Sunday, March 1, 2009

Operation TnT. (Tone n' Tighten.)

The nice gentleman holding the door for us at church this morning said, "Welcome friends! I see you shivering, you know we're experiencing one of our two seasons here in Texas. The other season is hotter."

That other season is the one I'm worried about. You see, 8 months out of the year here is bathing suit weather. The other 4 months I can hide my Mi Cocina chips and salsa-induced hips underneath a layer or two of clothes, but come March and April...it's officially time to break out the sundresses and shorts in full force!

So, I've determined to get into shape. Those of you who know me well are aware that I used to be a fitness-obsessed little individual. I swam competitively for 5 years, taught aerobics/yoga for 4 years, rock-climbed, ran cross country, and worked out a minimum of 2 hours a day.

Until last year. I fell off the workout wagon...and subsequently lost 25 pounds. Apparently, falling in love is the best weight loss program - and portion control didn't hurt, either. But sadly, although I fit into a smaller size, I'm still a little jiggly in places where I shouldn't be :) And I'm now the proud possessor of a fearsom loathing for anything that requires sweating. Well...almost anything :).......

I've got a little plan in the works that will require me to be tan, toned, and tight as Demi Moore's face...so here are my get-fit options.

The Equinox. Fancy new gym from California that made it's Dallas debut this year. I'm drawn to the promise of clean locker rooms, group classes with cool names, and *cue Hallelujah chorus in the background* VALET PARKING! However, this high-class gym comes with an equally high price tag. Do any of ya'll belong to an Equinox? Is it worth it? Can you help me convinvince Newlywed Husband to foot my fitness $$$?




Lifetime Fitness. We have close friends who belong here and love it- plus there is a location about 3 miles from our house. I'm not thrilled by the high price tag here either, if we're going to spend a lot of money, I'd rather belong to the amenities-laden Equinox.




24 Hour Fitness. I've been a member of 24 Hour since I started grad school. (That's 6 years, for those of you who are counting. Shut up, I know I'm old.) But, because I've been a member for so long, they grandfathered me in on a deal that allows me to stay a member and go to ANY and ALL 24 Hour Fitness locations for only $100/year. For life. And Newlywed Husband could add on to my membership for only $30/month. But because they are so cheap to join, I feel like there are (in addition to the normal nice people) some more...unsavory members as well. I, for one, loathe getting ogled by meatheads while I'm on the elliptical, and really don't want your advice on how to do bicep curls. Do you really think that I'm worried about form when I can barely manage the 8lb weights. Yeah, didn't think so. Oh, and all the locations smell like feet.



Tennis. One of only two sports where you get to wear cute outfits, do anything high-impact (bad knees), and it's acceptable to drink before and after a match. I'm all for a country club membership, drinks with the girls after a match, and oh...

private lessons with this guy...



Golf. So my hand-eye coordination sucks. Who cares? This is the other of the two sports that encourages cute outfits (helllllllooooooooo lilly pulitzer polo shirts~!), and you get to drink WHILE working out! And oh...

...private lessons with this guy!


What do YOU do to get into shape? Where do you work out? Does anyone want a workout buddy?

5 comments:

Lucky in Love said...

Oh the gym decision...it was a big one for me as well.

I saw an ad on TV for Five Seasons. We went to check it out and it is really super nice. No valet parking... :) but still nice. It is VERY clean and has super new equipment...and there are individual TVs on every machine which I loved! They had classes which I would definitely take advantage of. It's really a tennis facility...but I don't play so they offer another type of membership which excludes tennis for a little bit of a cheaper price...it was still pricey though (I think about $80/month)

After that we went to Bally's...and I was so not impressed. I felt like it was mostly catered to men...it was smelly and really a lot of just free weights. And NO TVS ON EACH MACHINE...HELLO! It was obviously much cheaper...but...

I stuck with Five Seasons. I think it has been worth it. I go because I know I am paying a lot for it...and I enjoy going to a nicer gym. The clientele is much better and I feel really comfortable there.

Hope this helps! :)

Anonymous said...

My honey and I work out together. It's nice to have someone else pushing you. As for you, TENNIS- esp if shirts aren't required for fellas like that!hehe.

Jen McCrady said...

i wish we could be work out buddies... too bad we live 45 minutes away from each other. booo! i want you to try the equinox and tell me all about it! there's no way we could ever afford that so we'll live vicariously through you!

love you and miss you! we need to get brunch soon!

The Pettijohn's said...

We work out (more so husband) at the Gold's on McKinney...it's clean, all classes are included in your monthly membership, and there's a movie theater inside!!!

No pool at that location, but we've been very happy over there!

The Shabby Princess said...

I took kickboxing classes for 6 months while I was between jobs and couldn't afford a gym membership. Currently, I have a gym membership through my work and I usually try to run on my lunch break--it's the only time I can squeeze it in. Although, it does get ruined when people want to go out to lunch and I can't say no!