I didn’t make it to the gym yesterday because we got buried under a foot of snow. This did not upset me too much, I mean, there’s nothing I could do to help it. So today I go to the gym in order to make up for the missed workout. I arrive there and approach the doors. What am I greeted with? A note saying: “Fitness Line will close at 1pm New Years Eve. Sorry for any inconvenience.” Sorry for the inconvenience? How about, “Hi, we’re all too lazy to work today, so we closed. No, we don’t feel it’s necessary to give any advanced notice. Oh, don’t worry about the atrophy you’ll suffer because of our sloth. Don’t worry about the weakness that will ensue because of yet another holiday-fucked workout. No, sir, don’t worry about any of that. You see, it’s New Years Eve, and we have to prepare to get stupid tonight. Don’t tell me you’d rather work out than get drunk and act like a brain damaged idiot. Everyone likes to drink! No sir, you just go get cocked and forget about your missed workout. We just did you a favor.” YOU ASSHOLES!
Anyway, my point: I ended up driving around for an hour looking for an open gym and spending $12 to work out in some ghetto-style hole. $12 fucking dollars! How absurd is that? "Excuse me, sir, you have some heavy objects in your building that I would like to move around. How much money will allow me such an honor?" So I end up doing partial deadlifts in a squat rack that was about 1.5 feet wide in the most hot and humid room with a bar that was completely smooth from decades of use. Needless to say, I couldn't hold on to the damn thing. This did not please me!
Wait, that wasn't my point. Hmmm...I think I just needed to vent. I really have no point, I'm just sick of gyms being closed and people not giving a shit about working out.
My friend, you have just hit on the EXACT reason why I decided to invest in a home gym. Actually there were other factors involved too but this was the clincher. Where I live there are two gyms and one is closed every Sunday and at 5 on Saturdays, and they close on every holiday known to man and even a few not known. Then there’s always the 2-week closing for maintenance. Oh, and the equipment is terrible, the people there are morons, and for what I paid for five years of being a member, I got a kick-arse set of equipment that will last a lifetime. I suggest you do the same if you can-believe me, in the long run you’ll save money and the workouts will be just as good, unless you need to be around a lot of people to stay motivated.
I feel your pain. I woke up early today (New Year’s Day), because I figure the gym would close around 12 or 1 (I’ve prepared from past experiences). When I get there the fucking thing’s closed. Not open at all. AT ANY TIME THROUGHOUT THE DAY. Not everyone is too hungover to work out the next day. Hell, I went to bed at 10 oclock last night after doing sprints at 9. Anyway, I did get to workout at another gym for 10 bucks. Lousy, stinking, basta…
Jeff…I don’t understand why you’re so upset about missing one frickin’ workout! It borders on workout addiction if you can’t just chill out on New Years Eve and hang out with friends, have a good time, etc…it’s not like your muscles are going to disintegrate! Even if you missed a week of training, you’d easily be able to gain back any little you lost. Why not just do some bodyweight exercises or go for a run? Unless, of course, you’re training for an upcoming contest or something…
While your message was funny, let’s look at it from the other perspective. Actual people work in a gym, with lives and families. New Years is a national holiday. Now how would you like if your boss made you work till midnight on New Years or Christmas Eve? Unless you’re a firefighter or a doctor in the ER, and the public’s safety depends on you, that’s a pretty Scrooge-like thing to do to your employees. Especially cause most of the public is not going to the gym in the evening on New Years Eve. So as much as I’d like to stay open to watch your lonesome hardcore ass deadlift, I’m gonna be out drinking and getting laid. As it was, they were all out of beer at the supermarket by the time I got out of work on the 31st, and I had to settle for Corona Light. Maybe if you called ahead or braved the snowstorm the day before like I had to (to open the gym). You would have found out that they were closed. If you read Chris Shugart’s Atomic Dog and later forum posting closely, you’ll see that although he advocates working out on Christmas, he plans to do so in two places (his garage and the high school weight room) where he can get his work done by himself. If you don’t have access to a gym that suits your needs like this, plan to take several of the larger holidays off. These include Christmas, New Years Eve, New Years Day, Fourth of July, St. Patricks Day, Groundhog Day, and the important National Fitness Employee Appreciation Day. The rest will do you good and prevent overtraining. Not trying to bust your balls, (well maybe a little but I think the other side should be spoken for.
relax boy!! I checked ahead and knew my gym was closed on the 1st so I just chilled and went out with friends to some clubs last night and had a good time-I didn’t get completely wasted but I drank more than usual and it felt good to have a whole day off with nothing to worry about except football games. Tommorrow I’ll be back in the gym and probably will feel better than ever-I usually do after a extra day or two of rest. So relax a day off never hurt anyone’s progress.
Well, everyone is right that a day off won’t do any harm, I was exagerating a bit in an attempt to be humourous.
As for the people working there, the place would closes at 6pm normally. The place is pretty much run by the total of 3 workers who work there (only 1 at a time to run the place), all in their early 20's. Aside from that, their job is to run the gym. It's something called work ethic, something a lot of people lack. If you sell someone a memembership and say "These are our hours" then I think those should be the hours, period (aside from X-mas and the like). Now, there may have been a good reason, or they may not have been. Also, I would have happily braved the snow storm to work out the previous day, but I was there the day before the snow storm and the kid working there said if there was 3 inches or so of snow on the ground in the morning they wouldn't open. Anyway, now that I have succeeded in making a MUCH bigger deal out of this than I hand planned, I'll shut up.
it’s all good bro, your post was well written and it made me laugh. I’ve been on your side of the fence too, so I know how annoying it is when you want to work out and you can’t.
Maybe it’s just the name but I gotta agree with Jeff. Just yesterday I drove way out to BFE to go mountain biking (in the snow and wind chills in the single digits - “fuck it, let’s ride!”) only to realize I left my front wheel at home. Of course, this was my fault, unlike Jeff’s predicament, but I still felt like I totally blew my day. Yes, an occassional day off is fine for the physique but when your workout is the high point of your day, it sucks to have to forego it. My $.02.
I hate missing a workout. My gym was closed Sunday and NewYears Day. So I drove around until I found one open (Power House). I went in, pretended I was interested in joining, and got a free pass. Funny thing is I actually like the new place. All brand new Hammer Strength equip. They even carry BioTest. Might have to switch afterall.
but I think the other side should be spoken for.