This week was so hot and humid I thought running away to the Arctic might be a serious option. Ugh - AWFUL. Not to mention that lovely tornado we got on Wednesday. That was kind of interesting.
Needless to say, because my new gym membership doesn't kick in until next week, I didn't get very much traditional workout done (although I did walk my tail off).
I've GOT to tell you about my Great Gym Search!
First of all, let me give you my results for the week: no traditional workouts. But I'm still down a little over a pound this week, excellent loss measurements wise, and I managed to stick to my eating goals! No small feat, let me tell you; when it's hot, I want Taco Bell. But I stayed away!
I knew the heat was coming, and I knew that working out at home wasn't going to carry me through the summer. And with Air Force Guy leaving for a while, I want some no kid time desperately. With that in mind, I started searching for just the right gym for me a few weeks ago. I never realized what a undertaking that would be. At this point I've gone on tours at five different gyms, and my eyes are seriously started to cross whenever they see a spin room set up.
The first place I went to check out was a women only gym. It was purple - which I find to be a positive. It has kick boxing classes - another plus. And yoga! Sounding good so far... But there were also only 8 treadmills and 3 elliptical machines. I could see a serious bottleneck problem if I wasn't there during "dead hours". Besides, when I showed up to tour there was no one with pricing sheets available to help me, and despite the fact that I left my email address no one ever got back to me. Didn't leave me feeling like the most wanted of customers.
The second gym I went to was better - great childcare room, great classes for kids, tons of equipment... Things went downhill, however, when the person giving me the tour said, "You know, you look like you need to lose a little weight." NO, really? I'm shocked you would notice! Thank you so much for using my fat butt as a sales pitch! That, combined with the fact that everyone working out there was the size of my pinky just made me uncomfortable. This was obviously a gym for truly dedicated fitness people, and I'm... not. I just want to work out at my own pace.
Gym number three went along the same lines as Gym #2, although not quite so bad. The high pressure for hiring their personal trainer got on every nerve I had, though.
Then we came to gym 4. Aaaah yes, the best of the bunch. The kids loved the playroom - it had a climbing structure and video games. The equipment was clean, and there was a lot of it. There were even a few other chubby people scattered here and there. But the sales pitch! First, I wanted information about the monthly payment - THEY wanted a complete physical profile of me. Questions about weight, measurements, heart rate... at one point I think I said, "Dude, I just want to know how much this is going to cost. Can we skip ahead to that part, please?" Then the manager was called in to talk to me. He sat down and started telling me which classes he wanted me to take, water aerobics being at the top of the list.
I know water aerobics works for some people - but I hate it. I told him so. He said, "But we're trying to get you into the best shape possible, and water aerobics is proven to get results for people like you."
Excuse me? People like me? Do you mean irritated women who want to smack you upside the head, or chubby women with no mind of their own who do whatever gym managers tell them to? Because either way, dude, you lose and I'm walkin'. I even told him I did not appreciate high pressure sales (which was going on - "Oh, come one! You don't need to talk to your husband about 35$ a month! That's less than a good manicure!") and he STILL didn't back down.
Yes, that gym was crossed off my list right away.
Finally I was down to two choices. Unfortunately, my main choice isn't open until fall - so it looks like the kids and I will be chillin' at the Recreation Center this summer. On the bright side, they have kickboxing classes and no one bothered me or tried to tell me to do water aerobics while I was touring. I have my mp3 player loaded up with radio shows and ready to go.
And when I get down to the size I want to be, I plan to go back to visit that obnoxious gym manager at Gym four and tell him to stuff his water aerobics in a very uncomfortable place.
So, tell me. For those of you going to a gym - how did you decide which gym was right for you?
