Talkin' 'Bout My Gym - Thursday 5/29/2008

Okay, can I gush about my gym for a minute? This is the branch of 24 Hour Fitness in Santa Clarita, which is the one I visit the most. It has a nice mix of features. So far I'm using the cardio machines and some of the weight machines the most. I've also been to the Lancaster, Hollywood, and Palmdale West branches. I like this one the best, but I love that I can use the other locations when they are handy or offer a class that I want to try.

It's about half-way between work and home, and past the two major snarls on my commute--where the 170 meets the 5 and where the 14 peels away from the 5--so I stop there on weeknights.

I bought their package of 5 25-minute personal trainer sessions for $149 and I'm really glad I did. Did I tell you that my trainer is from Indiana and that I rode the school bus with her uncle? How weird is that?

So, anyway, having her lead me around the gym over the past 4 weeks has been really helpful. I feel I have permission to use areas and to move the movable equipment (like mats, balance balls, etc.) around the facility in ways I'm sure I would have felt timid about.

I have one more session with her and then I'm going to use the gym on my own. I will probably hire her again in a few months to help me up my levels if I need to or if my enthusiasm has started to wane.

I haven't lost a lot of weight, but my trainer and my doctor both predicted that given my body type I'd put on muscle easily. It's those European plow-following, sheep-toting genes, I tell you. My mom's been active all her life with gardening, yard-work, walking and now line dancing. My dad was a big jock--basketball and Golden Gloves boxing (he was a regional champ!)--so I'm going to try to think of myself as an old athlete myself.

Oddly enough, I realized when I received my membership card that I had signed up not only on the same day that my commitment to Taking the Reins ended, but also on the anniversary of my father's death at age 62 of a heart attack (April 17, 1990.) Dang, that sounds younger every year. I can't believe how much he's missed...like just last week a new great-granddaughter.

I have this fear of my own heart that I am trying to overcome.

I've exercised more and less throughout my life, but I'm seeing that after just a few weeks my body is responding. I feel stronger and more emotionally satisfied, too.

Yay, me!