Is It Just Me?
Is it Just Me? April 30, 2009
The Works Works
I’m fat. I’m tubby, overweight, chunky, flabby, husky, and obese by medical standards. I allowed myself to bulk up to nearly 300 pounds – which wouldn’t be so bad if I were ten feet tall, but alas, I’m a mere six feet in my sneakers which makes for a somewhat wide load. Move aside or you might get steamrolled.
Sandy has been bugging me to join a gym. When I visited my doctor in February, we discovered that my cholesterol was a bit high as well as my weight, so I relented and we joined the The Athletic Works Health and Fitness Center in nearby (to us) Somersworth, NH. A friend had recently spent a day there for his niece’s birthday party and had nothing but good things to say. After spending a Saturday there ourselves, we were sold.
The Works has it all – and then some. There are several large rooms filled with treadmills, stairsteppers, elliptical machines, stationary bikes of several varieties, and other contraptions I’d never seen before. All these rooms have multiple large plasma TVs and each machine has an earphone jack and the ability to switch between whichever broadcast you’d like - very convenient. One certain set of bikes have flat-screen monitors built right into them and give you the option of viewing scenery (and other riders) as you pedal. Other rooms in this massive maze of health-improving equipment, hold free weights, pneumatically controlled workout machines, cam-driven gravity machines, equipment for yoga and palates and much, much more.
But The Works doesn’t stop there – far from it. There is a large, heated indoor swimming pool with a two-story water slide and controllable fountains for the kids. There is a full-size basketball court with no less than six hoops. An upper level around the court is home to a walking/running track with stationary bikes in each corner so you can break from running but not cool down too much. In addition to their traditional swimming pool, The Works holds a four-lane Olympic-size pool specifically for laps and, right beside it, a 16-person hot tub. If you find that too large, the men’s and women’s locker rooms each have their own smaller hot tub – as well as a sauna and steam room.
Outside, you will find another large swimming pool, much like the one inside, also with its own two-story water slide. Nearby are the four clay tennis courts – a surface upon which I have yet to play. The Works offers over a hundred workout classes each week including spinning, Tai Kwon Do, water exercises, step aerobics, jazzercise and many others. When you join they give you three free visits with a personal trainer so you can get yourself going in the right direction. They also give you a free half-hour with a racquetball instructor. Though I haven’t taken advantage of that yet, I have played the game – and I find it to be the best part of joining this mega-gym.
You might remember Stumpy Pfizer from a previous article. He’s a fellow I work with and I convinced him to join at the same time I did. Understand that Stumpy is no picture of good health – 45 years old and at about 5’9", he weighs in at near 220 pounds thanks to a diet of beef jerky and Laffy Taffy. Granted, he’s a full 70 pounds lighter than yours truly, but I figured he’d completely suck at the sport of racquetball. I could not have been more wrong. At this writing, we’ve played 39 games and he’s won 30 of them. I know, I know, imagine MY disappointment! However, I love playing against him and he’s making me a better player for it. If I were playing someone who was a worse player than myself, I probably wouldn’t improve my game, but with Stumpy, if I don’t adapt, I lose. After the initial purchase of racquetball equipment, I’ve already bought a second, better racquet as well as a glove to stop said racquet from slipping in my sweat-soaked hand. It helps a little. I’m hoping to have the numbers evened up a little by mid-summer. Hoping.
The Works has several rooms dedicated to children, all with a "good-health" theme. They have after-school programs, function rooms for parties, even a Nintendo Wii and the Wii Fitness game. Outside, there’s a playground with all the typical trappings – more than enough to keep most kids happy for hours. This all makes The Works a great place to go with the family – which makes working out even easier.
Whether you’re overweight or not, you need to exercise in order to stay healthy. If you live within a half-hour of Somersworth, do yourself (and your loved ones) a favor and check out The Works. It runs about $60.00 per month, per person with discounts for families and military personnel. Your health insurance may even pick up some of the tab. So snap to it, get off your widening butt and visit the works – your heart will thank you for it. I’ve lost nearly 20 pounds and it’s only been a month.
- Is It Just Me?
-
- Is It Just Me? July 23
- Is It Just Me?: July 9
- Is It Just Me? June 25
- Is it Just Me? May 28, 2009
- Is it Just Me? May 14, 2009
- April 27, 2009
- April 15, 2009
- Is it Just Me? April 16, 2009
- April 1, 2009
- Upon Deaf Ears it Falls: Part II — The Sequel
- March 26, 2009
- Upon Deaf Ears it Falls
- March 19, 2009
- Sight For Sore Eyes
- March 12, 2009
- Couldn’t Have Said It Better: Winter
- March 5, 2009
- My IM
- February 26, 2009
- Take Me Out of the Ball Game
- February 19, 2009
- Out of Time
- February 12, 2009
- Never Too Old For Rock ‘n' Roll
- January 26, 2009
- Behind The Mask
- January 21, 2009
- Whatta Maroon
- January 15, 2009
- The Hills Are Alive
- January 8, 2009
- Happy New Year
- January 1, 2009
- E-lack-tricity
