The Road or The Gym

I don't like gyms; I don't think I ever have.

You know, health clubs, fitness centers and the like. It always seemed so pointless to me, driving to a place to torture yourself on machines in order to get/stay in shape.

And then I joined one.

A few years ago, I joined a women's-only gym back in Austin. I was still intimidated by the machines, but I absolutely loved the classes. It was there, in fact, that I discovered the wonders of the yoga class. I even got my butt kicked (enjoyably) a couple of times at a hip-hop dance class.

I finally cancelled my membership because the classes were always at inopportune times and I never went.

A few years later, we moved down the street from a community center with a pretty nice gym. It was cheap and close to the house. We went semi-regularly, and there I fell in love with the elliptical machine.

What would be perfect, I thought, was if I could afford to *buy* an elliptical machine and never have to go to the gym again!

Fast forward a few years. I've had a baby. I live in the desert. Though I had a pretty good walking regemin going when we lived in the community of a thousand trails, once we bought our house I let it slide. There weren't many places within walking distance that I wanted to go to, and the neighborhood in general isn't exactly walking friendly.

I put on (quite) a few pounds (*after* losing all my baby weight, sadly enough) and finally decided it was time to join a gym. Maybe I could take some classes again.

Of course, If I'd have known that I was pregnant at the time, I never would have joined. The prenatal fitness classes are practically non-existant, and I don't really plan on putting a six-week-old in the gym daycare, so I probably won't use it much for the next year or so. Plus, I've started walking again.

And, you know what? I'd really much rather walk outside and get some fresh air and sunshine instead of being cooped up in a gym, even if it is on my beloved elliptical.

Since I'm stuck paying for this for the next two years (yay, contracts!) I'll have to make the most of it. My goal is to go to the gym at least once a week, and keep walking the rest of the time.

Does it really need to be this hard to be healthy?