Before Paris he even had a personal trainer at our gym. So this past Saturday was about time we finally joined a gym. I'm not sure what took so long but I can make a few excuses.
 |
| These are the women at my gym. Ready to go. *Image courtesy of Contrex commercial |
Rumor has it they are really expensive. While they definitely are not cheap, it really is no more than joining New York Sports Club. You do have to pay the entire year up front. Kind of weird. But that's France - kind of weird.
We were a bit put off by the hours. I find it hilarious that it doesn't open until 7:30am and isn't open on Sundays. We decided to laugh about this fact for two weeks instead of just joining. We're lame sometimes. But still, not open on Sundays? Shutting at 8pm? What?!?! Only the French would have an establishment open when no one can actually go.
Either way, we finally joined. It was probably the easiest thing I've ever done in France (well, that Sir Lancelot has done for us in France). It took a total of 20 minutes and they didn't need an electric bill to take our money! A French first!
We joined the Club Med gym because it's the closest to our apartment - only about a 7 minute jog. Growing up I associated Club Med with vacations and cruises. Here it's all about funny Parisiens in Euro exercise outfits.
We had an option of joining the normal membership. Or the "upgraded" membership which means we get ONE towel per visit. One towel?? What is this? I had a roommate that used to steal the towels from NYSC to clean our apartment! Equinox was a towel party (a eucalyptus smelling towel party I might add). I didn't realize thin, rough towels were such a commodity here. We opted to not pay the extra 200 euros a year for a towel.
 |
| These people live in my gym. |
The entire place as Lancelot said is "quite jolly." He likes it because the building used to be Gustave Eiffel's atelier. I like it because it looks like MTV came in around 1997 to decorate the space to look like the fire house in Real World Boston (you know you watched it). The walls are bright green, orange and pink and there are random hallways and staircases. If I'm lucky I might turn a corner to see Montana peering out from behind a large aquarium talking on the house phone.
I went yesterday for a yoga class which was really just an old lady stretching class in the dark. We did more deep breathing than stretching. Today I went to try out the weights and treadmill.
Stupidly I went at 12:30pm - the lunch hour. Which means there would actually be people there and means more opportunity for me to have a run-in with anyone.
 |
| These are the guys that lift weights at my gym. |
If anything, I looked damn good in my LuLuLemon. Especially as I walked home in it. In public.
Congrats on getting your gym membership. It's a great way to stay fit and meet people - but not ones like the jerk by the free weights.
ReplyDeleteSome of the Club Meds are open on Sundays. With your membership, you're allowed to go to all of the different clubs in the city, except the "Waou" ones, so just find one that's open. The one I sometimes go to is open from 9-17 on Sun.
For more dynamic yoga, try the adi yoga class.
Thanks MK!!! Yes, the Port Maillot one is open on Sundays (i just left that out for dramatic effect!!) And double thanks for the info about the Adi Yoga class. I dont mind light stretching classes but it's good to know there are options.
DeletePS: The worst part about that guy was that he winked at me later on when he saw me running on the treadmill. Weirdo.
I feel like most gym classes are like an "old lady stretching" class =/
ReplyDeleteI've had the great opportunity to witness the Step class and while it is not an old lady class it is quite hilarious! Music is right out of a roller rink!
DeleteI don't know what I find more disturbing... the €200 for a towel for a year or that guy.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you do see Montana, please let us know.
She sends her love ;)
DeleteI'm a member of Club Med too and remember laughing about their crazy hours too when I signed up. Mine isn't open on Sundays either, but I do sometimes go to the one at Montparnasse or Place d'Italie.
ReplyDeleteAnd I totally know what you mean about the yoga class being not really yoga! I tried it once and that was enough for me. Now I usually go to the Body Sculpt and the Culture Physique classes. I also do the Zumba ones every once in a while, but I'm a crappy dancer so they mostly just make me feel like a fool!
Hi! Thanks for the comment! So that's what "CP" stands for! Culture Physique! Do you like it? I've been wanting to try Zumba but will make sure I stay in the back. How is the Montparnasse gym? That's where I plan to go after french class during the week (if I come back to the 17th, the chance of me getting back out of the house is slim!)
DeleteThe Montparnasse Gym is fine - I thought the people were a little snootier than the ones at my gym, but hey, it's France. ;)
DeleteCulture physique is mostly for sculpting - a lot of use of weights, bands, etc with a little bit of cardio. Cuisses-Abdos-Fessiers is basically the same thing without the upper body work-out. Body Sculpt is a killer cardio class (but not as violent as body attack or body combat) combined with a little bit of weights. So I usually alternate between those three every day plus some more cardio afterwards. That way, I can stay away from the crazy weightlifting men. ;)
I tried the step class once but found it way too complicated - which is weird because I used to do step all the time in college. But it seems like here it's always the same people who go, so they learn these routines. And if you don't go on one of the days they are learning the routine, it's almost impossible to keep up because once they're done learning, there are no more explanations.
I also tried Sh'bam last weekend - though I should've boycotted it because of its terrible name LOL. It was basically the same as a Zumba class but turned around facing the wall and not the mirror. The point is that you are supposed to just dance and not care about what you look like, but I found it really awkward not being able to see what I was doing, so I think I'll stick with Zumba.
Oh, and I've also done the Body Balance class - I was hoping it would be more yoga-y than the actual yoga class, but it wasn't - it was still mostly just a lot of stretching.
Awesome! Wow. Thanks for the info... this is really helpful and I agree with you on the Sh'bam name. Isn't it horrible?? Only the French...
DeleteYou actually inspired me to try a new class Saturday. :) I checked out Body Pump, and it was totally not for me - there was too much pure weight-lifting and testosterone floating around in there! I think I'll stick with good ol' CP & Body Sculpt.
DeleteI think the "In Public" called for an explanation point! Elaine would have given it one.
ReplyDeleteyes she would have! bootrose bootrose golly!
DeleteBonjour from down south.
ReplyDeleteIn Aix en Provence my first experience in checking out a gym was at a place called "Gym Concept". I thought it a rather catchy name...until I actually checked it out and realized that here in France, that's pretty much what the gym is: a concept.
And that towel thing. We are soooo not in Kansas anymore! ;}
Hello/Bonjour from Paris! Nice to meet you and thanks for reading/the comment :)
DeleteI love that the name of the gym was actually "Gym Concept" that is just too good to be true. I'm a bit dramatic in my tales at times because the gym really wasn't that bad and serves its purpose. As for the towels, what I wonder is everyone around me seems to have one - do they all pay the extra 200 euros???