Adventures in Walking From the Couch to 5K - Chapter 18

“Good morning!” says Amy as AJ walks through the door at the Fitness for Life gym.

“Good morning! I have a 5 day pass from the Oakland Training Program,” replies AJ.

“Great, let me get Jessie for you,” grabbing the iPad, bringing up the guest sign-in screen, Amy turns the iPad to AJ, “Please fill this out.” “Jessie, you have a guest from the Oakland Training Program,” Amy says over the walkie-talkie.

“I’ll be right there,” replies Jessie.

AJ turns the iPad back to Amy, “Ok, Jessie will be right up. You can have a seat in our lobby area right on the other side of the wall,” says Amy. AJ walks over and has a seat on the couch in the lobby.

A few moments later Jessie walks up to AJ, “Hi! I am Jessie and I understand that you are from the Oakland Training Program. Welcome. Let me give you a tour of the facility and then I will have you see Angela.”

“Hi! Nice to meet you Jessie. Angela is my group leader in the training program,” AJ replies and stands up to shake Jessie’s hand.

“Great,” pointing and moving towards the spa, “Over here is our spa. They offer services on nails, hair and skin along with massage.” Turning to the window next to the spa, “This is our indoor pool area and through those doors at the other side is our outdoor pool and patio. We’ll go in there shortly. In here is the family locker room for members with children of the opposite sex. Do you have children?”

“Yes, I have two boys that are 5 years old,” replies AJ.

“What are their names?” she asks.

“Carson and Cooper,” AJ says. Jessie then motions for them to walk through the lobby area and continue through the hallway.

“This is our member services desk, where you can get your questions answered about your membership if you join us,” pointing to the left next to the lobby. “Over here is our cafe. They have wonderful smoothies and great food. You’ll want to check out the specials when you are here. Along this wall are our supplements and then quick items. On the left here are the offices of our account managers. This one is mine. We’ll come back here when you’re done today and anytime you have any questions, just let me know.”

They continue to the end of the hall, “On the left here is our member activities desk where you can find out about camps and special activities going on for members. Next to them is our chiropractor and physical therapist. Over here to the right, you can go up to the next level either by the stairs or the elevator. In front of us is one of our gyms. We have two side by side and as we look inside the gym you’ll see the rock climbing wall. Have you ever been rock climbing?” Jessie asks.

“No, I haven’t but I would love to try it some time,” AJ replies as she looks into the gym.

“This would be the perfect place to try it. Let’s continue, this next door goes to both gyms. On the left here we have the men’s locker room, the towel desk and then the women’s locker room. We’ll go through there in just a few minutes. Let’s go in this door to see what else is in the gym,” Jessie points out. “Quite often the kids’ camps come in here and have a bounce house set up or they play games. Here we have a spinning class where you can reserve your bike on-line ahead of time. Across are the two racquetball courts. Those can also be reserved either by calling or on-line. Let’s peek into the kids’ area,” she suggests as they leave the gym area.

“In here you can get a full tour with all the details if you like when you bring the boys with you. The child care is included with membership,” Jessie tells her. “Let’s continue on and go through the women’s locker room,” says Jessie while directing her to the entry of the women’s locker room. “Here we have a nice lounge area with tv and the remote is on the table so you can change the channel. For the lockers you put your member card in with the hole in it down so that you can get the key out. The keys all have pins on them so you can attach them to you. Here we have hair dryers, along with hand lotion. There is a steam room in each locker room. This interesting contraption here is a dryer for your swimsuit. You put your suit in and hold down the lid. Now down here we have the showers and in each shower is a soap dispenser. Let’s go out into the pool area,” Jessie motions for them to walk through the shower area.

“Do you and the boys like to swim?” Jessie asks.

“Yes, we do. We haven’t been in a while though. There is a pool at our townhouse complex, but it’s usually really crowded and no lifeguard on duty,” AJ replies.

