Young man, there’s a place you can go.
I said, young man, when you’re short on your dough.
You can stay there, and I’m sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time.
It’s fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.
It’s fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.
They have everything for you men to enjoy,
You can hang out with all the boys …
It’s fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.
So, I got a gym membership at the local YMCA, yesterday. Thanks to the above song, I never really knew what the YMCA was. I guess I always thought it was some sort of dance club or something. I don’t know!
Anyways, the one here is close to work and school – not really close to home, but that’s OK – and it has a great student rate. So since the temperatures are diving down and I’m sure there will be snow on the ground before I know it, I got a monthly membership there to get me through the winter
They have lots of group fitness classes at the YMCA here so I’m looking forward to getting back into spin, yoga, step and other group fitness classes that first sparked my love for fitness and motivated me to go to the gym on a regular basis. I’m especially looking forward to going to spin class again. I haven’t gone much since LAST summer or since I started running, but I’m hoping to go 2-3 times a week again. Plus, I signed up for a 7-week classon Sunday mornings. It’s 40 minutes of spin followed by 40 minutes of yoga. So on top of spending hours at the library this weekend hunched over my textbooks studying for midterms, I will also get a good workout in. I’m excited!
I still plan on running, hopefully 15-20 miles a week, but it will be nice to mix up my routine and add in other stuff. I’m looking forward to lifting weights again. When I was doing the 30-day shred on a regular basis my arms felt strong and toned. Not so much anymore. We’ll be remedying that right quickly.
I went for my first run last night since my half . I felt slow and groggy and was having serious stomach issues. I don’t think I should eat Clif bars before running anymore, they seem to do weird things to my tummy.
Do you belong to a gym? If so, do you like to go to group fitness classes or workout on your own? Any one have any advice for maintaining my running endurance through the cold, winter months?
PS – Boo, Grey’s. And that’s all I have to say about that!
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
I do believe that song is going to be stuck in my head alllll day now
I was actually okay with Grey’s last night… She has been rubbing me the wrong way for awhile…
Your blog inspires me to start running. And I haven’t watched grey’s yet, but now I really am curious as to what happens! I’ll have to watch it tonight
I am also a member of the Y. You should try bodypump if your gym offers it. Great 60 min weight class!
After my half I plan on mixing things up. I want to do a 5 mile run during the week and maybe an 8-10 miler on the weekend outdoors (weather permitting). The furthest I will run on a treadmill is 6 miles!!
yep i belong to a gym, have for the last 5 years! i hardly ever go to group classes — mostly cuz i never feel like i get a solid workout! but there’s a tuesday night class that’s a bootcamp — so i’m gonna try it out.
man – you look like a hardcore gym goer with your picture! =)
grey’s – i wasn’t fully expecting that.
thanks, now i’m going to be singing ymca in my head for the rest of the day.
we had a Y membership a few years ago and loved it. dive in!
I just tried out a one-week membership to our closest Y. It was great but I’ve been saving up for a year and a half to get a good quality treadmill for our basement. We’re actually going today after work to make the purchase!!! I am very excited because it’s getting too cold and slippery for a decent run outside.
Have a great weekend! Oh, and I am LOVING Outlander!!! I bought it for like $7 at Costco – well worth it. :0)
so exciting to hear how much you loved your yoga class! do they have any classes at the Y? that would be awesome. the ymca has such great membership options, i wish there was one close to me!
I absolutely ADORE the Y I go to! I think my favorite part is the TV attached to each cardio machine, because I refuse to pay for cable at home so I like to go there and run/watch my favorite shows
I also love that it never seems to get packed in there. I think that has more to do with the end of the city I live in (very quiet), but I don’t care about the reason – I love it!
I have yet to hit a fitness class there…but one of these days I’ll get around to it
When I moved here, joining our Y was one of the first things I did. I’ve never taken any group classes because my work schedule never seems to fit the ones I want, but I like having all the weights and the different options for cross training when I can’t run. Or the treadmill when it’s rainy like this week here. One of the trainers is a friend of mine and she teaches a treadmill class that I’d love to take where she does sprints/hill intervals, etc. Treadmill running tip: always have at least a 1% incline – it’s more like running outside.
