Being a member of Equinox seriously spoiled me in terms of gym standards. Of course, I get what I pay for, and because the membership is so high, I get it, I get all these extras (cleaner lockers, workout towels, all the toiletries, more classes). I mainly picked Equinox because it was the most convenient to my workplace. It’s a no nonsense turn to the parking lot to and from work. Easy peasy. The main reason why I have my 24 membership is that I signed a contract years and years ago that I’m locked into a pretty cheap annual rate. It’s a good gym backup, plus I like the convenience of having an option if I ever needed to go to the gym at 11pm.
Today, I went to the new 24Hr Fitness closest to my parents house. I haven’t been to a 24 in forever, so coming back to this one was a huge improvement! Really clean machines, nicely lit interior, ample room. The pool is indoors and heated. I guess since I went on a busy hour, obviously, the pool was busy too. Usually, I get the privacy in the Equinox pool because hardly anyone can brave the cold (since it’s on the roof) before entering the water. The pool here started off at 3ft, then gets to 5ft towards the end. You see the photo above? Well, when I went the water was not clear at all. I don’t even remember seeing those lane lines. I went underwater and I could barely see the other end of the pool! I don’t know if it’s dirty, or the way their chlorine is, but it felt really dirty to me.
Sure, I guess you can call it part of triathlon training, because in an actual tri event, there’s no way I’m going to get ideal pool conditions anyway. It was the closest pool I could get to, so I shouldn’t complain. I was able to work on some drills, plus practice some breathing and turning skills my UCLA instructor told me to practice.
Read More
Last week my first spin class, aka 24Cycle, at 24 Hour Fitness in Santa Monica literally kicked my ass! I wasn’t giving up there! Just like my first day at TNT, which I thought was HELL, I was struggling so badly. I know it just takes some dedication and motivation to keep coming back. I always look back at my marathon experiences, thinking to myself, “If I can do 26.2 miles, I can do this!”.
This morning was the FIRST time I’ve ever gone to the gym before work. I slept early with the intention to check out a Turbo Kick Box class they offer at the Santa Monica 24 off Ocean Park and 31st. Only two people were in the Kickbox classroom, so I opted to try the 24Cycle Spin Class instead. It sounded fun, with some house music playing in the background, why not? 
