Oh, did I mention I joined the world’s worst gym? We are putting our house on the market and I know they’ll be showing the place right in the middle of my workout hour. So, heading off to the gym to get out of the way seemed like a better option that sitting in Starbucks swigging latte’s. There’s a new Planet Fitness right next to my grocery store and Marshalls. The deal was $10 to join and then $10 a month, month by month, no commitment.
I haven’t worked out there yet, but I scoped it out yesterday at 5:30, so I can put together a workout or two. What a zoo. Had to be a thousand treadmills and ellipticals, all in use. Just a sea of cardio!
Around the perimeter are a bunch of weight machines with just a few people using them. And, at the far end is the area where I’ll hang out. A row of weight benches with racks of dumbbells (up to 70 pounds). Two, four-station cable columns. Some Smith machines. And a pull-up dip station. A few people using the weight benches, but there was one free even at rush hour. I think there was one person using the cable columns. So, I’ll put together some dumbbell strength stuff, some farmer’s walks, some cable column palloff presses and chops core stuff and print out a couple of Planet Fitness workouts.
I asked if I could bring minibands: “No”
How about an Airex pad: “No”
What about ValSlides: “What’s that?”
Can I bring a water bottle?: “Yes, you can bring water…”
I didn’t even ask about the GymBoss timer. I didn’t want the poor girl’s head to explode…
Anyway, I figure for $10 a month, I don’t have much to lose. That’s worth it even if I only go use the cable columns every once in a while.
Question: on these assisted pull up machines, can you just pull the pin, remove the weight, and use it for regular pullups with no assist?
<p>Wow, iDad. That will be a huge change for you to be in a gym. I don’t know why you can’t bring bands. I would! Good luck with the house sale. We still haven’t sold our other one, but there have been a lot of showings lately. We get a lot of notice before showings.</p>
<p>I’m just going to play it by ear. I want my Airex pad more than the minibands, but if I have to drag one of their mats over to where I’m doing plank rows on the cable columns, that’s what I’ll do. I have enough warmup options without the bands.</p>
<p>I don’t think I’m going to like working out in the gym that much. I’m better equipped at home, now. But, I’ve also got enough exercises that I can put together several workouts that don’t require much equipment.</p>
<p>There are a wide variety of assisted pullup machines. I haven’t run into a gym that didn’t have unassisted pullup setups - typically not machines - more like a steel sculpture.</p>
<p>Just go to the gym, don’t talk to anyone, do your thing, and go home. Better than lattes at Starbucks and, frankly, cheaper. You’d spend more than $10 a month if you hung out at Starbucks. </p>
<p>As you may recall, I have two gyms – one where people wear “Colgate” and “Yale” tee shirts, and one where people where “Newark Steel” and “Passaic Auto Body” tee shirts. It’s what we refer to as “a different demographic.”</p>
<p>It was such a gorgeous day I went for a run (1.5 miles) - then off to the gym. Felt good. Didn’t seem to have gained weight despite all the fried food and grits eaten in Atlanta.</p>
<p>We have a new Planet Fitness in town too. Apparently ours has dumbbells, but no barbells to the disgust of the Y crowd. (A lot of them joined it too though.) Our Y is a nice mix - more blue collar than white collar.</p>
<p>Who knows, I might well meet some other like-minded geezers at the DB rack. Yeah, I figured that for $10, it was worth it just to have an option.</p>
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<p>Congratulations, VH on matching your wedding weight. I don’t think I’m that low, but I’m not far off. I think I’ve got my wedding jacket hanging in a closet somewhere. I’m too broad shouldered. I could probably get it on, but it would be too snug.</p>
<p>Believe me, I know all about your hubby’s extra 65 pounds. A pound here, a pound there, over the years, and pretty soon you are talking some real lard. I feel like I’ve been really lucky to finally do something about it.</p>
<p>Two good days working out. Tuesday I did a cardio/TRX/Kettle bell circuit (small group class of 4). Warm-ups followed by carrying a KB in each hand (I picked the heaviest about 25 lb–stupid me) and walking up/down a flight of stairs 3x. It sounds easy, but my heart rate immediately went up to 80%. Followed this with TRX rows and squats. Back to Kettle bells–swings and then the stairs again for 2x. Back to TRX for more upper body stuff and then Kettle bell turkish get-ups. Ended with stretching.</p>
<p>Today I did a 5-mile walk with two friends. We usually go out once a week for a 5-7 mile walk, but we’ve all had crazy schedules and this was only the second time this year that we were able to walk together. Finished up tonight with the hot yoga class. I missed last week, but felt like I could keep up. I like this class because you do the same poses in the same order every time.</p>
<p>Wow. Making up for lost time! I’m tired just reading about.</p>
<p>Carrying two 25 lb weights up and down stairs is no walk in the park. That is seriously tiring. Be careful. I used to do my farmers walks up and down stairs until I lost my balance one day and came “this” close to tumbling down the stairs with dumbbells in my hands and breaking every bone in my body! :)</p>
<p>Favorite machine is the step master step mill…in twenty minutes i feel like ive done an hour of spinning. 200 flight of stairs. And doesn’t hurt the knees.</p>
<p>I understand why using a kitchen scale helps with weight loss. I’ve read comments about it before but it’s similar to tracking. You have to get the scale out, turn it on, switch to oz, then measure out your food. It’s like a little ritual - take a little out if too much, add a little when you’re close. And you can’t cheat, even if you are doing electronic tracking.</p>
<p>A pound here, a pound there…same goes for getting out of shape. I’m fortunate to be naturally slim, but I spent some years not doing much but sitting at the piano or the computer and gradually got embarrassingly out of shape. You don’t realize it until you have trouble lifting a grandchild, or you pull a muscle reaching around for something in the back seat of the car!</p>
<p>Anyway, PT for neck/shoulder pain has given me incentive to exercise ALL the parts of my body. Feeling better every day.</p>
<p>Now if I could just get my DH off the couch. And my S who also lives on the computer but is open to suggestion. We’re trying to figure out how to put a chinning bar on the new pergola! </p>
<p>We have noticed they took out all the “unsafe” climbing equipment at the playground. That’s where he used to go to chin himself. Without trees to climb, kids today have a real problem with upper body strength.</p>
<p>these guys sell a ton of different chin up bars for just about any conceivable mounting configuation, including some that hang from hooks on chains.</p>
<p>Or, depending on the size of the pergola, you could make two “cleats” out of pieces of wood to match the uprights, and just drop a 7 foot weight lifting bar (or any old steel bar) into the cleats. Kind of like a wood power rack!</p>
<p>Lamar was started by a former pres. of Schwinn Fitness who took the Airdyne and beefed it up. Lamar folded and this bike has been out of production for a while. Stairmaster is a sister company of Schwinn Fitness, both owned by Nautilus Bowflex.</p>
<p>BTW, Amazon has the small fan (quieter) Airdyne on sale for $599 delivered. That’s cheaper than the classic big fan Airdyne right now – it’s usually $150 more.</p>
<p>My neighborhood is full of stairs and hills, but the down hill bugs my knees!!! The step mill was busy today, so instead I put the treadmill at the steepest grade it would go.</p>
<p>60 degree, sunny lunchtime run. Is it really February 2? I ran right by the CEO (not a particularly friendly person, unlike my last CEO) in the parking lot. When I get back, I wait for a smoker to be going in the back door or someone coming back from lunch so I can be let in and not have to prance through the main lobby. My access badge won’t let me in the outside doors since I’m a lesser citizen of this place. Good run, though. 5 miles done.</p>
Feeling better every day.</p>