10 Things I Love About My Gym

This isn't really a Top 10 list, just a list of 10 things I love about my gym. They aren't "ranked" in order, merely listed in a logical sequence.

The Arrival:
1. The Parking Garage - Prior to joining St. Mary's Center for Health and Fitness I don't think I had a true appreciation for parking garages. I now love them, or at least this one. There was one week last May when I realized just how much I appreciated the parking garage. In one week we had rain, snow and 90+ temps. It is nice to be shielded from the elements. Besides that, my kids have lots of fun games that they have made up in the parking garage. In addition to counting "buggies" (see earlier post entitled "Counting Buggies") they play the color game (naming the color of each car as we walk by) and I Spy. They also take turns pushing the buttons for the elevator and other such entertaining activities.

2. The Entry Way - I love the fresh flowers in the enter way. Every day we look at them and talk about what color flowers there are this week. And we often stop and smell them because, well, it is important to stop and smell the roses.

3. The Front Desk - The staff is awesome. A typical greeting when we arrive usually goes something like this: "Hi Max! Hi Noah! How are you? It's nice to see you today, Vickie." I'm not kidding. And these are not even the same people that work regularly in the childcare!

Childcare:

4. I love that they have childcare. Think about, where else can you take your children for what works out to about 50 cents an hour per kid? You can't usually entertain them for that, let alone have people take care of them for that! This is way cheaper than preschool...

5. The Staff - The people who care for kids at the gym actually like my kids. They know them. They smile at them. They play with them. They take Max to the potty and give him a sticker after he goes. They notice if we aren't there. My kids like it there.

6. When things don't go so well (this has only happened once) they do have systems in place. I learned what a "Code Alpha" meant, in the middle of a water aerobics class. ("Non-life threatening injury" if you were wondering.) They took care of Max, came and found me (and the mother of the child who bit him) and continued to talk with me about the incident until the situation was resolved. I appreciate that.

The Locker Room:

7. The lockers - I love the little combination locks so I don't have to bring a lock with me. That makes things so easy. I like that they have hooks and shelves and that they are big enough that I can have a separate "spot" for everything like my watch, my keys, my shoes, my water bottle, etc.

8. Clean Towels - I love having stacks of clean towels - often still warm - available. And I love that someone else washes them and folds them.

9. All the "Stuff" - It is actually easier for me to shower at the gym than at home. Yes, this is partly because of the aforementioned childcare, but it is also because just about everything I need is there. In the shower - shampoo, conditioner, body wash. On the counters - hair spray, deodorant (okay, I do bring my own but if ever I didn't have it for some reason it's nice to know there is spray deodorant there if I need it), cotton balls, q-tips, lotion, hair gel and even mouthwash and these cute little cups. Oh, and of course lighted mirrors and plenty of hair dryers (that actually work better than mine at home).

Working Out

10. I bet you were wondering if I ever worked out! I could do a whole separate list about the classes I take, the staff who has helped me, the equipment I like - like the treadmills & bikes with the individual tv screens - or the pools. (Gee, I just realized that I didn't even mention the whirl pool or that saunas when I was talking about the locker room.) But, I was trying to keep it to 10.

Let me know if you want to go to the gym with me some day. Maybe we could even work out while we're there!