Thursday, November 11, 2010

Switching health clubs

I joined a new health club this week! I'm now a member of the Licking County Family YMCA (actually I think it's just The Y now) in Newark. It's wonderful, they have so much there. Two pools, two fitness centers, including one for just women and youth, racquetball courts, an indoor walking track, and a remarkable amount of classes. And -- perhaps the best part -- a sauna!

The bike trail starts right outside too, so it will be really easy to do my strength training right after my runs.

I have heard so many good things. Plus I toured it at two times I normally go -- in the morning and after work, so I know it doesn't get packed and the crowd is bearable.

I was going to wait until next year to make the switch but they were waiving the joiners fee this month so I went ahead and signed up.

Of course, it's triple the price of Aspen Fitness Centers in Heath, where I was up through today. My needs have changed since I first went fitness club shopping a year ago (namely, I was looking for something not too expensive because, face it, I probably was't going to use it.)


I got my money's worth there. Their equipment is high quality and they have plenty of it. It's your typical stripmall place. My only real beef with it was that it was really open, one big room -- I always felt watched. I'd still recommend it to anyone not wanting to pay a lot, though.

The best thing about it was their personal training packages were very reasonable. I signed up for a few and learned so much.

The other club in town is the Advantage Club, which I haven't really explored. Both of their locations are a bit of a drive for me, versus Aspen and the Y are five minutes from my apartment.

I have a longer post to do at some point this weekend with some exciting news. I'm officially on vacation sans a workshop I have to go to Saturday, so for now it's time to get the dogs out, rewatch some Glee numbers and enjoy some lazy time!

2 comments:

  1. I hear you. I am at that point. (though I have been on hiatus due to a chest cold) I joined Planet Fitness because it was cheap. Now I want something with classes. I will have to wait and see.

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  2. The long runs are all about pace and rest. I remember not too long ago, I went to my friend's 60th birthday party on a Saturday night and we had quite a few beers. My 8 mile run Sunday was a good 2 to 3 minutes slower than I had been running. I just chalked it up to a little too much fun and kicked butt the following Sunday.

    Everyone does have bad days though. That's why it's good to periodically cross-train. It gives your running muscles a bit of a break.

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