It's Fun to Stay at the Y-M-C-A!

Sing it with me now...

Young man, there's no need to feel down.
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.
I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy.
Young man, there's a place you can go
I said, young man, when you're short on your dough.
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time.
It's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.
It's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.

(Village People)

Today I took the leap and paid for a membership to the local Y! Actually, I signed up the girls for swim classes and in doing so realized that the cost differential to becoming a member and getting membership rates for the swim classes differed by not a whole lot. So, we are now proud, card-carrying, sweatband-wearing members of the YMCA!

Hmmm....

I guess that means I should actually USE said card to get my butt in gear this fall and achieve the results that have been eluding me this summer. I have been backsliding over the course of the last few months to the tune of about 5 pounds. I also know my fitness level has dropped off since May because I have not kept up with the sculpting and aerobic sessions. I have been walking quite a bit some weeks but not so much on other weeks. I am still fitting, mostly, in my clothes but they do feel a bit more snug than they did back in May. And I just don't feel as good as I did back in the spring.

Time to get back on track. Hopefully, the new gym membership will be a good way to get some of that motivation back that I had at the start of the new year. I am going to try to walk in the mornings, per usual, with Lauri and then at least a couple of times a week I hope to hit the gym while R and A are at school. E can come along and spend some play time at the FREE childcare center (what a bonus!). I need to look over the classes schedules and see if any will fit the bill - they have a ton of different styles of workouts which is great. I think having a scheduled class time will help with the follow through and it will be more fun working out with other people rather that in front of the TV screen.

While we were there today getting signed up (which was not a straight-forward process due to the fact that I did not bring a canceled check to sign up for the automatic checking transfer payment method....) we got a tour of the facility and it seems great! Aside from the (free!) childcare rooms, they also have a raquetball court, two studios for fitness classes, two pools, and the usual exercise room with weight machines and various cardio machines. There were plenty of machines and I imagine I won't be waiting to use any of them if I go during weekday mornings. And in the "over 18" locker rooms they also have a sauna and hot tub. Once I get the kids safely checked into child care rooms I can utilize those facilities as well. I might have to visit there more often for some basic R&R as part of my "(mental) health and fitness" regime....

As for the main reason for getting the membership...the swim classes! I had hoped to sign R and A up for classes on the same day at the same time if at all possible. Even back-to-back sessions on the same day would have been okay. However, I was so late in signing up that I ended up with A in a Wednesday afternoon session and R in a Saturday morning session. Sigh. It will be a hectic eight weeks -- but it is only eight weeks -- and perhaps for the second fall session I'll be lucky enough to consolidate their classes into one trip.

Between swim classes and exercise classes, I have a feeling that the Y is going to start to feel like my second home...at least I'll be getting my money's worth!