Among Friends

[dex]

My gym is closing after ten years.I have been going five days a week for most of those.We had a party there after step class yesterday.We all brought food and took many pics.Togay will be the final trx class and then we turn out the lights forever.We have been a large supportive group and plan to join another gym together but any new gym just won't feel like home.We are all very close and have shared each other's good and bad for so long.

[software]

I hope your next gym adventure is bigger and better!

[Oznell]

It's hard to see one thing end-- but how great that you're sticking together for future fun and exercise.  That sounds like a really cohesive group.

[2blonde]

@dex  Hey, remember when we discussed this when you first found out the were closing?  I mentioned that I feared my gym of 30 years was going to close.   Well.........it happened on Sunday, March 19. Unlike yours, they gave no warning.....all we got was locked doors and a sign. Thank goodness it was one of my friends who went there and saw it (not me).

So here's the good news.  Word travels fast among friends.  That same day there were 7 of my friends standing at the front counter of the Fitworks gym (about 1-1/2 miles down the street), waiting to get in. Within a few days virtually all of us (over 200 people) had joined!  Not only is this gym 100 times better than the old (dilapidated) one, I still see all my old friends and am making new ones too!  I absolutely love it there, and many of us are wondering why we stayed at the old one as long as we did.  I'm getting stronger too, because there's more and better equipment.  The Lord has strange ways of turning the bad into good!

[dex]

@2blonde Thanks for posting.I was hoping that you would give me an update on your gym situation.I am happy to hear that it is working out to be a good thing for you.what is your favourite new class or piece of equipment?

[2blonde]

@dex  I don't take any classes, although they offer a lot of them (even spinning).  I'm a runner, so I get my aerobics that way.  I go only for the weight training, and they have many more machines from which to choose.  I'm pretty serious with the body building (as are many others at this new gym), so I only work certain muscle groups on certain days.  I do have issues with my shoulders (can no longer use free weights), and at the old gym there were so few machines I could use that didn't hurt me.  Now I find these are more efficient and easier on me while still building more muscle.

It's also very clean and well maintained, and the management is friendly and professional.  They have a theatre, TRX room, separate aerobic room, separate spinning room, lots of TV's, and the locker room is CLEAN with showers and changing rooms!  I signed up for 2 years at $20 + tax per month.  Most other nice gyms in this area charge about 3 times that amount.

[millieshops]

@dexAs with so many things, I think it's the people more than the place or the details of the activity itself.

Wish you luck keeping your group together.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

I was a group fitness instructor and went through some painful facility shut-downs.

Hopefully you'll find a new "home".

[Vivian]

I've seen two of my health clubs close in the 30 years I've been going to aerobics classes. Nine years ago, I joined the YMCA. I love it! I take aerobic dance and Zumba, and also attend a strength building class. I think that my run of bad luck is behind me. I hope the OP finds a place where there are great classes.

[chrystaltree]

It's hard to track who is "talking" but it's just a gym, people leave familiar situations all the time.  This is no tragedy.  You can maintain the friendhsips inside or outside of a gym and you can find a gym.  It's a change but you'll adjust.