Monday morning, I joined the Moline YMCA. I used to belong there, many years ago, and it has changed dramatically. The Moline Y is three floors of working out nirvana, complete with a Wellness Center (huge room with LOTS of cardio equipment and weight training), a walking track, a jogging track, 4 racquetball courts, 1 Olympic-sized swimming pool and a smaller "warm" pool, and classes beyond the imagination, those which include pilates, yoga (acid yogurt, Kev?), cycling (can't call it Spinning, as it's trademarked), aerobics, aquatics classes, and much more. This morning I attended my first "Body Sculpt" class, an hour of burning calories and building muscle tone. I was one in a sea of 25 women, all listening to this really horrible dance mix tape of 70's songs like "Saturday Night", "I think I love you", and "Car Wash", among many others. Claudia, our nice albeit socially-inept instructor (why is she teaching??) led us through an hour of intense work for our arms, legs and abs. Here is what I've gleaned from my workouts so far...
-After two years of pilates training at home, my abs, or "core" as they call it now, is fucking rock hard. I pretty much rock at all the ab work.
-My lower and upper extremities are not rock hard. Quite frankly, I'm pretty weak there. Damn pilates!
-4 pound weights are too light for some things. 8 are just right.
-Don't sit next to the really fat lady who can't sit Indian style. She grunts the whole workout and looks really depressed.
-Elliptical machines are awesome. I used these at the gym I belonged to in Cincinnati. As I get older, my knees begin to hurt. These machines take all the pressure off the joints.
-My digestive system has never felt better.
-I haven't slept this good in weeks.
-I can eat more!
-I love my MP3 player. AC/DC's Back in Black is a great song to workout to. So are the B 52's.
-Cardio theatre's kick ass. Now I can watch Mythbusters AND Cash Cab while I workout. Woot!
Why did I wait so long to join?? Who knows. It is definitely worth the $36 dollars a month, which is only one hour of teaching. And I don't feel weird working out there. In Cincinnati, the gym I belonged to was filled with meathead jocks and women who had showered, done their hair and their makeup before coming to the gym. Blech. At the Y, it's everyday people, all trying to accomplish something. Staying/getting fit, losing weight, making friends, feeling good about themselves. All with either a middle that's too big, back fat they're trying to rid of, or something of the like. That's what I like. The camaraderie. The sense of all of us together, working toward a goal.
There is one thing... I look alright naked. No, I'm not being an asshole when I say that. Sure, there are things about my naked body I wouldn't mind changing. A little more meat on my ass. A little less meat on my thighs (damn Irish genes). But all in all, I feel pretty good being naked. However... I would NEVER feel comfortable walking around nude in a women's locker room. EVER. I'm not being a prude. It's JUST WEIRD. That's all I'm saying. Maybe it's a generational thing. Because all the ladies that were in the locker room naked today were over the age of 70 (um, gross?). I think it's great that they are comfortable enough to do that, as I said, I'm not. But have the decency to realize that some people are uncomfortable with your being comfortable. Cover yourselves up, for christ's sake!
1 comment:
The Y rocks! We have a membership to the one in Bettendorf. I've never taken one of their classes, but think I should since I think I might benefit from being in a group when I exercise. I get bored easily when I workout alone.
Keep up the good work!
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