My Hypocrisy

This is the story of my hypocrisy. It is about how I converting from slamming other people to being the great salesman myself. A couple of months ago, I changed gyms. I went from the higher income, fancy chain gym with a pool, track, and multiple locations (Genesis Health Clubs) to the cheap one I used to make fun of pretty regularly (Planet Fitness.) Bum, Bum, Bum bum bum bum bum! My friend Lisa got the worst part of the abuse, especially when her daughter started selling Girl Scout Cookies just inside the Planet Fitness entrance. I used their own jargon against them, "we aren't a gym, we're Planet Fitness." I had been going to Genesis for a while. The staff had changed but I still knew them all. Barely on a first name basis. The trainers usually gave me the head nod hello. I had gone to the multiple locations because one of the nine were 24 hours. They all had something to offer... pool, track, ab studio, kettlebells. All I had seen and heard about Planet Fitness was that it was like a big open warehouse with a bunch of treadmills in it.

Then, like so many other mistakes in my life, I allowed my realtionship status to influence my decisions. Planet Fitness had an offer fpr $20 to bring a friend with you whenever you go work out. It also included massage tables and tanning beds, a service I consider whenever I see my farmer's tan in pictures. Since the girlfriend wanted to stop working out at home with whatever the latest DVD craze was (Insanity, Zumba, Biggest Loser) and join me at the gym, that $20 started to look pretty good!  The member has lasted, the relationship did not. Then, to my surprise, Planet Fitness has really worked out. I did not think that it would, but it really has. It really is about 80% cardio equipment so crowded machines are never an issue. I don't enjoy treadmills at all (i run too close and end up halting it too often), so that has forced me to work outside of my comfort zone. There are machines for working specific muscle groups, which at this stage of my training is something that I am getting more into! In the southeast corner, almost as an afterthought, tucked away near the two cable machines are the two racks of dumbbells and one rack of curl bars. I will never be able to complain about people curling in the squat rack because there isn't one. All squatting and benching must be done on the five Smith (cheating!) machines. The place is actually 24 hours! Not like Genesis that who had one of their 9 locations listed as 24 hours... but even that one closed at 9pm on Friday and Saturday nights. I guess they like to party!  

Let me make sure I drive home this point: Planet Fitness is not without fault! No place is! I still have to laugh at the big bowl of Tootsie Rolls as you check in. They have their Pizza Mondays and Bagel Tuesdays, I don't partake but just turn my music up louder and carry on. The biggest lesson here is to not discount anything. Just bashing "the purple and yellow Walmart of gyms" (yes, that was what I called it) was wrong. It taught me a valuable lesson- I should always be changing. Always adapting. Never stagnant. Always be bringing new challenges.