Help! I have two gyms!

2

January 5, 2013 by little hurdles big race

Currently I belong to two gyms…yes two.  I still have my holdover membership to the YMCA which I just need to cancel.  I also have joined Planet Fitness.

The YMCA – it’s really expensive.  My membership to the Y is $61 per month.  A family is a little more expensive but there are lots of activities for children, child care, camps, etc.  It is a great bargain for a family.  My other gripe about the Y is that the hours are terrible on the weekends.  Saturdays they close early and Sundays they open even later and close earlier.  But I do love the Y.  The YMCA is where I started and I love it there.  There are so many different activities, classes, and different kinds of workouts you can do at the Y. Swimming, Kickboxing, Zumba, weight training, tons of different kinds of cardio.  I don’t really get into the class workout thing.  They also have the great ActivTrax system that gives you a workout everyday that is tailored to you and your previous successes.  But another drawback is that most smaller Y’s have only one set of the Cybex strength training machines – so most likely someone is waiting for you to finish your workout.

I also love Planet Fitness.

 

I love it for its simplicity and certainly for its price.  $10 per month…you cant beat that.  I don’t think you can visit a gym twice for that price.  Even if you workout 1/2 the month – that is .66 cents a workout.  I can’t think of anything that is that good for you and that cheap!  I have the black card membership.  This is a whopping $19.99 per month.  This allows me to go to any PF I want, and it allows me to bring one guest every day.  There are also other benefits of the black card like massage chairs and tanning booths.  PF has lots of televisions, you can choose from around 10+ channels that are not all news or sports (another feature of the Y).  The TV’s are large, easy to see from anywhere, and stay on the same channels all the time.  I personally find that watching TV makes the time go by much faster than listening to music.  I try not to watch the clock too much, so when I used to listen to music I always ended up counting to songs wondering when my time was up.  There are multiple Cybex machines at PF and the best part…open 24 hours.  Now I know you are saying who works out at 3AM? – ok not me.  But I do find myself going to the gym a little later and the pressure of knowing the gym isn’t going to close is great.  

That’s another thing that would happen to me with the Y.  I’d leave work after 7PM and think – “well why bother, I can’t get my whole workout in anyway.  So I won’t go at all” But we all know that any workout is better than none, right?

But there are some things wrong with PF.  It has no classes of any kind.  There are not a large variety of cardio machines.  I haven’t been in one yet that has a StairMaster or a Cross Trainer.  For anyone who power lifts free weights, they don’t have anything over 75lbs and they do not allow the deadlift or the clean and jerk.  Actually anything that causes you to grunt too loud or drop a weight sets off an alarm called the “Lunk Alarm”.  The also serve free pizza every Monday night.  This has to be the worst kind of food a gym can offer.  Great workout, here’s a gluten and dairy explosion (I do love pizza so don’t hate – but you know this is true).   

But to end on a high note – PF has members that look just like you.  The members run all age groups and all levels of fitness.  Instead of being the weakest, most out of shape, or oldest one at the gym you will always see someone equal to you.  That’s encouraging I think.  It does make you feel like you belong – and I think that is why a lot of people really are not motivated to got to their gym.  Everyone wants to belong.

I had a lot of people help me along the way.  I wasn’t shy about asking how to do a pullover or a lying extension.  People are friendlier than you think.  Those guys with the crazy tight tank tops, doing a bicep curl with a 100 lb dumbell, and drinking out of a gallon jug – love being the expert.  And well, they are…  

I was at PF yesterday on the adductor machine and an older woman was next to me on the ab machine.  She was bending her arms and pushing it working her biceps instead.  I could tell she was having trouble, we met eyes and I said, “like this” and I leaned back and locked my arms forward and pushed forward showing her the correct form.  She did it he right way a couple of times and said, “Lord girl I felt that” – I laughed so hard.  

In the end I am going to cancel my Y membership.  I need to.  Its kind of like an amicable divorce.  We still love each other but we need to move on – I need more.  I’ve tested the waters and I know how to use most all the equipment and I know how to mix it up so I am getting a complete workout rotation every couple of days.  So, whatever gym you choose just make sure it fulfills your needs.  Make sure you are comfortable there and it has a workout you can enjoy with variety.  

And help someone out.  There is probably someone you work with who wants a buddy to walk with at lunch, diet together, or someone to go to the gym with.  Maybe you need a buddy – there is nothing wrong with that.  Encourage each other.  That may be all your friend or family member needs to boost them to jump that next hurdle.  Peer pressure is a powerful tool.  Exploit it!