“This is our lap pool, which is primarily for adults. On occasion we may have swim lessons for kids in there, but that’s generally only when we are doing maintenance on our leisure pool. That’s the leisure pool over there where there is zero entry and has slides and a fountain. These over here are our wonderful 12 person hot tubs. The kids are too young to go in there, but you can enjoy them. Right here is our sauna. Let’s go outside. This area is open from sunrise to sunset for adults and then we have family swim starting at 10 am and the slides and fountains are on starting at 11. Over here it is the zero entry. Being that they are 5, you will need to have them take a swim test or you will have to remain in the water with them. Do you have any questions so far?” Jessie asks.

“Not so far. I am looking forward to meeting with Angela and getting in a good workout. I will probably use the gym primarily when the boys are at their dad’s,” replies AJ.

“Ok, well, let’s go upstairs and meet with Angela then,” Jessie tells her. They go through the family locker room and down the hallway to go up the stairs to the personal training desk. “Is this your first year with the training program?” asks Jessie.

“Yes it is. I saw a commercial for it and decided to go for it. So far I have really enjoyed training with the group. Angela and the rest of my group has been great,” AJ tells her.

“Hi Angela!” says Jessie as they approach the personal training desk where Angela is at with a couple of trainers. “I have AJ here. I understand that she is in your walking group.”

“Hi Jessie and AJ,” replies Angela. “I’ll take AJ and show her around up here. Thanks Jessie.”

“You are in great hands AJ. When you are done up here, stop by my office. Thanks Angela,” says Jessie.

“Ok AJ, let me show what we have going on here. We’ll do the tour, then we’ll get your stats and finally what you’ve been waiting for, a workout,” Angela explains.

“Sounds good. I got a large tour of the first floor. Lots to do just down there,” AJ replies.

“Yes, this is a pretty large facility with a variety of stuff to do for everyone. We’ll start right over here. This is our stretching area. We have mats, exercise balls, foam rollers and stretching chairs. The windows let you see what’s going on in the gym below. Lots of basketball games are played down there. The personal training desk, which is right where I was at when you guys came upstairs, is where you can go to find a trainer and ask any questions. They can help you with equipment and anything else you need. The room right is a group fitness studio. The class schedule is on-line and also on the door. Next we have our cardio equipment. This includes ellipticals, treadmills, bikes, and stair climbers. We also have tv’s that you can watch while working out. On our cardio equipment you can bring up Netflix and other internet based videos. There’s a headphone jack or you can use blue-tooth,” Angela informs her.

“That’s awesome! I love Netflix,” replies AJ.

“Now, let’s go over here. This is our weight machine area. Each row focuses on a different part of the body. So, you have a row for core, arms, and legs. Each machine has instructions right on them showing you how to use it. You can also reference the videos that are linked to the QR code that is on the machine. You can also always ask a trainer for assistance. This way you will know how to properly use the machines,” says Angela.

Walking by the machines they go by another room. “This is our yoga studio. The schedule is also on-line or on the door. Normally they have the room a bit dark with fireless candles on. It’s a soundproof room so that there is no disturbance from the other room. They do ask that no one comes into the room more than 5 minutes late due to disturbing the rest of the class. We’ll continue around this corner up here,” Angela points the way.

“I haven’t tried yoga before. I will have to give that a try. What other classes do you have here?” questions AJ.

“We have Zumba, dance jam, cardio kickboxing, TCX, which is strength training, cardio and high intensity, and lots more classes. We can go over a schedule and see what you’d like to try or you can go on the website and browse at your leisure,” answers Angela. “Over here we have more treadmills, mats, foam rollers and exercise balls. Next we have the free weight area. Let me know if you would like any assistance with doing free weights.”

“I think I will stick to the weight machines. I am not a fan of the free weights,” AJ replies.

“In this corner is our pilates studio. You can get one class for free and after that you have to buy a package of classes. This sums up the tour up here. Let’s go over to get your weight a body stats. We will go over it and then you get a copy of it each time we weigh you in so that you can see your progress. Do you have any questions so far?”

“How often do we weigh in? What other stats do you go over?” questions AJ.

“We will weigh you today and then as often as you like. That can be once a month, one a quarter, whenever you like. I’ll show you what all it prints out. It’s pretty amazing. Take your shoes and socks off, step up on the scale and hold the handles loosely down by your sides but not touching your sides,” instructs Angela. “We wait until it shows complete on the screen and then you can step off.”

