During most of my life, I have been pretty active riding bikes, roller skating, using a skateboard, playing volleyball, softball, basketball, and tennis. After I married, I enrolled in exercise classes, along with running up and down stairs doing the laundry for 11 people, picking up babies and carrying them and chasing after 9 kids.
I belonged to the Y for years, and finally, when everyone grew up, I joined Bally’s Fitness in 1999. I exercise a minimum of five days a week. The gym was always crowded and at times, it took a wait to use the machines. Eventually, I figured out the best time to go to the gym and be able to use the workout machines without waiting. I hit the gym anywhere between 6:30 am to 7:30 am. Or sometimes I would go between 11-2 in the afternoon.
But I preferred the earlier time slot to jump start my mind and body for the long day ahead. I liked being at Bally’s, as I went about my daily routine. To be honest, I never talked to anyone, other to say hello or just nod to some of the early morning regulars.
As I worked out and listened to the music on my iPod, I became a watcher of others in the gym. A lot of gym bunnies and the muscle bounded hard bodies were always out in full force. My favorite or most annoying person was the perky blond with the pony tail who wore short shorts and an exercise colored bra and talked to every good looking guy in the gym. She talked more then she exercised but maybe talking was her preferred form of exercise. Or the one man who spent more time trapping anyone and everyone in conversation. He talked a lot more then he sweated over an exercise machine. He spent hours in the gym. There was one smaller man who seemed more comfortable exercising, surrounded by his loyal posse of women. He was a charmer. At least he worked out while he talked. Most of the hard core exercise buffs, the men, seemed to have muscles on muscles, and their upper bodies were a body builders dream.
There were older people, some with canes and a few in wheel chairs. There were young and old and they crowded into the gym. I grew to become more comfortable around the gym with the other people that I shared the machines with.
As the years changed and the people changed, some dropped out and new ones took over the machines, the one consistent in all of this was that Bally’s never changed. It remained the same. Sometimes a few new machines were added. That was it. When a big rain storm would hit, some of the ceiling tiles would drip and be removed and trash cans would be placed around to catch the steady flow of water.
Then September 2011 came and La Fitness opened not to far from Bally’s. A large number of people left Bally’s and I kept going with some of the die hards. I could go into Bally’s any time of the day and there would be around two dozen people in the gym, including the personal trainers and the person at the front desk. December 8, 2011 was the last day that Bally’s was open. LA Fitness bought Bally’s out and they picked up the memberships. I signed up at La Fitness and paid they same amount that I was paying at Bally’s. To be honest, La Fitness is new and it is really nice. The place is packed but it is big enough and has many exercise machines to accommodate the number of people exercising. They have a salt water pool, racquet ball courts, an exercise class area, basketball court and weight area, tons of exercise weight machines, like the elliptical, treadmills, StairMaster, exercise bikes, and even rowing ergs. Some of the machines have television screens and a place to plug in earphones to listen to the programs.
I found it kind of nice to be in a new clean and up dated surroundings. I miss Ballys even with all of its outdated equipment. It was home to me. But as I pass a few of the old Bally’s members, a ghost of a smile of recognition crosses our faces as we nod to one another. I know that I will become more comfortable with LA Fitness in time. It is easy to work out there, and surprisingly, I do break a sweat while I work.
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