I joined a gym

I signed us up for a family membership at a gym down the street. The kids have been taking swim lessons there for a little while and we thought it would be a good idea to join. Now I know what your thinking, "Mike, why do you, the model of perfect physical fitness need to join a gym?" To that I say, you haven't met me. Jenn and I have been okay with getting some exercise in the summer and fall with races, but the winter comes and it all goes down the drain.

See, we have a treadmill in our house, and we do use it, but we'd rather be dragged behind a wild horse through gravel than run on it most of the time. It is mind numbingly boring. There is nothing more sad than running for an hour and not even making it to the kitchen. Especially when you know there is ice cream in the freezer. You can hear it whispering your name as you run in place. It is taunting you. It doesn't help that the treadmill is in the laundry room and there is no TV in there.

That is why we joined. There is a track in there so you can actually move a you run. Sure, it is only 1/9th of a mile, so if you want to run long distance you might get dizzy, but at least you are moving. Besides that there are treadmills, ellipticals, recumbent bikes, and stair climbers; all with TVs too look at. Plus, there are more machines than I've ever seen before. I don't know what half of them do, but I can schedule an appointment to find out what they are for. There are also free weights so I can go in, do one rep with as much weight as possible, scream while I do it, and drop in the bench making a lot of noise. I love it when guys do that.

Since it is a family pass the kids can go, too. Our daughter needs to bulk up a little. I'm thinking of having her do some squats. My son is going to work on his upper body. He's starting Tae Kwon Do next week, so if he wants to kick some butt, he better get moving. (You do know I'm kidding about that, right?)

Wish me luck. I'll probably hurt myself the first day I go. That's my style.