maybe we should all just tune into the nature channel.