Gym update

I am over a week into my new gym. So far, so good. The niece emailed me to ask how the new gym is working out. Since I know you all couldn't care less are dying to know, here's the scoop.

The gym really is much cleaner and more well maintained than my old facility. The level of fitness also seems to be much higher, which is pretty motivating. Not that everyone is an Adonis, but watching my fellow gym goers, everyone seems to be pretty intent on paying attention to what they are doing.

For those of you who do not foolishly get out every day and beat yourself up, you will have no idea of how distracting it is to catch, out of the corner of your eye, someone literally swinging weights instead of lifting. I am a bit of a nosy parker about these things and want to go over and tell people to go down on their weights and do it right. It is nice to not have to watch sports injuries just waiting to happen.

I am also being motivated to set myself some new goals. Like getting rid of at least some part of my spare tire. To that end, I have actually been doing the much hated cardio workout. There are few things in this life that are more obnoxious, in my opinion, than getting on a cardio machine and wasting precious minutes of your life that you will never get back. However if it gives me less belly jelly for RG to make fun of, it will be worth it.

I am also going to start yoga classes tomorrow. Every tendon in my body is screaming just in anticipation. Since I don't want to suffer alone, I have picked up a week guest pass which I am going to give my pal La Simpatica. Why suffer alone when you can spread the joy?

There is also the improved customer service which is a relief. Not that this whole thing was entirely satisfying.

A week after I joined up AARP deigned to let me know I was eligible for a discount. They were only about a week late in relating this to me. When I called up the gym, no surprise, my contract was already locked in. It would have been nice to get the discount, but it isn't as though I am loosing out on that much money.

What made it less painful was that the manager was very polite while explaining that if you snooze you loose. He actually did try and make the news as acceptable as possible and offered me a bunch of guest passes and told me that if anyone signs up with the gym and mentions me as the person to recommend the gym that I get a free month. Quite a change from my old gym. I didn't get the discount and I can accept why, what made the big difference was the attitude. He seemed to be pretty interested in keeping my business and I wound up assuring him that I was very pleased with the change.

On the whole, I am really happy with the change. Not least of all, that I can get out of the gym and go home and make myself some coffee instead of grabbing a cup on the fly as I race off to the T. Though I am going to miss the coffee place I used to frequent.