Seeking New Gym

When you move, there are lots of things that you have to find again. Hairdressers, dentists, car repair guys....and your gym! And truth be told, I'm not having much luck with finding many of these, most specifically a gym. I had told myself that until I knew where I'd be working, I wouldn't spend the money to join a gym because I could just run and do some machine-free exercising at home. Well, while that's true, our schedule has been so all over the place that my discipline has been slipping and I haven't been making the time like I should. It's easier to convince myself to take time to work out if there's a dollar figure attached to it.

So I started my foray into searching for a gym in Williamsburg, online last night. I can always join the W&M gym at an alumni rate and get a Fitwell pass once the semester starts, which would be nice because I could take classes again AND my yoga practice would be included. But despite being a slightly better deal than a non-W&M gym, something about returning to my undergrad gym and taking classes with freshmen, seems weird to me. Granted, it's a fantastic gym with lots of offerings, but for some reason I'm just not feeling it. I feel the need to explore other options before just settling on what's familiar.

However, the problem is, all the gyms I've found in Williamsburg have high monthly rates. Granted, it's because they all include unlimited classes, but $45/month is steep! But one gym offers spin, bootcamp, yoga, pilates, and some other classes I'm interested in, so part of me wants to give that gym a shot because it's set to a "real persons" schedule as opposed to a student schedule. They have a "free" trial week that I'm tempted to partake in next week, just to see what it's like. They have super early classes that I want to summon up the discipline to attend, but again, $45/month is steep! Especially when I know similar things will be offered at W&M, but I'm afraid their Fitwell class times won't mesh with my schedule.

I guess my question with this is, how much do you invest in your fitness each month? In Tallahassee, we paid $20/month for the gym (that got me in all the time and Will could come with me an unlimited amount as a "guest"-Gold's didn't do family rates) and another $120/20 classes of yoga, which usually covered us both for 2-2 1/2 months. So I guess paying $45/month for everything included is less than $20/month for gym + ~$60/month for yoga. But it just SEEMS so much more expensive! If you don't mind, please share with me what you invest on a monthly basis for your fitness and what that includes-I'm curious to know so I can have some sort of price comparison!

Lower Body Burn

Friends, I just have to share this workout with you. I did it yesterday morning, not even in its full entirety, and had jello legs by the end. I woke up this morning to do my run and I knew it wasn't worth dragging myself out of bed to do a 50-minute run, because I could feel the sore muscles all throughout my thighs/hamstrings/glutes. I opted for a 30-minute run, which was a struggle enough with my tired muscles (I've never felt my quads burn like that on a run!).

However, despite the struggle, I actually really enjoyed this routine! I rarely target my lower body because I assume that with running and whatever else I do, it gets a workout whether I intend it to or not. Well that was a somewhat false assumption! I've been trying to incorporate more squats into my non-running routine, but with little success. This workout targets your lower half without having to do traditional squats and it gets much more than just your glutes! Wowza! It also recommends doing three sets of each move for 20 reps....needless to say, I made it through one set on most of these and some of them I didn't even get to 20 and I still feel it. So congrats Self Magazine for coming up with this (literally) kick-ass routine! I think I know what I'm doing more often on my "days off" for cross-training...

Oh, and did I mention you have no excuse not to try it because it doesn't require any equipment?

Routine: Nine Moves to a Tighter Butt

(Killer first move of the series....burpee bonus!)