New Gym!

Thanks to Paige's keen eyes on our very first trip out here back in April, which spotted a sign advertising an indoor rock wall, I have found an awesome gym that is quickly becoming my second home - much like Blenz in Whistler.

The gym is called Willy's, and it has two locations, one in Eastham along the bike path between my house and my work, and the other in Orleans, where I'll be running all my errands. In addition to the indoor rock climbing, they have group exercise classes, a lap pool, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, and of course the standard exercise machines and weights and whatnot. It also has free WiFi, which has become a lifesaver since it turns out that the house was not in Comcast's service area.

Last Sunday I came just for the internet, but Monday I returned for a Pilates class in the morning. While I waited for the previous class to finish, I struck up friendly conversation with another woman taking the class.When we got into the room, she told me which kind of mat was the best, and showed me where to get a bosu (a weird training gadget that is like half a yoga ball domed over a flat surface) and small squishy ball. The class was great, and using the extra tools was awkward at first but fun nontheless.

The next day I was extremely sore (I hadn't done Pilates regularly since the winter), but I went back Tuesday night for an evening class. The same woman I spoke to on Monday was leaving the previous class, but she assured me that I'd love the teacher, who was a sub. This instructor introduced another new gadget, a ring with padding on two sides that we put our feet in or our arms around to do various exercises. Also in this class was a woman I work near at the Headquarters. Afterward she warned me that now that she knew I liked Pilates, I would be dragged weekly. I told her that was fine by me, because I really love Pilates!

Wednesday morning I went to the Orleans location to check out a class called Healthy U at 7am, which would leave me enough time to get ready for work at 9am. Little did I know that I'd be by far the youngest person in the class. The instructor at one point told us that he was 42, and I thought great, the next youngest person is twice my age. The old folks were fun, though, I have to admit. While we were still warming up, a woman chimed in loudly to the "Sha la la la" part of Brown Eyed Girl, to which the instructor responded "What, is it karaoke Wednesday or something?" Towards the end of the song, when that part came on again, a gangly, bouncy old man in the front turned to the group and waved his arms to encourage us to join him as he sand out loud and strong. As much as I enjoyed the class, I'll probably only go for a few weeks until I have a firm handle on each exercise move and can do them myself, outside the class.

I looked forward to Friday all week, and finally got to go rock climbing! I headed straight there from work, and when I arrived there was only one kid down there besides the belayer. The kid, Harry, was eleven years old and behaved as one would expect an eleven year old boy to behave. He kept it interesting though, teasing me and motivating me into climbing higher when he said I couldn't. The belayer was a high school senior named Evan, and he really knew his stuff. I only climbed four walls before calling it a day, and could really feel it my arms. I'm looking forward to coming regularly and improving. After all, I have to show up that eleven year old!