Gym Bunny

Our apartment complex, after years of being completely lame, and last year the pool didn't even open (much to my disgust, which was seconded only by the guy who had been hired to be the lifeguard. They wouldn't let him out of his contract, so he ended up spending the summer sweeping the sidewalks, and brushing cobwebs off the sides of the buildings...) decided to open a Fitness Center.

This makes me happy, since both me and Thomas (Can't believe I wrote something that grammatical horrendous!) Thomas and I want to further our health and wellness goals to include getting into some other shape besides flabby. Thomas has lost 80 pounds, and while I'm sure we all hate him for that, he's still... well, flabby. But thin! And quite good looking! On the other hand, while today will be his last paid meeting at Weight Watchers (unless, of course, he falls off the wagon!), I still have another 30 pounds to lose before we'll stop paying for that... and gym memberships are Not Cheap.

So, the Fitness Center really could not have come at a better time for our finances. A Gym Membership for family is like $75 a month, and that's just not feasible at this time. I don't care how many salsa classes they offer.

My Fitness Center key is attached to my Shiny New Australia keychain and has a green star "Bravo!" sticker attached to it. Since getting my key, I've been to the gym three times.

The first time I went, I did 15 minutes on the stationary bike and 15 minutes of walking, as well as some weights and some stretches. Nothing big, I was just familiarizing myself with the equipment and trying out a few things. The bike seems a little odd to me, since the pedals are in a seated, flat leg position, rather than what I think of as being an actual biking-position, which is to say 'standing, with an uncomfortable seat under your butt." That was Tuesday, last week.

Then I went again on Friday because it was cold and rainy and I didn't want to drag Darcy on the long walk... not to mention not really wanting to be outside in the cold and wet myself. That time, I did an hour on the treadmill and some crunches and weights. I really like the treadmill... I slowly increased the speed and incline of the machine and worked my way up to a really good sweat.

And I went again yesterday (Sunday)... got in 30 minutes of biking and 30 minutes of walking. Used the sit-up bench to do crunches, did bicep curls and tricep lifts, stretched, and then walked home. While I was there, another resident came in to the gym. By that time, I'd been working out for a good 40 minutes, so I was hot, sweaty, and probably looked a bit like a gym bunny if you don't have much experience with gyms or gym bunnies. He looked at me. Then he crossed the room to the weights. And looked at me. And fiddled with the settings. And looked at me. And did a few half-hearted bicep curls. And looked at me. And then he left.

I'm not sure if he was afraid of me watching him try to figure out what he was doing with the weights, or if he didn't want to groan and strain in front of me, or what. It was certainly odd. I never thought I'd be the sort of person to intimidate someone else with my fitness prowess.

A few hours later, Thomas and I did our short family walk (the 2.2 mile walk, as opposed to the 3.5 mile walk).

"I wonder how long I'll keep being enthusiastic about the gym," I chirped. I was in a fairly good mood, felt productive and if not exactly in the peak of fitness, certainly fitter than I have been in the past.

"Oh, probably until your next weigh-in," Thomas said.

"Eh?" That certainly wasn't what I expected.

"You've kicked your workups up at least 100% over what you normally do," he said. "I doubt that's going to have a good effect on tomorrow's weigh-in. At which point you'll get discouraged..."

"Woah," I said. "What boat did I get on? Let me be the cynic around here, I'm much better at it than you are."