I love working out in the evening, but with my current job I don’t normally leave work until 7ish and by that time I’m hungry (often starving). I’m then faced with the dilemma of eating then having to work out really late and risk feeling sick or not eating and working out and feeling weak and totally distracted by hunger – so I have been choosing the couch. The recent hiking trip to the Cascades in Washington and my upcoming half marathon has made me aware that my fitness is not where I want it to be. For the past two weeks I have been trying a morning workout schedule that has me up at 5:30am, exercising from 6am – 7am, going home to eat breakfast and shower and arriving at work by 8:30am. What really helps is my good friend Emily is firmly on the 5:30am workout schedule so knowing she will be there each day is super motivating. She is more wonderful and inspirational to me than she knows.
Heading to work knowing I’ve already worked out is such a good feeling and at 5:30am and I’m too sleepy and disoriented to come up with an excuse not to exercise. The part that’s weird is accepting that my life is now one where I go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 5:30am versus one where I go to bed at 1am and wake up at 8am. It’s what I need to do but something about it smacks of growing old and boring.
To facilitate the new schedule I decided to move my YMCA membership from the gym close to where I work to the gym close to home. I naïvely asked the nice young gentleman behind the desk if I could just transfer my membership at the first of the month. With a twinkle in his eyes and a big smile he proceeded to tell me that by moving memberships I was lucky enough to access the fantastic new membership structure (he was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory “you’ve won a golden ticket” excited). He again stressed just how awesome it was and when I looked at it all I saw was that my monthly fee was going to increase from $35 to $65. A little bit confused and a lot bit irritated, I asked him to explain what specifically about paying an extra $30 a month was “great”. He proceeded to tell me that the new structure was much better for everyone as your fee was based upon your income. It all seemed so unjust and I was so mad and he just stood there judging me for creating such a scene about $30 a month when I make a six figure salary. I felt like the YMCA was discriminating against me for working hard and making decent money. I have worked my ass off since I was 14 years old, I currently work a 6 day, 72 hour week – why on earth should I have that held against me? Also, last time I checked the YMCA was meant to be a gym, not the federal government – there is an elected body responsible for income redistribution and I (happily) pay my fair share of taxes – why do I have to pay them at the YMCA as well? And, after student loan repayments (apologies YMCA that I chose to seek higher education) my disposable income is pitiful – I really resent that additional $30. I know I’m being an obnoxious cow about this but it really got to me – time to move on to the exercise class reviews:
Cycle – J.B.
This was my first exposure to spinning and I LOVED it. The instructor had killer tunes and the 45 minutes flew by. I have not been on a bike in a long time so my bum was sore afterwards but all in all it was a great work out. I like that you control your own resistance so you can manage how hard you push yourself. It’s on a Monday morning so it’s the perfect way to kick start the week. This one makes it into the permanent rotation.
Cardio Strength – Kim
The best part about this class was the instructor – she was very motivational. The class itself wasn’t really my thing. There were a lot of props (balls, half balls, bands, ropes, steps, bricks, whistles etc.) and some pretty out there moves that were hard for someone as dance challenged as I am. My biggest frustration with this class is I felt like I put more effort into trying to figure if I was doing the one legged skip-hop on the half ball correctly than working out hard. I won’t be rushing back to this class but I will try out some others that Kim teaches.
Yoga – Dawn
I love yoga but this class was pretty weak. There were way too many people in the room so you couldn’t stretch out fully in the poses. The pace was very slow and I came away feeling like I had done 45 minutes of stretching in a sardine can. I need to keep looking for a yoga teacher who is more my style.
Athletic Conditioning - Becky
There are no words to describe how awful and awesome this class is. I literally thought I was going to throw up on more than one occasion. What I love is the simplicity – no props – just good old fashioned sprints, push-ups, star jumps etc.– too many of them, way too fast, to the sound of someone yelling at you about how weak/slow/lazy/awful you are. We were beat all day at work and at 5pmish Emily finally admitted defeat declaring – “Becky kicked my ass like I stole something”. I want to go back but will only seek out Becky classes on days that I hate myself.
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