Third Place

I have started going to group exercise classes regularly for about a year now. There are a few people who show up to them regularly and then there are those that came once to check things out or show up very rarely. Some of the regulars go back thirty years at the same class and the instructor has been around the entire time. They share a bond that arriviste cannot hope to be a part of. The women in my classes are span a wide age range - early 20s to late 70s. Very few come with a partner or a friend. By now some faces have grown more familiar than others. I have chatted with some of these women on occasion while waiting for class to begin. 

After people are in a rush to leave or want to catch up with those they have known a lot longer. One of the women has been here since late 1980s so she knows just about everyone but she keeps to herself, focused on exercise and nothing else. She's one of those very svelte and petite people who look ageless and the fitness regimen has only helped. Reading this article about group exercise venues being the third place got me thinking about my own experience. I think it matters the format and size of the class, if it allows for some unstructured time to mingle. I have made friends in the swimming pool where exercise is a solitary pursuit unless things are so busy that you need to share the lane. But it somehow fostered communication and connection over time. Such has not been the case with my other classes.