My New (intimidating) Gym

Hello all! First off, I would like to give Holly a big shout out for giving ME a big shout out this morning! Thanks Holly!

I joined a new gym about a week and a half ago and I don't know if I'm in love with it yet.

First I'll give you a little background on my "old" gym. It was an all women's gym. It was small and never crowded. There was an even ratio of fat to fit women so you never felt out of place. They offered a few classes but not many (body sculpt, zumba, turbo kick, ya know the normal stuff). The machines were all old, the cushions had holes, the cup holders would fall off of the treadmill as you were jogging, the treadmill buttons were hard to push, none of the heart rate monitors worked, etc.. It definitely needed a facelift, but I didn't mind. I love lifting free weights so I didn't use the machines often enough to care. The treadmills were kind of annoying, but they got the job done. I LOVE an empty gym, and this one was always empty in the middle of the day. They even had free tanning and massage chairs! Last month I found out that they gym was closing due to low membership and the landlord was raising the rent. I was going to have to find a new gym.

I had a few requirements for my new gym. Some of them reasonable and some of them are silly

1. It had to be fairly close to the house. This narrows my options down by a LOT
2. It had to offer more exciting classes. I've always wanted to try a spin class or pilates
3. It had to have new machines and LOTS of different kinds. I loathe the treadmill and the elliptical. I wanted more options when it came to cardio. I also see Skinny Meg on that stair stepper that looks like actual stairs in her instagram pics and I think "I want a gym with one of those!" (silly, I know, but it was a factor)
4. I had to feel comfortable in it. I NEVER once felt out of place at the women's gym. I wanted that same feeling somewhere else.

So the search began. It was a short one! I found Sky Fitness which is about 3 miles from my house and it has everything.  I mean EVERYTHING. It completely meets requirements 1-3 (it even has the Skinny Meg stair stepper). Requirement 4 is the problem. It is a huge corporate gym. The fat to fit ratio is what seems like 1:100 (honestly, I've seen like 3 fat people in there not counting myself, that's IT). I decided that 3 out of 4 isn't bad and I just need to get over my insecurities at the gym. I signed up.

I am writing this post now, because I tried to go to the 9:00 a.m Spin class and it was full. I got there 10 min early (which I knew was cutting it close) but they stopped me at the door to sign some paperwork and I lost precious time. I am now planning on going to the 12:00 class and I will get there 25 min early just to be sure! That is another downfall of this gym. It is NEVER empty. There isn't a time of the day where a spin or body pump class isn't full. I took a body pump class last week (uses barbells, low weight, high reps), I got there 20 min early (luckily) and by 9:55 the class was FULL. "Don't you people work!?!" is what I want to say and then I am reminded that, oh yeah, I don't work either. haha.

I will be attempting spin at noon. I am terrified. I have heard how brutal the classes are and I am praying that I can hang for just 45 min. After that I can come home and read Game of Thrones for the rest of the day. Just peddle your ass off for 45 minutes!!!! It's just 45 min! (this will be my mantra). If all else fails, they are showing Top Gun today in the cardio cinema. That is where the chubby people hang out (all 4 of us). It's dark and no one can see how red your face is. OH by the way, my very first day at the gym, I went and jumped on that Skinny Meg stair stepper and set that bad boy to 30 min... I made it to 3 min and 45 seconds. FUUUUUCK that shit! More power to ya Skinny Meg! I have found that I like the rowing machine though. That thing will make your whole body hurt! I love it. Wish me luck at the spin class. Here's to hoping I don't embarrass myself in front of a bunch of skinny-minis. If I do, I'll just go cry it out in the dark while watching Top Gun.

Here is a video that Curtis (my fiance) sent me to make me laugh and not be so nervous about spin class...