Almost two years ago, I made a decision that has changed my life. Yes, that's incredibly cliche, but its true. I joined a gym, in June 2010, around the time 44th of my birthday. Previous to joining the gym, my daily physical activity was limited to walking to and from my car, going up the stairs in my townhome, and the occasional scenic "hike" along the incredible Hamilton escarpement.
 |
| This first picture is me, in 2008. Yikes!! |
Like most new members, I jumped right into the fray. My main interest was in fitness boxing. I had never done anything like it before, so I signed up for a series of personal training sessions for boxing. My first day was............pathetic!!! The workout was scheduled for 30mins. I got as far as 20mins and looked the trainer straight in the eyes and said, "I'm done!" Back in the changeroom, I was feeling rather sheepish and defeated. I felt pretty bad that I wasn't even able to finish a 30min session. I was full of blame. Blamed my cigarette habit, blamed my busy life-style, blamed having two kids 16 months apart; the list of blame was endless.
The following week, I was back. Yep, a sucker for punishment and determined as Hades to see through the committment I had made to myself. This time, I got through the whole 30mins. I have not missed a single week since starting my gym membership. When I first joined, I was going to the gym 2 or 3 times per week for 30 mins each session. When my personal training sessions finished (I had 12 sessions over a year) I still continued with the sessions on my own, using what I had learned from the trainer and what I remembered from when I was a figure skater in my youth. (I remembered mostly the stretching exercises we were taught, and they have always been very helpful)
 |
| Me, July 2011 |
Its been two years now, and my workout sessions have increased in length, frequency and intensity. Currently I workout 40-60mins per visit. I frequent the gym on average 4 days per week and I've added a longer cardio component to my workouts. So now, a "full" workout for me includes 20mins in the boxing studio, 10-20mins on the weight machines (various muscle groups from arms to legs to abs) and 30 to 40 mins on the treadmill. My treadmill routine consists of starting at a level 6 incline and 3 speed and slowing increasing to 11 incline and 3.6 speed. Am I addicted?? Maybe. But is this such a bad thing?? Probably not, as long as I use common sense and know when to ease off this 45 year old body.
To date, I have no plans on ending my gym visits regardless of the facility. Recently, I have explored other gyms, other than my regular gym. My motivation for this is the recent "buzz" surrounding Premier Fitness/Physiomed Fitness. While all gyms seem to have the same basic equipment, there are distinct differences.
My examinations and critiques of local gyms is fed by my 10 plus years of customer service experience, 2 years and counting gym membership experience, knowledge and experience in business and business practices and the simple fact that I have been a diligent and choosy consumer for most of my adult life.and, as always don't sweat the small stuff!!
Cheryl
