Day 88: The German Gym Experience

I didn't want to go to just any gym. I used to belong to the YWCA in Brooklyn, which was totally awesome. Not so much for the facilities (a little bit run-down) but for the quality group fitness classes. The aerobics classes teacher was super hardcore and really made the workout fun; the big ladies that were in the class with me who would 'testify' when they felt the burn and jumping around doing weird moves, but having this communal goofiness in the class made it a great time.

Then they closed the YW. And tried to move us all to the YMCA. Which was shiny and new and totally overcrowded, with yoga classes full of skinny girls who seemed competitive about their poses and machines that were lined up like products on a shelf. It was just so... bleh.

So I wanted to make sure I tried out a gym I'd really consider going to, were I the gym-going type once again. So I tried a 'ladies' gym. The whole idea is a good one, women don't want to go to a place where they are being checked out in their spandex or where they have to think too hard about what to wear, they just want to get a good workout. Not that there isn't enough sizing up between women, but perhaps without that creep* vibe that seems to be a part of the mixed-gender gym scene.

*more on creeps to come

Anyway, I tried out a yoga class and a figurworkout class. The first was not very interesting, really slow and not at all like the yoga classes I had been in before. I did have some challenging moments where I was really having to think a lot about my breathing and to be aware of which muscles I was supposed to be using and not. I may do yoga again, but probably not there.

The second 'figurworkout' class was a strange combination of silly and serious. There was massive amounts of set up involved: 3 yoga mats, one trampoline, one resistance band, 2 1-kg weights per person. The room was like a giant tumbling playground. The moves were very '80s aerobics video. I worked up a good sweat, but the whole jumping around (while wearing socks-- which seemed crazy dangerous to me) and doing these silly moves while maintaining an air of utter seriousness, just didn't work for me.

It was good to see ladies of all ages, shapes and sizes there working up a sweat. I did learn a new ab exercise that I may use again. I do appreciate their catering to the ladies with a sauna, wellness room (read 'spa' area), and playroom for kids. I thought the machine set-up bizarre: group 'bauchkiller' (stomach killer) classes are held around a glowing neon pole, so you can face each other while pedaling your stomach to death. Also the radial formation around the TV for the stair climbers, bikes, and other stationary workout machines (including some strange new contraption called vibrating pads!?) was all set-up to distract you from your workout, rather than to encourage you to focus on your muscle work.

In addition, the reception desk served as a mini cafe, complete with three kinds of water and an assortment of 'flavorings' that you could add, as well as other items in tiny plastic goo packets, supposedly some sort of energy/vitamin supplements to enhance your workout with the glow stick.

*Creeps

More are following me. Literally. Yesterday I was shopping for some shorts that don't fall down, when I saw this flash out of the corner of my eye. Some guy had a camera by his leg and secretly took my picture while I was perusing the clothes rack. At first I was totally weirded out, then I decided I should find one of the store employees and report this creep. So I started following him. Maybe I could yell at him or flex a bicep angrily in his direction and give him the idea that what he was doing was not cool. He made a bee-line for the exit and I continue to shake my fist angrily in his general direction.

Why have I become a creep magnet?

Alright, post-morning jumping and two gym classes, it's time to do my Day 88 workout.

Wish me energy in the heat!