Do you love, hate or feel neutral about the gym? A few years ago, I would have told you I hate the gym. Now I’m somewhere between neutral and like. I have enough equipment in my basement that I can run, bike and do a decent strength/core workout at home, but as a triathlete who lives in the Midwest, I don’t really have a choice about using the gym if I want to swim during the fall, winter and spring.
I actually consider myself pretty lucky when it comes to my gyms…yes, that’s right, plural – gyms. Given my long commute and sometimes crazy work hours, I’m grateful that there is an Equinox gym in the building that I work in downtown. Its not huge, but it has an ample amount of treadmills, weights and a pool. The whole family also belongs to a gym in the suburbs – Rush-Copley Healthplex. Rush-Copley is much larger than Equinox (but then most things in the suburbs are bigger), but basically has the same amenities, plus an indoor track and indoor tennis courts.
I typically commute to the office on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and work from home on Wednesday and Friday. Lately, my days in the office have meant Monday is either a swim or a core workout at lunch (core if I’m going to masters in the suburbs that night). Tuesday is a speed workout on the treadmill at lunchtime. And Thursday is sometimes a day off, but sometimes a core workout at lunchtime. It gives me so much additional flexibility to be able to fit a workout in during my lunch. It also helps that there are several (relatively) healthy restaurants in the building, so I can workout, shower, grab a salad and be back to work in about an hour. Working out during the workday forces me to plan ahead and really think about what I bring with me. The good news is that if I ever forget something, there is also a mall in the building I work in, complete with Bloomingdales and Lululemon.
I’m finding myself spending a lot of time at my gyms lately AND I’m actually beginning to enjoy (most of) it. I’m swimming at least 3-4 times per week – and one of those swims have been with a masters group the last 2 weeks. Since I’ve been spending so much time in the gym, I’ve been thinking about how different my two gyms actually are. Equinox is definitely a “downtown” club. Smaller, yet “fancier” locker rooms, total hipster vibe throughout the entire place, including the girls who look completely put together while they work out; from their perfectly matched Lululemon outfits to perfect hair and make-up. (I don’t know how they do it – if I tried to workout with full makeup I would like a zombie from a horror movie.) Rush-Copley is the complete gym opposite of Equinox. Large, spread out and lots of suburbanites getting their sweat on. Rush-Copley is a nice club, but definitely not “fancy” like Equinox. Its crazy, but one of the things that makes Equinox my favorite is that they have Kiehl’s products in the locker rooms! Though the cold plunge pool and indoor track at Rush-Copley are nice too.
Rush-Copley also has a warm water pool and plenty of “family swim” hours – Sienna loves to spend hours in the pool on the weekend. Actually, that brings up another thing I love about both gyms; they provide towels. I never have to worry about bringing a towel to the gym, which is so nice. While is strange to me that I am starting to like the gym, I find myself feeling very grateful every time I’m there.
What about you? Let me know how you feel about the gym. Do you belong to more than one gym?