PS- adding you to my blogroll
Yep, that song’s gonna be stuck in my head all day now!
I don’t belong to a gym, but I’ve been contemplating…
H =)
I belong to a gym but lately I’ve been running outside for fun. Not sure why. I like the cool air when I run. I love my gym mostly because they have ALL the equipment I need for cardio + weight. I will get back in there more as the winter progresses. Sadly some of the gym locations don’t have any classes, others do. I have yet to suck it up and go to a class, though. Maybe soon. =)
Congrats for getting back to the gym! That class sounds great! I went to my bootcamp class last night. We did mostly power yoga, but a hard session of pushups, abs and even assisted pull ups!
I have YMCA membership as well, and it’s the best decision I made this year. I love the group classes but once a week after work I go to do my own thing. Perhaps I’ll see you around
I love group fitness and when I go to the gym that is what I usually do because I feel like I get the most out of my workouts. When I workout alone I tend to slack!
Step is what sparked it for me, and I still love it but I also like Kickboxing (sometimes called TurboKick), and Bodypump. I have not tried Bosu, but I have heard good things about it. I think I would end up breaking my neck.
Have fun!
I’ve been doing Tai Chi at the tournament capital and am thinking of taking up Bikram weekly since it’s right below my work anyways, since I’m always trying to warm up in the winter anyways. I find group fitness motivates me to go more, but to each their own.
I don’t have a gym membership currently, but I REALLY want to join the Y here!! They have great classes (spin, yoga, balance ball) that I used to really enjoy but cancelled my membership because I wasn’t getting much use out of it.
I really need to change that and get back into it!!!
I used to have a Y membership back home- it’s more funny if you know what that song is *actually* about
Now I work out at the OSU’s gym, since membership is included in our student fees. I live literally right next door to one of the gyms, which is really nice in the winter. I’m not a huge fan of working out indoors (I’m more of an outdoor runner) but it is nice when it’s frankly too cold or snowy to go outside.
Have a good weekend!
~Amanda
PS: I took your blog topic from yesterday and sort of ran with it on One Happy Panda today, check it out if you get the chance.
I go to the Y too! I also didn’t really know what it was because of that song. And I think I thought it was like cheap and not nice haha. But now I know better, I love it! I am totally into spin and all the fun classes. I wish mine had a spin/yoga combo I’d love to do that!
I used to work at the Y, which meant I had a free membership included as a perk to my job. Except I never actually worked out when I was working there. Looking back, I so should have taken advantage of that benefit.
You’re so cute!
I’ve never had a gym membership, I would love one but booting around by transit in the winter with spotty service just makes it terrible. If there was one close to home thought? I would love that =)
Have fun!
I wrote thought when I meant though because I’m tired lol
Maybe sometimes commenting on blogs is like going to the gym- if you’re not perfect it’s good that you’re at least getting out there!
I belonged to our YMCA for several years and loved it! I’m considering re-joining a gym as it gets cooler. I need to be better about cross training and I’m looking forward to group classes!
My Lifestyle’s membership is still frozen. I froze it when I was preggers and that’s the way it has remained over a year later. Ah ha. It’s so hard to get to the gym now that the dude is here. I have been Shredding however. At least it’s something. : )
I have a gym at my apartment which is pretty nice but I would love to join a gym just for the classes. I took a spin class once and it just about killed me…so I’d love to go again! I’m definitely going to have to check out some gym’s now. Thanks!
I was a member of our YMCA when I was in HS. They had SUCH good HS student rate, but not college rate so I had to leave. I was hard-core obsessed with going though.
i have access to a fitness center at work. i go at least 3x per week in the winter – sometimes 5x per week. not as often during peak running training. i belong to a different gym on a month by month basis on and off when i’m swimming.
i’ve tried group training, but i mostly work out on my own. i’ve enjoyed zumba though…
That sounds like a really great idea! I’m excited to hear about all these new classes you’ll be taking
ps: great picture on your card!!
I get a free gym membership at my university as long as I am a student … and the university gym is the best gym in the city … so it’s a good deal!
Gotta love those classes! Definitely an added challenge to the muscles after they’ve learn the in-and-out of running
The winter months always call for some indoor days – so at least you’re planning ahead!