Goodbye to you, Bally Total Fitness!

Yesterday, I canceled my membership to Bally Total Fitness, and I have to say...I couldn't be happier!

I have been working out at Bally for over 4 years now, mainly because it is very close to my house, and the membership was quite affordable.  However, after completely losing my inspiration to work out, I knew I had to make a change.

First of all, let me say that I appreciate all the comments, emails and even phone calls that I received from so many of you about yesterday's blog. 

I was just being completely honest with my feelings, and according to your messages I am not the only one who feels the same way about food.  It's nice to hear that we are all a little emotionally crazy!  haha!

But anyway...

I knew that I had to do something completely different.  I have been OVER Bally for some time now, and even willing myself to walk in there has been a struggle.

So, I went and got a membership at the brand new LA Fitness downtown!  I am so happy about it!  Not only is the place beautifully clean, but it also isn't incredibly crowded after work. 

It could be just that its a new place, but I am actually looking forward to going to the gym again.  I have a feeling that I won't need to refill my Boniva prescription anymore!

The Bally that i was going to was always so dirty, and rundown.  Random machines were always broken, and then it would take a good week or two for them to be fixed.  There were leaks in the ceiling whenever it rained, so there would be buckets on the gym floor to trip over in order to catch the water drops. 

One of the two elevators to get to the gym would randomly be 'Out of service' which was a major inconvenience.  The staff never once said a word to me the entire time I worked out there.  It was always so hot in there, as if the staff turned up the heat so that they wouldn't be cold, but HELLO...it's a gym!  People are sweating already!

The patrons of the gym were lazy, and the staff let them be!  Nobody ever re-racked their weights.  Dumbells are lying all over the weight room floor.  There is no towel service at Bally, so nobody wipes off their machines after use.

Because of the fact that the membership is probably the cheapest around, you would get all kinds of weirdos working out at the gym.  Some people have no respect towards others, and take over 2 peices of equipment at once.  Other members would wear all kinds of random crap fashions to work out in, many not washing their clothes in between workouts.  Ugh...

Thank God that is behind me!

My new gym, LA Fitness is just a few blocks from where I work.  I am really looking forward to getting back into the routine of going to the gym immediately after work, and getting it out of the way.

At Bally, because it was extremely packed right after work, i would wait and go around 9:00 at night...which meant that half the time, I would get home, eat dinner, be comfortable, and then end up not going.  Other times, some of you would call me up, asking me to hang out or go to dinner, and then once again I wouldn't go workout.

It felt weird to workout yesterday in a new environment where I don't know anyone!  At Bally, I found myself stopping to talk to people continuously, because I have a lot of acquaintances, or people that I met, that work out there.

Yesterday, in the locker room, I met my first LA Fitness friend.  I was looking at how to work the locker (yes, lockers that are digital and you don't need a lock!  Nice!)  and this guy asked me if I knew how to use it.  Then we started making small talk about how it was my first day there, and that I came from Bally, etc.  He's an investment broker who lives in the Loop.  He was very friendly, and ended up giving me his card.  Sweet!

I have to say, my workout went longer than normal because unlike Bally, there are actually TVs on every machine, and I couldn't leave without finishing the TV show I was watching!  I can see that this is going to be a good thing for me!

So, yes...I will continue eating what I want when I feel the need to, but now at least I hope to counter those calories with a nice, wonderful workout. 

At least until I get bored and need a NEW change of scenery.  :)