New Jersey’s gyms will be opening in a few days, finally. I decided to commit and sign up for one. My company likes their associates to sign up for using a gym, and they offer perks. There is nothing like incentives to help people break bad habits or start up new ones. If there was one for mask wearing, we’d have our current problem licked in a week!
Anyway, a gym close to me is a rebuilt former movie theater. Back in the good old days before multiplexes, my town had a single-screen theater, and back in 1973 they showed The Exorcist. That movie came out years before the first true summer blockbuster (and it came out on the day after Christmas at that), but it was quite a phenomenon. The lines to see the film stretched for nearly half a mile. The theater closed in 1986 and sat as an aging reminder of bygone days until a popular purple-themed fitness chain bought it, restored the original facade and turned it into an ideal spot for the exercise crowd.
I’ve been to gyms a couple of times over the years, but until recently no fitness center really seemed to like a less-than-fit person to work out. The problem is that nobody is interested in the Before, only in the After. I’m definitely a Before. But hey, you have to start somewhere.
Years ago, I tried to enroll at a now-defunct gym which had offered a special of twenty visits for $20. The sales associate, however, played dumb and didn’t want to give me the special. He sat me in a sweaty closet of an office and tried to intimidate me into a much more expensive deal: he even brought in a muscular hulking behemoth of a workout lug standing what seemed to be seven feet high (and about five feet wide: the man had arms that could feed a family of eight), who stood over me as if I would only leave with my life if I succumbed to their will.
“I want twenty visits for twenty bucks,” I said levelly. They let me go with no enrollment and seemed disappointed. I was not quite the Before I am now, but they’re out of business, and I still have my self-esteem.
Walking has helped keep me in decent shape, but there are times when hitting the streets for a stroll may not be wise, so a gym seems like a great way to work out safely. Shorter days are coming, too, so once daylight goes, I can think of no place better to get fit than a secure facility.
Buying workout gear, fortunately, is still the same, and I’ve bought a trio of outfits for this venture, including moisture-wicking tight but colorful tops and bottoms. The sneakers I think I have covered, along with socks. I made sure to get pants with pockets; I don’t think hanging a purse on the equipment is a good idea.
Of course there are now stringent rules when going to a gym. Masks are required, and one is expected to wipe down the gear after using it. No problem. I have my anti-bacterial gel handy, a good supply of PPE and determination.
I may not be a six-pack After, but I should feel better after a workout. And it is even less than that twenty bucks I wasn’t conned into all those years ago.
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