A few years ago I used to live in East Ukrainian Village and was a member of Cheetah Gym in Bucktown. I was laid off when I joined and went every day, mostly just as something to do and to get me out of the house. Later that year, when Dallas and I moved to Roscoe Village, I quit the gym. It was too far away from where we lived and where I worked. Not convenient at all.

So now I’m living in Logan Square and working in River North. Early this year, I joined Crunch Gymin River North and worked out with a great trainer there, Eric. Later on the gym declared bankruptcy, Eric left, and then the gym closed. I wanted to keep working out somewhere. Honestly, I’d sloughed off a lot at the end of the summer and needed to get back in a routine.

I decided to rejoin Cheetah in Bucktown. It’s only a block from the Blue Line, which I take to and from work every day, so I figured it’s as convenient as anything.. probably even more convenient than when I went to Crunch and had to take two buses or a bus to a train to get home. Now I could just hop off the Blue Line, work out, and hop back on for two more stops and be home. Cheetah waived my initiation fees since I was previously a member and gave me 10% off a personal training package. I’ve worked out twice there this week and have an appointment for my first training session next week. I hope this works out as well as it seems like it will!

Oh, last night when I was running on the treadmill I quickly remembered one annoyance at Cheetah:

Staring at Cold Stone Creamery while you run on the treadmills! (This photo was taken back in 2006, but it’s all the same!)