AJ steps off the scale and puts her shoes and socks back on. The printer spits out her results.

“Ok, let me explain what the scale shows us. This shows your weight along with total body water, lean body mass and body measurements. It does give your BMI, which I don’t use because with athletes it does not accurately categorize them. We do want to watch the percent of body fat and work towards getting that lower,” Angela informs her.

“Now that we have completed all that, let’s get you started out on the elliptical. Have you been on an elliptical before?” asks Angela.

“Yes, I have,” replies AJ.

“Ok, we will have you do the elliptical for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes we will go over to the stretching area and do the stretches that I had given you previously. When you are done with the stretches we can go over a schedule of exercises for your other 4 days of free trial here. At the end of your last free day we will sit down and talk with Jessie about what she can do for you for membership pricing,” says Angela.

“Sounds good to me,” AJ says and gets on the elliptical. She sets the exercise program to cardio for 30 minutes and then puts on Netflix, signs in and selects NCIS.

Thirty minutes later the elliptical changes into a 10-minute cool down. Angela walks over to AJ, “So, how do you feel?”

“It went by pretty quickly and I feel great, of course I haven’t stepped off of it yet. So, we shall see. I think I will be using those hot tubs quite often. They sound like a great way to relax and relieve these sore muscles,” AJ chuckles.

The elliptical comes to an end and AJ gets off and takes the cleaner from Angela. “The cleaner and towels are right over by the desk and at various areas around the equipment. Always clean off the equipment when you are done. For the elliptical clean off the handles and anywhere you touch, such as the screen and the water bottle holder. There are receptacles around the gym for used towels.”

Walking over to the stretching area, “Here’s a mat and let’s stretch right here. What are your thoughts so far about the gym?” Angela asks while they are stretching.

“So far, I like it all. I am impressed with what all is here. I can see myself working out here while the boys are at their dad’s. Maybe in time, once I get a good routine down I’ll bring them along, but right now I like it for me, especially the hot tubs,” she responds.

“I am trying to get everyone in my group to at least try the gym out once. I highly recommend checking the schedule out for the yoga classes. They will pair very well with your cardio and group workouts.”

“We can put it in my schedule of workouts. The boys go to their dad’s on the weekends. I can also get him to watch them during the week.”

“Now that we have the stretching done let’s go to the desk and see what we can do about your 4 days,” Angela says as they clean the mats and put them away.

Sitting at the desk, AJ gets her phone out with her schedule on it. Angela asks, “Which days do you want to come? You mentioned the weekends. You have one more weekend before the race and I see that we have a yoga class at 10 am. Will that work for you?”

“Yes, let me add that in. What do I bring to yoga class?” AJ replies.

“Just yourself, unless you happen to have your own yoga mat. They have them there. Oh yeah, you may want to bring a bottle of water. We’ll put the yoga class again on your schedule for the Saturday after the race and then pick a day after that to get on the elliptical.”

“How about on Wednesday at 6 pm? Will you be here?” asks AJ.

“I will be here and after you get done with your workout we’ll talk with Jessie. Right now tough, let’s go downstairs and see Jessie. For your next visit you can bring a change of clothes or change after you get here. Feel free to use the locker room.”

They walk down the stairs to Jessie’s office. “Hey Jessie, we are done with her workout and she’ll be back next week for yoga class,” Angela says.

“Sounds good. AJ it was great to meet you and feel free to ask any questions when you are here. Here’s my card and you can email me as well. Enjoy your next 4 visits and we’ll talk more on your last visit,” Jessie shakes AJ’s hand.

Angela walks AJ to the front, “Glad you came and I’ll see you on Thursday.”

“Thanks. See you Thursday.”

AJ heads to her truck. Sitting in her truck she drinks from her water bottle. Looking ahead she sees the outdoor pool with people of all ages sitting around and in it. She smiles and thinks to herself, it would have been great to do this with Ann Marie. I think she’d have liked the pool, at least the sitting around on the chairs enjoying the sunshine. I miss her. I will get in shape for not only myself but also for my boys and in her memory. She then backs out and goes home.

Continue Reading - Chapter 19