Re-energized....

Well, I posted recently about being re-energized for exercise. Which is true. And, even with the leg keeping me out of the exercise game for a week, I find I am still very motivated. Not only am I working out more, I'm trying to improve/hone the exercise routine and do more yoga.

The major improvement is I switched my gym membership to a new gym closer to my house (same club). Their equipment is the latest and they have weight machines by Hoist which involve the core as well as the muscle group being used. They're pretty cool. A big change, which is working nicely in the first couple of weeks, is that I do all my strength training at one time, rather than alternating days for arms and legs. This has cut down on the number of days I have to go to the gym (a major de-motivator for me as I hate packing the gym bag) and is giving me more nights to do yoga. And, this gym's pool (a salt water one) is not in plain view of the front door. I'm hoping to incorporate swimming once a week into the routine (start of this is dependent on when I get a swimsuit suitable for lap swimming).

In addition to this, about a month ago I got on the scales. Gasp! I knew why I felt like a beached whale - I was carrying around the weight of a whale! I checked out several options and finally decided on a free website called SparkPeople (SP). It's been 3 weeks now and I've lost seven pounds. So, I'm pleased. To put it in perspective though, I lost around 25 pounds about five years ago and kept it off for several years. Between Arkansas, the return move to Texas, and the loss of motivation to exercise these past few months, I gained all of it back and then some.

The SparkPeople site is aimed at helping you develop better, healthier eating habits. It also involves tracking what you eat, which in the past has not worked for me. Maybe it's because this is online or because it shows where the calories are coming from (fat, carbs, protein) and where you are falling in the recommended range. I'm a sucker for statistics. So far, no problems with the tracker or staying within my calorie range.

SP also has a fitness tracker, so I'll be moving a lot of my exercise chat to the SP site, but will post little updates here on occasion.

It went down...

I met with the personal trainer last night. Allergies have been acting up, so I was dragging fanny a bit. Last night she re-did the initial measurements (they measure you at the start of your training). Since they were done the week before I started meeting with her, in about 4 weeks, my Body fat has gone down about 1 1/2 %. Woo hoo! Everything else remained the same. That's okay. I've just started back and it looks like I'm making progress. A little motivation to keep one going.

A side note...we did a balance exercise I'm not so fond of, basically because I have no balance! Just goes to show me that I need to continue to incorporate some type of balance exercise when our meetings are done with (I've got one more session). That what's I like about this gym's approach to training. It's not just about the weights, but also about balance and nutrition and a good combination of cardio and strength.

Gym, part II

Well, last Monday I decided to go look at one more gym. Actually, it's the same gym (chain), one chain later, that I joined when I moved to TX the first time in 1996. From looking at their website, I had hopes. Several half hour classes in the early evening, 5:00 or 5:30, and a 6:00 yoga class one night a week. Most yoga classes are offered at 7:00 or 8:00 pm or in the mornings. Either I'm home for the evening or I'm at work at those times, so they never really worked for me. This gym also seemed to have a good variety of classes and it had a pool with sauna, steam room, and hot tub. I like using the sauna every so often. So, after work I stopped by.

I'm glad I did. I liked the gym. It's not as close to my house as I wanted, but it is easily accessible from the house and right on the way home. Also, they are building a new club very close to where I live and the membership can be transferred. Another plus, $5 off/month for President's Day and no contract. There was a joining fee, but it was reasonable and with no contract, I'm happy.

After two months of not working out, I'm easing my way back into it. So, I worked out one day last week and am hoping to do 3 days this week. One night I'm planning to check out the 30 minute "bootcamp" style class. I'm looking forward to getting back to regular exercise.

Gyms

I spent the better part of my day yesterday checking out gyms. I recently moved and am more than ready to start working out again. I've given serious thought to my own piece of gym equipement rather than going back to a gym, but thought I'd give a couple of them the once over.

I checked out several, including the local Y. Nothing really sang to me.

Then, I decided to check out the gym I used before I moved to another state, where they had no clubs. Years ago, I paid that whopping "lifetime" membership fee over 3 years. Over the course of several years, I moved a couple of times and at one point it "lapsed." Finally, I bought a house and one was reasonably close to me. I paid a fee to reinstate the membership and then had the very reasonable monthly fees. Okay, it was a bit more of drive than I wanted, but it was a fairly decent facility. Then after several years, another move. The move to the state where they had no clubs. So yesterday I pop in, show my old membership card and ask what it would take to reinstate the membership. Are you ready? Almost $500! Only $50 of that is the reinstatement fee. The rest is the dues from the 2 1/2 years of lapsed membership. Now, if I just dropped it cause, maybe. But, they actually expected that I would pay back dues for a membership when there were no clubs that I could have used. I was amazed. Or, I could just get a whole new membership. Umm... I had one that I paid good money for. In talking about various memberships, the lifetime membership isn't really offered anymore or if you want it you'll pay for it. But, for the same amount of money or just a bit more, I could get a whole new membership. The catch: three year contract and at the end, the membership is ended and you have to do it again. I'm sorry, but who knows what will happen in three years. I'm simply not going to commit for three years. The cardio area of the club was okay, the pool so-so, but the weights are in three different areas that are bleak at best. And, of all the options, it's the farthest from the house. Probably not going with them again. It just makes me feel like I'm being ripped off. I may not be, but that's still how it feels.

A stationary bike for the house is looking better and better.