God knows I love to exercise at the gym, but in the past few years, I have to say it's been getting less and less appealing. The gym I had in California was a well known gym with many locations. When I first started, it was rather nice, but then they started to build a few super premium gyms and in the process, they let their others go to shit.
I mean really... why was it hard to find a working treadmill that didn't have gum in the cup holder. When your water bottle and towel have to compete for space with gum, hair, and probably belly button lint as well, you get a little grossed out. Sure you can blame the guests and call them pigs, but I kind of look at it like this... when I go into a gas station bathroom and there is shit on the toilet seat, I don't worry about cleaning up the piss I left behind. However, if it was clean in the first place, I would have done my job to keep it clean by wiping up my urine spillage. Or at the very least, if I pissed on the seat, I would have strategically, with my foot, lifted the seat into the upright position as to appear to not be the one who actually pissed on the seat to those patrons using the bathroom after me.
Oh and don't even think about using the locker room restrooms to take a dump; it is far too dirty to drop a bomb in there. I couldn't possibly subject my poop to that sort of torture. And then there’s the showers; when you take a shower only to feel dirtier than you were right after the workout (but now with a slight tickle of athletes foot and jock itch), you know something is wrong.
Though these were my general workout conditions, I knew I was moving to New York so I stuck it out with them rather than deal with a new membership. When I got to New York, I knew I wanted to go with a higher end gym that I had tried out before, but logic made me try out a more economical gym that was closer to the apartment. This economical gym was exactly what I expected; slightly trashy, over crowded, and lacking any ambiance or style. But, I was there to workout, not hangout so none if that mattered. Yep... none of that mattered until I went back to the high-end gym for another free trial.
My god what a difference money makes. Clean showers, in which one (being me) can walk around sandal-less with no chance of catching the foot or the jock itch. So clean, so stylish, plus designer products from Kiehl's to use at leisure, as well as complimentary (if complimentary means only paying the extra hundred bucks in monthly dues) mouth wash, hairspray, hair gel, deodorant razors, cotton swabs and more. One could feasibly save on rent and forgo the apartment bathroom and just use the gym's amenities.
Past the locker room, the equipment is all state of the art, or at least that’s what I’m told. All I know is they all work very smoothly and are gum/ belly button lint free. I'm almost appalled at myself for having the audacity to sweat in facility such as this. It really is dreadful, but at least they have staff to wipe up after me if I miss a spot.
The studio rooms are all immaculate, which means I won't be blowing some chicks hair wad away from my hands as I'm in Downward Dog. Each mat is cleaned and sanitized so I don't have to worry about getting ringworm, or having to schlepp around my mat throughout the city. In addition, there are designated studios for various classes, which means I no longer have to splash in sweat puddles left behind from the 9 o'clock spin class during my 10 o'clock yoga class.
Now if all this wasn't enough to turn me, let me tell you what did turn me... Cold Eucalyptus Towels. At the end of every workout, I drag my sweaty ass over to the towel fridge---yep, a fridge dedicated to the storage of towels, soaked in water touched with the essence of eucalyptus, and chilled to 39 degrees fahrenheit. Heaven! As stupid and self-indulgent as this may sound, it was the reason that sent me over the edge. Sign me up baby; I want the chilled towels. Plus they supply all of your towels for everything else like bathing, swimming, and sweating, which makes a difference when you are carrying these extra items throughout the city in a backpack. Especially after a workout when they are all wet and ripe.
No I didn't get a job as a membership salesman as you might be thinking, but I did sign up for a membership and I plan on getting my money's worth. Hell, I might even stop in when I’m not working out—did I mention the Cold Eucalyptus Towels???
