Gym Cheapskate

I've lost a few more pounds. It's really not a surprise with everything that's been going on outside of exercising. I'm still very far away from the weight I'd like to be at, but my body seems to want to hang on to the pounds and I seem to want to hang on to the Thin Mints. Go figure.

So, this morning, after running through a quick upper body resistance circuit to get rid of my Jell-O arms, I got to thinking about getting a personal trainer again. It's expensive and you have to sign a contract for 18 months. 18 half-hour visits for forty some dollars per visit...once a month. That's pretty high for my budget. I like using the machines and find that I'm not really comfortable dabbling in the free weight section. Better results from free weights, but if I don't feel comfortable being there I'm just not going to do it. I'm stubborn like that.

What's a girl to do. Stalk, er, covertly observe other gym members that is. I've been noticing certain people who do employ a personal trainer and if I can just watch their routines then I'll copy them. Lordy, I'm a cheapskate at the gym.

So, here's my plan. The treadmills look out over the rest of the gym, so starting on Monday I'm going to start observing the circuit that a couple of the people who are there regularly do while walking on the treadmill. I'll watch and then when I leave I'll jot it down in a notebook in the car. I know, it sounds creepy to be watching someone workout, but I'm not really watching them. I'm mentally recording the machines that they use, so that I can use them too. Without having to spend money that I don't have. Tricky.

I used to go to a gym in Phoenix where the personal trainers met with you once a month and wrote down a routine for you to follow. There was no extra charge (although it was slightly more expensive...about $10 more a month) and even if you just grabbed them to ask a quick question during the month they never acted like you were stealing their time. I liked that. I think that if this gym did the same thing their member retention would be higher. Better support yields better results which yields happier, more motivated members. So, if you're from the gym I go to...HINT, HINT, HINT!