At the Gym by Mark Doty

Mark Doty revealed a clear image of a man working out at the gym. He emphasizes the idea of lifting and how men at the gym "hoists nothing that need be lifted", they do so because they feel compelled to strengthen their appearance. For example, they chose to do more reps than they need to on their own. The author also repeats the idea of a "stain" and leaving their mark at the gym. In the second to last stanza he said, "we sweat the mark of our presence onto the cloth", implying that men want people to know they go to the gym and are working hard into transforming themselves into something else. In contrary, girls usually do not want people to know they are working to "transform" themselves, they want to convey the idea that they are naturally flawless. I think the author is trying to portray insecurities in a man and they have a sense of accomplishment through increasing their work/lifting method. The last line of the second stanza says, "burden they've chosen this time: more reps" implying that they are doing more than what they need to to be feel successful.