Pithy Title Here

I am very proud of myself. I seem to have gotten myself back into 7 th grade form... in terms of basketball. Granted, this is only a few notches higher above "terrible" on the basketball skills scale. One big advancement is that I can dribble down the court while looking ahead. If you are not familiar with basketball, this is roughly equivalent to being able to drive and change a CD in the car. I can even hit, I dunno, half my shots from within 15 feet? All this is due to the fact that the gym at our apartment building has a small basketball court adjacent to the cardio and weight machines. And that's really what I'm blogging about. I've been going to the gym for just about five solid years now. About 5-6 times a week. 60-90 mins each time. Without that, I would likely be sitting on a couch somewhere right now, alone, balancing a can of Pringles between my thigh and a gut so I could leave other hands free for the remote control and a bottle of beer. Instead, ...

Last summer, I feel into a nice rhythm of going to a Sunday morning spinning class. Then the NFL season started. Then it was the holidays. And for that time of year, Sundays just weren't working for me to go hit a bike for an hour. Since getting through the holidays, though, I've been hitting the gym even harder, getting myself back into shape for spinning. Today was the first Sunday morning spin I've done since August. And it went very well, but a few observations: Apparently, it's vital to have a sadistic spinning instructor. I mean, she pushes everyone to bring out their best, but she's not afraid to call the room out when they're not. Teenage girls who look affected for the first half hour - barely moving the pedals - and then walk out should just stay home. Spinning is not for everyone and, yes, by the end of class you will look sweaty and grimy . And if you cannot bear to deal with that, please stay home. The music is vital. A group of coworkers an...

It's as predictable as the Mets ' collapse each September: New year's Day passes and suddenly my gym is packed. Scores of people bound (bound?) by New year's resolutions come streaming into the gym. And take up MY elliptical machine. OK it's not mine, but it is annoying to have all these people crowding the place for the first three months of the year. I hear you. Sure, it's great that people have committed themselves to a healthier lifestyle. The thing is, the gym has a worse retention rate than the Branch Dividians . Most of these newbies will be gone by St. Patrick's Day. It's almost like training camp for a sports team and you're an established player. You know you've got your spot on the team. Now, all these rookies are taking up locker room space and you're curious who's actually going to be able to make the team. You can spot all these people a mile away, too. New workout clothes (nicer than mine) that are going to be used ...

My first stop upon checking into my hotel this afternoon was the gym. Hotel gyms can be hit or miss. The place I stay in Tampa has the same machines as my YMCA. That's, of course, rare. Today, the gym had passable equipment. Four treadmills, a bike and an elliptical. Because we all like to run, apparently. I hopped on the elliptical and got to work. A few minutes later, a woman walked in. Looked to be in her 20s. Looked like she needed the gym, I'll be honest. I guess she wanted the one elliptical machine, b/c when she came in, she saw me on it and left the room. She returned, apparently ready to wait for me to be done. And to get her through her wait, she had a large bag of beef jerky. I have to say, I have no idea why I haven't been taking beef jerky to the gym with me and I think I may start to.