Nearly 300 Gyms Operate In Baghdad

In 2003, before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, there were approximately 30 gyms and fitness centers operating in the city of Baghdad. Six years later, according to an article published in the Taiwan News, Baghdad now boasts at least 300 operating gyms throughout the city.

With the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime and the subsequent exposure to the internet, satellite TV and cell phones, Iraq was able to break free from the political and cultural isolation which had cloaked it for the last quarter century. "The arrival of satellite television in Iraq opened our eyes to many things, including the need to be fit," Haidar Mouwaffak, a 28-year-old auto parts salesman, said between reps at the Hummer Gym in Karradah, a central district that has become Baghdad's trend setter neighborhood.

In a country where healthy living had never been a priority, the popularity of health clubs reflects Iraq's slowly changing attitudes. Before the U.S. invasion, the few places available for body building (then and now, Iraqis preference trends towards weightlifting rather than cardiovascular machines) were generally hot, smelly rooms with low lighting and little ventilation. Today's gyms loudly play hip-hop music, have mirrors covering the majority of walls and sell protein shakes and dietary and exercise supplements.

Working out has become one of the few diversions available to young Iraqis. Baghdad has no functioning cinemas or discos and no Western-style cafes where men and women can meet or surf the Web over a cappuccino. Stage productions are rare and mostly restricted to matinees. "Where else would the young people go?" said Ahmed Sami, manager of the Dragon Gym in Karradah. "They come here, work out and go home to eat dinner and sleep."

While Iraq's progress and the immersion into the global culture is clear, these new fitness centers have still not completely broken free from its pre-invasion oppressive ideological beliefs. There are no unisex gyms in Baghdad or women-only establishments because both Sunni and Shiite extremists believe it is haram, or forbidden and against Islam. Since the invasion, scores of Iraqi men and women who owned or worked in beauty salons and gyms have been killed or threatened by religious extremists. One gym owner even bemoans what he says is the wide use of muscle growth hormones and steroids smuggled from Iran.

Unfortunately, although improved security in Baghdad has made the gym boom possible, its city streets are still not as safe as they were under Saddam's old regime. "The security situation has improved somewhat, but I cannot remain open until midnight because going home so late could be dangerous for me," Sabah Taleb, who runs The Arnold Classic (named after his boyhood hero Arnold Schwarzenegger) said.

Nevertheless, most would agree that any progress in Iraq, no matter how little, is a step in the right direction. With so much social upheaval, unrest and disorder ravaging an already war-weary Iraq, the boom in fitness centers is at least one light in a city of so much darkness.

Peter Washkowitz
petercure@gmail.com
www.RunnersWrite.com