Well, I Did It

I joined Fitness 19 yesterday.  It's a super nice facility and I look forward to getting started! I love the fact that each cardio machine has their own tv attached to it....not that I pay attention to tv really.  I blast my anger music and just watch the screen.  I'm not one of those gifted people that can read and exercise at the same time.  I bounce around too much - but I still like to have something to stare at.

I'm still addicted to my Kindle - of course, it's still the honeymoon phase, but I don't plan on falling out of love with it anytime soon. Although, that 1-click buying thing is very dangerous!!! 

On the Hunt for a Gym

I really should join a gym.  The problem with living on-campus at work is that I don't have to go home - so I don't need to stop by the gym on my way :-)  There is an exercise facility here, but it's geared more for the kids and is hot!  No air conditioning in the summer would mean no exericse for Dev.  So, I've been shopping memberships this morning.

First I looked at the YMCA.  At $40.00/month plus whatever the joining fee is, the cost is a little more than I want to spend to have access to an elliptical roughly 3 times/week.  I thought about joining just to get member rates on J's swimming lessons and youth programs, but you have to have a family membership to qualify for those.  The family membership is $60.00/month.

Pros:

Lots of offerings - classes, lessons, circuit machines, weights, elliptical, trainers, daycare, family oriented

Cons:

Cost, location, joining fee

Next up, I looked at Fitness 19.  They have a membership sale going on this week - $15.00/month with no joining fee!  I think this may be a contender.  Not to mention, they are located just a few blocks from my sister's house, so it would be easy-peasy to get my workout in either going or coming from taking care of J.

Pros:

Inexpensive, weights, elliptical, trainers, daycare, location, no joining fee

Cons:

No curcuit machines, no classes (though I probably wouldn't take them anyway)

There's also Anytime Fitness. I don't know much about them, but I may try out their 7-day free pass to learn more about them.  They are $36.00/month and are just a little further away from my sister's house than Fitness 19.

Pros:

Classes, weights, curcuit, elliptical, no joining fee, 3 locations

Cons:

$20 key cost, no daycare (though I probably wouldn't need it anyway)

I also checked out Curves. I have to be honest - I've never been interested in joining them, but since I watched the owners on Secret Millionaire, I wouldn't mind supporting them. However, I couldn't really get much off of the website and their hours are bad (8:30-6:30). 

Pros:

Curcuit, women-only, 1-day free pass

Cons:

Hours, cost (I'm assuming - couldn't find the cost anywhere on their website), no daycare

I'd be interested in Billings Athletic Club if they had a membership sale.  Otherwise, at $47.00/month the cost is too much of a deterrent.  I'd been a member there before when I had to do PT/Rehab and really enjoyed it.

Pros:

Classes, weights, curcuit, elliptical, trainers, locally owned, daycare

Cons:

Cost

Finally, I checked on Granite Health & Fitness. Yeah, they have lots of goodies ( most of which I wouldn't use) and are local.  Their cost isn't on their website, but from what I've heard from co-workers, it's pretty expensive.

Pros:

Classes, weights, curcuit, elliptical, trainers, massage, 7-day free pass, locally owned, location, daycare

Cons:

Cost

Ding, ding, ding.  I think Fitness 19 is the winner.

Woo-hoo!!

I think I may know what I'll be doing tonight :-)

A Beautiful Summer (Fall) Day

I was quite elated this morning when my sister called to let me know that her ex-husband called in sick for his visitation today.  (Long story on this one, and not sure it's a story I should tell in this format).  So, I got an unexpected fun day with Baby-J ( who is 3 and I really should quit calling her a baby.  It was supposed to be a beautiful day outside today so J and I decided to go to the zoo with a picnic and then play at the playground before ending our day with frozen yogurt.

I should have gone to Subway for our picnic - they have fresh fruit options and your sandwiches can be made to order.  Unfortunately I went with Wheat Montana instead.  Chips instead of fresh veggies & fruits (I didn't eat them).  Didn't really like my sandwich, so I ended up tossing out at least half of it. Half of the zoo was closed for refurbishments (which begs the question, why wasn't the price to get in 1/2 off then???). 

The animals were pretty scarce - I think it was just too hot for them (it was upwards of 90 degrees today).  Boris the Grizzly Bear was out putting on a show - she was essentially just sitting in front of the fence and checking out all the people that were checking her out.  Right across from her, the wolverines were enjoying mealtime, so they were out putting on a bit of a show.  Other than that, the animals weren't out at all.  J just wasn't interested though - she just wanted to play on the playground.  So, I think next time we'll just go to the park.  But, at least at the zoo, I get to walk the trails so I can get some exercise in at the same time.

The sensory gardens were beautiful and there were quite a few trees whose leaves were changing to a glorious red color.  Not to be missed.  That's one of the reasons I love Fall (even in 90 degree weather).

After 2 1/2 hours at the zoo, I was ready for something cold and refreshing so we headed to town for frozen yogurt. I'm now officially in love with Red Velvet Cake froyo.  And I don't even like Red Velvet Cake.

I'm so glad we went out to enjoy the day - there won't be many more beautiful ones like this left before Winter rears her ugly head.

Gold's Gym Dance Workout (Wii)

Okay, the verdict is - this was so much fun!  Naturally, I did beginner because I haven't worked out in way, way, way too long.  I intended to do 30 minutes - I ended up doing closer to 45.  The beginner workout was 16 minutes and included a warm-up, latin dance, cardio boxing, jump roping, and a cool down.  I enjoyed it all, but got particularly addicted to the jump roping.  Essentially, you stand on the balance board and do a calf lift everytime you want to jump....there are 7 buff guys (2 holding the rope, and 5 that eventually try to get in the rope with you). At the beginning, I tripped on the rope.  A lot.  But then I got my groove.  I ended up playing the mini-games 2 more times just so I could complete the full jump rope combo and get all those boys jumping with me!  Once I excelled at the jump roping, I then tried the other mini games: Matador (didn't like it - couldn't escape the bulls); Bull Riding (didn't like it - couldn't quit getting bucked off); Canoeing (Loved it!  You sit on the balance board and row to escape alligators - great fun!); Marathon Race (Okay...you basically pump your arms in order to get your person to run faster - I couldn't quite master it and kept getting hit by the lions); Sword Fight (Loved it!  You swing your arms like a sword and try to cut branches in the direction the game instructs you to.....and avoid ninjas). 

I will probaby order a second wii remote because it only detects the arms movements of whatever hand has the remote - so you can be rated poorly for missed actions without that second remote.  Not a huge deal - but it is recommended that you use two remotes (although it is totally do-able with just one). All in all - this is great fun and I am excited to do it again!

Plans for Today

I have 2 goals today.  The first is to drink 2 Liters of water; the second is to get in 30 minutes of exercise.  I've got two fantastic dance games for the wii - Just Dance and Gold's Gym Dance Workout.  They both look fun....and they are both sitting unopened in my living room.  Or there's Zumba.  I LOVE Zumba.  It is so much fun and I do have a few 30 minute workouts I could do there. 

Food Plans for the Day (so far)
B: Eggbeaters w/ mushrooms, ham, lf cheddar cheese
S: 5 Mini Cukes, 1 Baby Bell
L: Grilled Pork Chops, Salad w/ Ranch
S: 5 Mini Peppers, 1/4 c. cashews
D: Steamed Broccoli & Grilled Pork Chop
S: ??? (no plans)
E: 30 minutes
W: 2 Liters (hope for more)