βI donβt care about your childhood! You better not quit on yourself right now. Hold this plank for 10 more secondsββ¦β10 secondsββ¦βnine β¦βN-I-N-Eββ¦βeightββ¦βE-I-G-H-Tββ¦ββ
Detroit Tough owner and coach Roger Dyjak leads a morning class at his Corktown gym. Weβre in the last stretches of our final plank, and Dyjak is in full yelling mode.
I stop staring at the gray concrete beneath me and look around. To my right is a professional athlete: Her form is perfect, and sheβs deep in concentration. Next to her is her sister β she just had a baby 12 weeks ago, and got a tattoo on her foot the day before.
And then thereβs me, laughing a tad hysterically and shaking β without a doubt, the least fit person there β and yet somehow, I feel as though weβre all pushing each other through this, as though this plank is something we all have to conquer, together.
Dyjak is standing over me, his foot pointing at my left knee, signaling that I should attempt to get it off the ground. I try, but Iβm pleading with him, βI canβt do it. Iβm too shaky!β
Iβm rather embarrassed by this admission when I look up and read a sign on the brick wall that says, βThis is not about you.β I like the idea, but Iβm not sure how it applies to a gym. Isnβt working out, setting aside time each week thatβs solely dedicated to your personal betterment β well, isnβt that precisely about βyouβ?
Itβs not, at least in Dyjakβs mind.
βThis Is About Usβ
Dyjak has been training people for 24 years. When he was going to nursing school, he started the βTrain Like a Savageβ program in 2010 in metro Detroit β an all-season outdoor weather workout program that attracted a cult following. After appearing on the Start Up television show on the USA Network in 2012, he pursued the idea of owning his own gym. He insisted that it would be in Detroit β his hometown. Detroit Tough opened its doors this past February.
He then developed his signature workout βΜύa combination of bodyweight exercises, kettlebell moves (using weights that resemble cannonballs with handles), and more unconventional workouts that take advantage of the industrial-inspired equipment, such as slamming a sledgehammer against a tire β¦ or taking batting practice on a punching bag.
The class has a clear team-like mentality β participants run and warm up together, work out in a circle facing each other, and finish the class together by running around the block holding a piece of equipment, such as a medicine ball or a sledgehammer (for the more ambitious students).
Tucked in behind the Detroit Institute of Bagels, the gym has a nondescript entrance β more likeΜύa garage than a workout facility. The brick walls are decorated with various Detroit memorabilia, including a sign from an original Standard Oil gas station. The walls are also filled with signs that read: βThis is not about you,β βthis has never been about you,β and βthis is about us.β
A piano from the Grinnell Brothers Music House sits next to the entrance, while rock βnβ roll blares from speakers β a contradiction that somehow works in this space. The gym may seem cold and tough, but it also feels welcoming. You get the sense that people come here to hang out, too.
Dyjak is trying to cultivate a gym where everyone relies on each other and supports one another. βWe all work together as a team rather than just putting on headphones and taking selfies,β he says. βI want people to feel like theyβreΜύa part of something bigger than themselves. If thereβs interaction, people develop trust and bonds.β
He knows everyone who walks in the doorΜύby name, but more than that, Dyjak knows themΜύas individuals, which allows him to tease themΜύand establish a more personal relationship.
βIf youβve had a bad day and you donβt want to work out but I say, βHey, come in and weβll work out together,β you get that sense that someone actually cares about me. Then you develop a sense of community,β he says.
Robin Runyan, a freelance writer and oneΜύof Dyjakβs clients, started coming to Detroit Tough when she moved to Detroit in June. At her old gym, she had a strong fitness family. Thatβs something she looked for in Detroit, especially because she didnβt know anyone here.
βI felt like I was family right away,β she says. βRoger is very supportive, and heβll joke around with you a lot.β
But more than that, Dyjak can sense a change in Runyanβs mood. Fitness has been a way for Runyan to manage her depression. She says people are accountable for her at Detroit Tough and would notice if she stopped coming to the gym.
Beyond the Gym Walls
Dyjak believes that support and community created within the walls of Detroit Tough must extend beyond the gymβs walls. He asks members to doΜύat least two hours of community service per month.
βWe collect clothes and then we put on backpacks and walk around the city of Detroit passing them out to the homeless,β Dyjak says. βThere are over 6,500 homeless veterans in the metro Detroit area so thatβs our big drive.β
The gymβs attitude (if a gym can have an attitude) encapsulates the spirit of Detroit. The members of Detroit Tough seem to share a similar goal that has almost nothing to do with exercise β theyβre there to support the gym, each other, and Detroit. And sure, theyβre going to get a great workout, too.
| Μύ |
|