Gym Rat

The ergs have moved and TVs have been added since this photo was taken. Now I can erg and watch football!

I joined a gym. It was $50 for a month, with unlimited 24-hour access and free fitness classes. I've been going twice a day most days, or sometimes once for 3+ hours, with a quick snack break between workouts. It's a nice change of pace.

The gym has a dry sauna, which is nice for post-workout meditation. There may be other benefits, but I just enjoy it because it feels good.

It's also been fun using a wide range of weight equipment. Our equipment at CRC was limited and generally oversized for a lightweight woman. The leg press was too heavy and I couldn't reach the sled. The bench for bench pulls was too wide and too high. We didn't have any dumbbells, so the lightest weight was a 45-pound bar: too heavy for 6x20 bench press. The selection of weight machines has also let me really push the weight for very specific target muscles.

All of that makes lifting weights a lot more enjoyable—which is great, since that is generally a huge focus of the winter season.

And, of course, there's the always amusing rotation of gym-goers attempting to use the rowing machine. Ten amusing minutes breaks up a 90-minute sweat session nicely.