Working Out

Sep 3 2008 3:00 PM2 commentsAdd comment

Well, summer is (practically) over, and it's about freaking time. I hate summer with the heat of a thousand suns, or at least I would, if it didn't require, you know, the heat of a thousand suns. I guess I hate summer with the cold of a thousand absolute zeros. Or something. Anyway, I'm super-excited it's nearly fall.

So! Let's consider my progress at the gym.

• I started participating in the Team Shape-Shifting program. It consists entirely of cardio and meets three times a week. So far I've lost no weight, but I increased my percentage of lean muscle mass. Or not; a different person
• I continued to see Jason, my personal trainer, once a week.
• I went to the gym a total of twenty-two times in August. Pretty kick-ass, especially considering I barely went that many times the entire previous seven months.
• I tried a yoga/pilates class. It was too hard. I didn't return. I'll save it for when I'm in better shape.
• I'm not feeling any less tired on a daily basis, or less depressed. Maybe I don't have endorphins.

Some things I need to improve:

• My eating habits. It's such a big topic I'll leave it at that for now.
• More strength training. I'm doing non-cardio work once a week, with Jason, and I don't think that's enough.
• More stretching. I'm about as limber as lumber. Have you ever seen a tree try to touch its toes? Yeah.
• Regular sleep schedule. Always a problem. Is there, like, group sleep training?

And one final concern:

I am spending a hell of a lot of money on gym-related stuff. The membership is $40-60/month (I get a $20 discount if I exercise at least 12 times). I pay Jason $60/session, or approximately $240/month. Team Weight Loss costs about $13/session, or approximately $160/month. I rent a locker for $8/month. Then I paid $150 for my heart monitor, and $40 for my RMR/EMR mask, and $180 (I think) for my RMR/EMR tests — all of which were one-time expenses.

Which all comes to nearly $500 a month, and I haven't even lost any weight.

Writing it out like that, it seems seriously insane. I mean, I don't even pay that much for my rent. Something's going to have to go, and I'm afraid it's going to be Jason. It's the most expensive item on the list, and I don't feel like I'm getting enough of a benefit from it. I can do my own weight training now, I think.

I'll continue going to Team Weight Loss for as long as I can afford it, because it's seriously helping me get to the gym on a regular basis. I'll have to monitor my locker usage, because even though it's fairly cheap, $8 is still $8. (They have free lockers, too, but you can't keep anything in them overnight, and you have to carry around a key.) Also, they're going to pressure me to take the RMR/EMR again, but I'll refuse. I really don't think it's worth the expense.

That'll cut the cost down to about $200/month, which is much more reasonable. I wish I were motivated enough to limit expenses to the monthly fee, but I'm just not. That's OK. Exercising is important enough to me that I don't mind spending some money on it. Just not $500. Crimeny.