At the Gym

“At the Gym” relies heavily on comparisons of the weightlifters to Christian figures and the act of lifting weights to Christian rituals. Because the poem relies on Christian theology to elevate the weightlifters, it is hard to read “At the Gym” as a secular poem, even if the weightlifters celebrate their physical lives rather than their spiritual ones.

The emphasis placed on the weightlifters’ bodies reinforces their Christ-like position. Many Christian denominations, particular those related to Catholicism, understand the body as essential to spiritual practice. This is perhaps most clearly represented in the act of communion, where church goers eat bread that symbolizes Christ’s body and drink wine that symbolizes Christ’s blood. Relics, or sanctified objects (usually preserved pieces of saints’ bodies), are another way bodies plays a pivotal role in spiritual practice.

The Shroud of Turin, the cloth that is said to have covered Christ’s body after he died, is one of the most historically celebrated relics. Though the article was later found to be a medieval forgery, Christ’s body was nonetheless likely covered by a similar shroud upon his death. Doty’s speaker relies on the idea of the Shroud to make the aforementioned connections between Christ and the weightlifters explicit.