Change is Hard

I got an email last night informing me that my gym is raising my monthly rate by $10 for March 1st. While $30/month is still reasonable considering other places are charging anywhere from $50 to over $100, it's still a lot considering there's a lot of broken equipment and the improvements that are scheduled don't do anything for me, i.e., more classes and "new equipment". I've noticed new equipment usually happens in April. It's a small gym so that means old equipment will be leaving. The Precor elliptical is old. So is the Stretch Cage, (that once wound up in the trash heap until a bunch of seniors complained). I also really appreciate the water pressure because the shower in my house is like standing in drizzle. But perhaps it's time for a change.

This morning, I pack for the gym and make up my mind at the last minute to check out the cheapest gym in town, Planet Fitness. When it first opened, there were wild rumors about tank-tops being banned because it was a "no judgment" zone and they didn't want people to feel bad about their arms. Good grief. The "Bagels Fridays" was too much but it got people talking. Not my kind of people. But that was over 10 years ago. 

Cybex gliders

It is still very purple though. And there are three vast rows of cardio machines. None of them are Precor ellipticals. Instead, there are rows of Life Fitness cross-trainers, Cybex gliders, step machines, stationary bikes, treadmills. There are also a few rowing machines but those are situated within the sea of individual exercise machine stations. There's a separate room all in yellow for circuit training, and a sign telling you that it's a 30 minute max to use. Uh, okay.

I sign up for a day-pass, stash my coat and duffle bag in a full-size locker, and venture out into a sea of purple equipment. The Life Fitness cross-trainers are slightly newer models than the one's at Gold's, and they still cause me issues with my ankles and knees. I manage 25 minutes. There's also Cybex gliders. The ones at Gold's hurt my lower back, but I actually fit into the ones at PF. First I need to find the Assisted Pull-Up machine because I spied inner handles that look narrow enough for my small hands to grip. 

Assisted pull-up machine

I'm actually tall enough to reach them from the side platform steps! The only problem is that these handles are so close to the body of the machine that I inadvertently hit my knees against the structure. At least I can get a few reps. Not as many as at the Stretch Cage, but this isn't bad. When I'm done, I realize that some guys at surrounding stations are giving me funny looks. What? Never seen a small middle-aged woman do pull-ups? 

The stretch area is tiny and next to the completely fogged up plate glass windows. The space was originally a retail clothing store but the gym makes good use of the vast open floor plan. I do a modified Core routine because I'm obviously not doing Walking Lunges here. I'm not familiar with the programs on the Cybex "gliders" so I randomly choose Cardio 1 which defaults to 30 minutes. I don't want to do 30 minutes but there doesn't seem to be an option to change the preset time. So I just stop at 15 minutes. That's more than enough cardio for me today. 

I check out the free weight area and find a bench to do skull crushers. As soon as I lay down, a group of girls show up and take up residence at a Smith machine tucked in the corner. This is the only area of the entire gym that has a mirrored wall. The 30 lb barbell is on an EZ curl bar and the bar is thicker than I'm used to. It makes the overhead movements trickier and I opt to only do two sets. The girls are doing squats in the Smith, and one has a 20 lbs BB that I'm not quite sure what she's doing as I'm trying hard not to stare. She's bent over and picking the bar off the ground but it's not a deadlift... I'm pretty sure that at certain times, this gym fills up with kids from the local HS in my town just as Gold's fills up with the HS kids from that town. I plan not to be here during those times.

The locker room is oddly shaped with small, medium and full size lockers in a dreary dark grayish brown color. The lone bench is skimpy and a bit unstable. There are showers that are adequate. Not as good as Gold's but still better than mine at home. The shopping plaza has a post office, a pet food store and an over-priced Acme supermarket. I'll still be trekking back to the Gold's plaza just for groceries at ShopRite. 

I haven't actually signed up to join Planet Fitness yet. I want to go back to Gold's to find out what new equipment they plan to bring in. And how to end my relationship with them since all gyms do automatic monthly billing. I'll miss the shower, the Precor elliptical and the Stretch Cage though, so I'll probably stay at Gold's through February. Probably. 

I've noticed that the parking lot at PF is always crowded and I'm not sure where all the people are for those cars because the gym isn't crowded and there just aren't that many stores to account for all the vehicles. It's a mystery.

26 January 2024 11:28-1:10
Dreary Friday at Planet Fitness

Life Fitness x-trainer
Program Manual L 1
Time: 20+5
Distance: 2,05
Cal: 184
Avg Hr: NA 169
Fitbit: 59-162 

HGPU 12+4
assisted pull-up machine / closest grip / banging my knees into the support

20 Hip Bridges
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
DeadBugs 20 x 5 alt/ss = 100
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
Fire Hydrants 20 x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Neck stretch / Eye yoga
Wall Squat 90s (!!!)

Cybex machine
15 minutes
Cardio 1 L1
Cal 143
Distance 0.82

Skull crushers / RipSkulls
30 lb EZ curl bar x 12/13 x 2 sets