I naturally woke up today and rolled over to see that the numbers on Brent's alarm clock glowed 12:20... as in 12:20 P.M. (Yes, I slept until this afternoon but I stayed up until 3 a.m. last night for no real reason. Plus I had to look at Brent's alarm clock because I still haven't plugged in my own. Unemployment has its perks!)
But after pouring myself a bowl of cereal, I saw on the calendar that it was Dec. 14... as in, my wedding is in SIX MONTHS. Jimminy Christmas! So, I decided to dig out the two flyers I've acquired that allows me to try out one health club for a day and another for a week so I could get my butt to the gym. A girl has to look her best in her wedding dress!
So after my breakfast settled, I made a quick trip to the post office four blocks away before heading to Club H Fitness in Hell's Kitchen, which is literally right around the corner from my apartment.
I walked in and immediately thought that I must be in the wrong place. I had thought that Club H Fitness was a gym. But my first impression was that I had stepped into a new, hip cafe or something. It looked like what I might envision for my apartment - trendy and totally modern.
The whole place was decorated using bright neon colors. Next to a main desk was a smoothie bar in front of a gift shop with tons of T-shirts labeled with Club H Fitness. Past that was a lounge with magazines on a table in front of sharp red chairs. Above the lounge was orange lighting that looked like beautiful, drooping flowers.
Embarrassingly enough, I actually asked the guy at the front desk if Club H was a gym or an actual club of some sort. He laughed, said I was at the right place, and pointed to the gym equipment around the wall bordering the front desk. You live and you learn.
So he called a woman named Amy so she could show me around. And man, I have never seen a gym like this one. None of the equipment, lined up like tools on a dentist's tray, are more than a year old and they're all functional.
At my old gym in Toledo, there were four TVs that were set up in front of the main exercise machine area for those using the aging cardio equipment, many of which had rotating "out of order" signs on them. At Club H, there are TVs mounted on INDIVIDUAL cardio machines. With cable. Seriously. My parents don't even have cable, and I can do step aerobics while watching The Real World.
The gym has all kinds of classes, like yoga, spinning, and boxing, that are free for members. The locker rooms - located conveniently next to the waterfall - are nicer than my bathroom at my apartment, which has all new appliances. The locker rooms don't actually have lockers, but have cabinets modified to include locks. Warm, rolled up towels are on every shelf and each sink is sunk into green glowing counters near free tampons, disposable razors, spray-on deodorant and hairspray.
The showers are big enough to change in after you're done showering with the complimentary shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner, and they're next to a steam room and a sauna. Needless to say, it's waaaaayyyy swankier than I'm used to. But then again, most everything in New York is beyond what I've experienced.
The only things Club H is missing that I loved at my old gym are basketball courts and a pool. But in New York, those are few and far between... and if you want them, you definitely will have to pay for them. As it is, Club H is the cheapest gym I've found, and it costs more than three times the membership fee at my Toledo gym.
But man is it cool.
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