Wednesday, February 18, 2009

the gym situation

last night i took a big step. i visited a new gym... planet fitness to be exact.

now this might not seem like a big deal to the rest of you, but just the idea of going to a gym (especially a new, unfamiliar one) can be very intimidating. all these crazy thoughts go through your head and psych you out. so when my friend allison asked me to go with her last night my immediate reaction was, "no thanks." then my sister called and told me she was going and that i really should come try it out and see if i liked it.

i must preface this with the fact that i've been a member of the coatesville ymca for about a year now and just this past january started actively going again. the great thing about the Y is that it's only a mile and a half from my house. i even walked there once! they offer great classes which i recently took advantage of only to have my favorite step class time changed and now i can't go. so for the past 2 weeks i haven't been going to any classes and have hardly been making it to the gym to workout.

so i went to planet fitness and was immediately a bit overwhelmed by the massiveness of it and the crazy amount of people that were there. allison and i couldn't even find 2 ellipticals open next to each other. then my sister showed up and filled a now-vacant spot next to me and we gabbed for the next 15 minutes which made it much easier to stay on the machine. after that we headed over to do this 30-minute circuit they setup where you do 2 minutes of step-aerobics, rest for 30-seconds, do a machine for 2 minutes, repeat... and repeat and repeat until before you know it you've completed a 30-minute intense workout. it was fun and different and i really enjoyed it!

so now the dilema... do i stay at the Y? do i join planet fitness? ahhh too many decisions!

i decided to list the pros and cons of each so i can come to a better decision. here goes:
YMCA:
pros
  • close- quick drive or walk
  • they off lots of different classes
  • there aren't a lot of people that go there that i know which is kind of a plus for me
  • more intimate setting (although could be a con depending on how you view it)
cons
  • expensive!!! $55/month is ridiculous... although if i would get my butt in action and fill out some paperwork i could get it reduced to $31 because of my low income
  • older machines which are very confusing
  • too many mirrors!!!
  • intimidating people... there are always a lot of really buff people there lifting massive amounts of weight in front of you while you're walking 4mph on the treadmill
  • class schedule changed and i'm too intimidated to try a new one
planet fitness
pros:
  • $20/month which also gets me unlimited tanning which is always a plus! also i can bring a guest whenever i want which would be nice if i want a workout buddy. i know my mom would probably join me there a lot which is cool.
  • they have massage chairs! need i say more?
  • judgment free- so planet fitness has this motto of "judgment free zone." basically they want to be a gym for real people and it is which is nice
  • there are a TON of machines
  • they have that 30-minute circuit setup which is really nice and helps you get comfortable with the machines
  • i have a lot of friends who go there so i could meet up with people and not feel so alone while i'm there
cons:
  • it's a 10 minute drive to get there which isn't a big deal but it is a con compared to my 2 minute drive to the Y
  • there are a lot of random people there like from high school and other weird places so it's a little odd. i hate running into people from HS so that's a little annoying.
  • it seems like it's busy all the time which can also be annoying. if you're working with a buddy you can't always work out together
  • i noticed last night that a lot of their treadmills are broken. i tried 3 or 4 and all were out of order which was kind of a pain
so you can see why i'm confused and don't know what i should do. plus, i need to find out if planet fitness can do anything while i'm out of the country for a few months this fall. will they put a hold on my account or will i have to keep paying? not that the Y does that, but it would be nice to know.

so i put a little poll here on my blog to get some help.

is it time to take another big step and switch gyms???

HELP!!!