At the gym

Here's a fact about me: I don't belong to a gym.  If I had the extra cash and lived close enough to a good one, I might be inclined to join, but neither is the case right now.

I refuse to let this deter me, however.  Too many people these days are convinced the only way to get in shape is to join a gym, go to classes, and maybe hire a personal trainer.  What a waste of money!  In my opinion, with a little creativity and will power, I can get just as good a workout outside the gym. I call this the Rocky IV influence.  It's why I go running in snowstorms and am the only adult that frequents playgrounds without a child in tow (monkey bars are good for pullups). Pretty soon I'll be lifting oxcarts in Siberia.

But when it's free, it's another story.  That's how I ended up at a gym in Center City Philadelphia last night.  My good friend Amy's roommate just got a job teaching a fitness class there, and we were told we could attend free of charge.

We started out on a 45 minute TRX routine, which involves ropes attached to the wall, from which the participant contorts him or herself into all manner of positions.  The person's body position relative to the wall dictates the difficulty level of the particular exercise.  In short, it's full body strength training using nothing more than ropes and a wall.

Amy and I doing TRX

We followed this with 20 minutes of spinning to the likes of Rihanna and Maroon 5, during which I sweated buckets all over the floor and bike.

The class was a different world for me.  Working out with others?  Indoors? With music?  When asked what I thought of the class, I responded that I enjoyed the change in routine and the chance to crosstrain, but for now I still prefer my long, outdoor runs and playground workouts.  This is probably because it's simply what I'm used to, and with time, I'm sure I could adapt to a gym routine.

But only if it's free, of course.