Tuesday, August 16, 2005

To Everything, Spin, Spin, Spin . . .

Spinning is a very popular exercise class all over Mexico City right now, as I see signs for it in the windows of all of the health clubs. Well, the class I attended last night isn’t exactly in a health club; it’s actually in a beauty parlor! There are ten bikes and one for the instructor in a tiny room that barely fits the equipment. The class was great and extremely individualized – there was only one other student there. It was a bit strange however when I would breathe in deeply and smell hair spray and nail polish. Every other day there is Spinning class or Pilates. When it’s Pilates, they move the beauty equipment to the side and bring in the Pilates equipment. I’ll get to see what that’s like when I go later tonight.

I did look at a couple of other places before choosing to workout at this place. By metro and then bus, it’s about an hour (that Faye and I did on Friday) to get to the Centro Deportivo Israelita (basically a JCC – Jewish Community Center). While the facilities seem amazing, I wouldn’t know since after the commute I was told that only members were allowed to enter at that time as the center was closed for maintenance. I pictured myself punching the guard in the face as I recalled Clark Grizwold arriving to Wally World and Marty Moose saying, “Sorry folks, the park is closed for renovation.”

I also checked out the YMCA since it’s only a ten minute walk from my place. Besides the downpayment of almost $100, then each month costs more than $100. The instructors and facilities look like they are straight out of 1970, there were kids all over the place and I would have to pay $15 for a medical exam.