city gym, country gym

i am from lamesa. suffice to say, i am not fancy, i know basic and, honestly, i prefer things that way. but a little fancy never hurt anyone.....right?

for the past month ryan's dad and step-mother (heretofore ned & katie) have been talking to me about passing over ned's membership to the atlantic club. each time this conversation has come up i have been quick to tell them that i recently joined WOW and that i am happy with the gym and it's services. that always falls on deaf ears. they have talked up the pool, the babysitting, the machines and the classes at the atlantic club and i have polietly listened always saying, "yes, it sounds great - but i am a member of WOW and i like it there." either they haven't heard me or they don't care because, well, you'll see.

this all started when ned decided to join a gym. naturally he joined the atlantic club. he stopped by for a visit and a glass of water after one of his first workouts and i congratulated him on trying on a new, healthy, lifestyle for size. a few days after that he failed a stress test given by the club and was told he'd need a note from the doctor to continue. until he was able to produce said note, the membership would be on hold. he made an appointment that he moved and then moved again. as it turns out he wasn't all that interested in the new lifestyle and since he'd paid for a year's membership up front he decided to pass it off to me. thus, paragraph #1.

ryan and i get a kick out of both ned and katie. they are absolutely generous to a fault - especially to me - and whatever they decide you need, you get - the deluxe model. i explained again and again to ryan that i felt bad taking the membership when i already went to WOW. he finally said, "take it. they won't stop until you do and, who knows, maybe you'll like it better. or maybe you'll find a combination of both gyms best fits your needs." ryan. so, so rational and fair. so, i accepted and am now a keycard carrying member of both the atlantic club and WOW.

i decided that today was a good day to try the atlantic club out for the first time. they have an intensive yoga class schedule and i wanted to see if the classes were really as top notch as they're rumored to be. because the class was 90 minutes and i wanted to get the lay of the land i asked katie to watch wil for me. she happily agreed, arrived promptly at 10a and off i went.

my first chuckle came only seconds after i turned into the parking lot. you see, standing out front were two guys in inform ready and waiting to valet park your car...complimentary. wow. or more to the point...not that WOW. i happily parked myself. i walked into the club through the automatic doors and had my second giggle as i passed the coffee bar/cafe - it was packed. the woman that greeted me was SO nice and offered to show me around. i was in a rush to get to class so i said i'd give myself a tour after. the facility is gorgeous. there is, indeed, a huge pool, wonderful machines, a pilates room full of strange apparatuses, there is a large and lovely spa, a locker room that has a hot tub and wet and dry saunas and, of course, the daycare. the best part about the daycare is that i can leave wil there for $5 should i ever visit the spa. WOW. no, not that wow. impressive.

the class was amazing. the woman that taught it was from india and, honestly, i think that made it even better. she had the heat up high, kept the room dark and said things like, "say an om into your third eye." SOLD.

the whole time i was there i felt like i was cheating on WOW. WOW is fancy, too, in its own way. the equipment is state of the art, the classes are good and i feel comfortable there. i felt comfortable at the atlantic club too. so, what's a girl to do? i've decided to keep both memberships going. if i find i go to one or the other more often i'll make a decision then. like i say, i am not about fancy as much as i am about results; and you can get results in a barn, in the dead of winter, in the middle of nowhere. rocky taught us that.