Born Again Gym Rat

A few years ago, before I went back to school, I was a gym rat.  More like a gym class rat.  I loved going to the gym and hated to decide between classes so I would often go for 2 hours so I could do my strength training and then Zumba.  Well, that girl is back with a gym membership!

Yesterday I started off with my classic back-to-back workout: Body Pump and Zumba.  I wasn’t sure I’d make the wait list for Zumba (the room is small) but I did and had enough energy at the end of BP to stay for it!

Both classes were great and the instructors were amazing.  Zumba was a little too cramped for me so I might go to the other location for those types of classes where the room is like 3 times the size.  So here are some of the things that drew me to this gym this time:

• Lots of classes throughout the day
• A variety of classes
• 4 locations for my membership (3 of which are reasonable to drive to)
• Pools at two of those locations
• Clean, well kept facilities
• A friendly, professional staff and clientele
• A reasonable membership fee for the services

The last three are really what won me over.  I had been a member waaaay back in high school and because of that, I did not have to pay the sign up fee and they gave me a great rate for the Gold Membership (the one that gives you access to all 4 gyms).  I needed that because I there are at least 3 of the gyms I’d like to go to, one of which is right by my sister’s house (she is already excited to join again too!).

It is a little more than the other gyms around here but not the most expensive either (especially with the awesome rate I got).  The facilities are amazing though and everyone is so helpful and friendly (plus the killer gym class schedule).  Also, the clientele is much more my style – lots of working professionals or just chill people there to work out.  I already had been chatting with a few of the women in the Body Pump class and hope to see them next week!  I might not make life-long-friends but I can at least talk to some nice women a few times a week instead of staring at my cats (and computer) all day.

Rob is the one who encouraged me to join a gym again (ok, insisted).  He is actually paying for it with his side jobs.  What a sweetie right?  He knows that I really want to get fit again and that it is hard for me to get motivated at home.  He has his own things to keep him active (work, rugby) so I don’t want to always depend on him to exercise with me.  He found a picture of me from a few years ago, back when I was a gym rat and kept showing it to me and saying “remember this girl??”  Man, he really knows how to motivate me!

So that’s pretty much it!  The plan today was to run and then go to Yoga but a friend is teaching Zumba tonight so I might skip the run for that.  Or do all 3?  Am I crazy?  Oh right, I used to do this type of stuff all the time!

What do you look for in a gym?

Side Note:  I’m always afraid of people reading my blog the wrong way so let me just say that you don’t need to do a 2 hour workout every day.  I actually don’t encourage that.  I just enjoy both of those classes and occasionally, I will attend both on the same day.  I take plenty of rest days and am pretty sedentary due to my job the rest of the day.  I try not to push myself into exhaustion either.  If I’m tired, I take it easy.  Remember, if you are just starting out, 30 minutes a day 5 times per week is what is recommended and talk to your doctor before starting anything!