Life Time Fitness = A Lifetime of Fun

Last week a new health club/resort spa, Life Time Fitness, finally opened it's doors in South Austin. Since I have decided that it is time to get back in tip-top shape it couldn't have come at a better time. The last time I joined a health club it was about ten years ago in my mid 20's. We had no children then and my schedule was work late, stay up later, sleep late, go to the gym, rinse and repeat. Like a lot of people, the "go to the gym" part of the day eventually morphed into "sleep later" instead.

But Life Time Fitness is much more than a gym. It's a water park, basketball and rock climbing gym, with racquetball, squash, Yoga, Pilates, spin classes, lap pools, hot tubs, saunas, a cafe and hair/nail salon, a huge children's area with 2-hours a day of childcare included, swimming lessons, soccer days, kid's basketball court, and ample parking!

Granted, I'll probably never take Pilates or get my hair and nails done (what hair?), but I will definitely utilize many of the other amenities. And surprisingly the price of it all for the whole family is less than our cable, phone, and high speed Internet bill every month.

Starting tomorrow my goal is to get rid of my pregnancy weight (the food baby) and increase my running endurance while adding some muscle to my spindly frame. With that will come added performance on the tennis court so I can beat my tennis bum buddy. The only problem I can foresee about that plan is that he is also a member of Life Time Fitness, which means I'll probably have to spike his Gatorade with sleeping pills before we start to play if I ever want to have a fighting chance.

Thoughts from my Desk: 10/17/2007

It's been kind of quiet on the blog front this last week. I was preparing myself for a big trip to the dentist on Monday by staying up late pondering the future of my mouth with cold beverages and cancer sticks (sorry Mom & Dad, but I smoked again). I am happy to say that as of Sunday night I am tobacco free. I never had a hard time quitting, no real urges to smoke, but it was always easy to start again with a cigarette here and there when out with friends. When I'm not around cigarettes I don't have the desire for one, but when I am around them I want one. That will be a test of my will. Sometimes I would go 6 months without lighting up a Camel, sometimes I would go a week. For the sake of my overall health and extended length of life, I plan on going forever this time.
Adios, my Turkish Blend friend!

Another plus to the quitting will be the improvement in my stamina for tennis and running. I almost beat my arch nemesis last weekend even after a night of smoking. I was up 5-2 in the first set, which is a rarity, and up 3-1 in the second. I did lose both sets but put up a fight. I should have closed those sets out but the shots just didn't happen for me. Not having played in 8 months due to knee trouble I think I played better than I have all year. Maybe it was the extra added chemicals in my blood from the Camels. Yea, probably not.

Fall is finally arriving and everybody has their Halloween decorations out. Skeletons hanging from trees, bats in windows, and the real carved pumpkins awaiting their demise at the hands of young pranksters. My son has changed from being Batman for Halloween to Mack the red Power Ranger. He wears his costume around the house every chance he gets. We're hoping it makes it to October 31. My daughter is going to be a pumpkin with a costume on loan from a friend. She took one look at the bumblebee costume when at the store with my wife and said, "No!" which as you all know is one of her favorite words. Thankfully she liked the carved pumpkin with it's cute little hat. She should rake in tons of candy this year and that will be another habit to deal with - CHOCOLATE!

Speaking of chocolate, at the store yesterday I impulse bought a box of my favorite cereal (Count Chocula) and my kids didn't even notice when I put it in the basket or hid it in the pantry. I had a bowl of it this morning but had to wait for the milk to make it a little soggy so the delicious chocolaty crunchiness wouldn't hurt my teeth.

instead of going to bed...

I thought I would stay up a little longer and write some stuff. It helps that the Australian Open is on ESPN2. Unlike most people I can sit and watch an entire tennis match, maybe two, without changing the channel. Okay, I surf during commercials but I always go back. I love the challenge of the game and for some reason I keep playing even when I lose...which is pretty much every time I play. It's not like I'm not good at the sport, I've just been mostly playing my arch nemesis from high school who happens to be my best man and finally lives 10 minutes away again. He kicks my butt and I have sworn not to give up. I have beaten him twice in 16 years - both in high school and I believe the second time he had a mild heat stroke or the flu. He insisted on playing so I beat him. It felt kind of like cheating but I needed a win!

We have easily played 250+ matches since we met. The summer after our senior year we were tennis bums before we left for college. My parents still remember those days fondly. Sometimes we would play at one o'clock in the morning by sneaking through the fence at the public tennis center and turning on the court lights. We played there many times and the police never stopped to see why we were there after hours! If I were to try that monkey business now I would surely be facing a judge on a trespassing violation.

I made a bet this month that I would beat him before the end of 2007. We have to play at least 25 matches for it to be legit. If I fail to win a match I have to shave my head bald. Not much of a stretch from where I am now, but also not a haircut I'm ready to don. I think it's time to invest in some tennis lessons.