This Weeks Workouts And Gym Dilemma
I didn’t miss any of my workouts this week and felt really great after all of them. I’ve been doing a lot of circuit training the past few weeks. I usually get 1-2 dedicated weight training sessions in per week which I think is sufficient for my goals.
Anyhow, on to the workouts:
- Saturday, Morning (50 min)
- 30 min on ARC trainer doing 1 min intervals to max followed by 1 min of rest. 10 min on incline trainer at 15-20% incline. 10 min on stationary bike at around 95 rpm.
- Sunday, Morning (55 min)
- 30 min lower body workout doing the 12, 10, 8, 6, 12, 12 BFL style stack. 20 minute aerobic solution (MAS) style cardio on ARC trainer.
- For those not familiar with the 20 MAS it’s similar to the high point technique used in BFL weight training in that you start at a 5 (out of 10) in terms of intensity and warmup for 2 minutes. You then increase 1 intensity per minute for 4 minutes and then go back to 6. Repeat that for 4 intervals and then do a final minute at an intensity of 10. A 10 should be an all out 100% intensity where you reach the end of the 19 minute mark completely spent not able to do any more. You then finish up with 1 minute at a 5.
- Monday, Evening (20 min)
- 2 min warmup, 18 min circuit training using 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels. I wasn’t feeling up to a long workout and I had to work some in the evening, boo.
- Tuesday, Evening (30 min)
- 2 min warmup, 28 min circuit training using 30 Day Shred again combining stage 1 and part of stage 2.
- Wednesday, Morning (30 min)
- Ditto Tuesday. What can I say, I’m a creature of habit sometimes.
- Thursday, Off Day
- Nada, zero, zippo exercise today.
- Friday, Morning (50 min)
- 2 min warmup, 18 min circuit training using step 1 of the 30 Day Shred, 30 min upper body weight training following the BFL stack.
Gym Dilemma
So we (the wife and I) currently have a membership at Xsport Fitness which is a 24 hour gym in our area. It’s about 15 minutes drive to the gym which isn’t horrible but certainly isn’t ideal. Given how restricted my time is in the morning this means I usually only use the gym on Saturdays and Sundays.
So here’s the dilemma, there’s a new gym opening really close to our house called ATI Fitness Center. It doesn’t officially open until June (they’re still building it out) but you can get in now with no initiation fees and the monthly rate is low and set for life. While it’s a much smaller gym than Xsport it’s only an 8 minute walk or like 2 minute drive from our house. Another huge perk is it’s like 30 seconds from my train station and my morning Caribou so I could workout, shower, coffee, and hop the train to work in the morning without blinking.
I bet your wondering where the dilemma is right? Well we’re paid in full at Xsport for another 10 months. Fortunately the membership was fairly cheap and I don’t feel like I’d be throwing it away, heck I might even use it occasionally. My wife doesn’t care what I spend on fitness, she’s said that to me a few times. She’s awesome isn’t she?
I have to admit the conveniences and possibilities of this new gym seem like it would be a perfect match. It’s close to home, the train, has nice equipment, seems like it might have CrossFit (which I’ve always wanted to try), and it’s pretty affordable.
Worst case I sign up, don’t like it, and just lose first and last months dues.
Best case I love it and pay double gym dues for a while until the Xsport membership expires.
What do you think? What would you do? I’d love to get some advice from my fitness peeps.
8 Comments
Comments are closed.
I say do it. I belong to two gyms and use both, although for different reasons and for different things. Your wife is supportive, so I say go for it. It is an investment in yourself and your health and fitness.
It actually might work out well to have both of them in case I don’t like the new one. The equipment will be a lot less at the new one so like you said I might use each of them for different things if I decide to keep them both active. Thanks for the feedback!
yep, join the new one. Especially if it’s cheap and crossfit is something you’re looking for. Convenience in exercise is the one of the number one reasons people stick to a program and it doesn’t get more convenient than that! Do it.
.-= mac´s last blog ..3 Ways to Relieve Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness =-.
In your situation, I would totally go for it. I know how precious time can be when you have kids. That’s about the only thing holding me back at this point from getting a gym membership. The closest gym (that has a reasonable membership fee) is about 15 minutes from our house. I figure once you add all the driving time, changing/showering, that’s probably an extra 45+ minutes. At this point, that’s just not worth it to me.
.-= Brandon´s last blog ..Weekly weigh-in #12: Star Wars Edition =-.
I couldn’t agree more, time and convenience are a precious commodity with kids. Even if it only saves me 20-30 minutes per day on the weekend it’ll pay dividends later. I can also likely squeeze more workouts in at the gym in the morning and after work instead of after they go to bed when I’m more likely to just want to relax.
Hi Sean,
Just found your website. Keep up the good work.
It seems to me like your asking yourself the wrong question. You already know that you will join the new gym (I think). So the real question becomes: Should I take advantage of the introductory offer by signing up before they open? It then becomes a financial question. Consider your current financial situation and see if it makes sense. I would say however that you should be able to negotiate a pretty good deal even if you decide to wait until the gym is open. And perhaps they will offer an even sweeter deal closer to the opening date (door crasher, etc). Again, just do what makes sense to you and your financial situation. Just my 2 cents worth.
I think your right. The more I think about it the more I’ve already decided. Since we have a few months before it opens and at that point we’ll only have like 6 months on our contract it stings less that’s for sure.
I’ll have to play coy a bit and see if they can sweeten it some like you said. Maybe some personal trainer time or other discounts on supplements etc. Good ideas
Defiantly GO FOR IT!!! I agree with Mac. The more accessible something is the more you are going to go. You have even worked out a plan (gym,caribou,train) !!!