My lovely lady lumps

In October, I decided I would change my workout plan. I belonged to the swank gym that is a benefit (of sorts) through my husband's work. We did have to pay, but it was a reduced rate. I am not a "swank gym" kind of girl. I am intimidated by it, I don't buy the 'extras' AND I was very disappointed that we had to pay extra for classes (spinning, circuit, yoga etc). For the same rate I could have joined a different gym and had access to more. Other excuses for not going (which is really what it boiled down to) were that it was a good hour and half of my time (from door to door) that wasn't all focused on the workout...driving there, parking, walking a distance to the front door, walking another good distance to the changing room, and another good distance to the workout room (and then back again through all of the mazes). The thought of that wasted time coupled with the fees, coupled with my lack of desire in the first place really made that gym a place to avoid. So the fact that I paid about $80 a month for nothing was starting to weigh on my conscience (and my pocket book). So, I did some soul searching and decided to QUIT.

In its place, I've joined Curves for half the price. Now Curves is likely to be the exact OPPOSITE of my swank gym. It is no frills, no extra costs, not a very big space, parking in front of the facility, conveniently located near my kids' school and I can get in and out in about 45 minutes. There are some interesting observations though: A) I'm probably more cardiovascularly fit than the system 'allows' B) I am always the youngest one there when I go C) there isn't a varied workout.

If I could be a fly on the wall at Curves, I would be a laughing fly. You see, there are resistance machines that work all parts of the body and between the machines are recovery blocks where you are meant to move around until the lady on the CD says "Change stations now". A lot of my 'friends' there are mildly moving their legs and their arms. I, on the other hand, am seriously kicking my legs as high as I can, or doing knee lifts, or kick boxing or fake jump roping, or jumping jacks...whatever I can to get my heart rate up. I look like a VERY BAD aerobics instructor.

All that being said, I committed to this mode of exercise because it was the most 'excuse free' program I could find. It is only 30 minutes of fitness, it isn't far from where I usually go anyway (the kids' school), it is cheaper, it does work my muscles, I get my heart rate up and bonus, I am the most fit in the building (minus the owner). So, for this year, Curves is how I plan to incorporate regular exercise. Of course walking/jogging, biking and other fitness related activities will be added as I get the inclination.

At the moment, I'm all about consistency NOT swankiness. So there!