Forever Yogurt

Remember that Cold Stone Creamery that was located across the street from my gym? Well, it closed a long time ago. Maybe a year or two? And Forever Yogurt went into the space. Seemed like a good match. People might actually go and get some frozen yogurt after the gym, but not Cold Stone ice cream! I started staring at big photos of fruit on the building while using the treadmill instead of thinking about Cold Stone. Still, I never went til I got the nudge from Groupon.

Here’s how Forever Yogurt is different from other frozen yogurt spots:

So, it’s totally self-serve. You take as much yogurt as you want and you take as much of the toppings as you want and then it just gets weighed. There are about a dozen flavors of yogurt and endless toppings. I liked it, but just like a salad bar, it’s hard to really gauge how much you have til you’re at the end weighing and paying. I’d go back, though. Unlike the Cold Stone that I tried my hardest to avoid.

My only complaint is that their logo looks like two steaming piles of poo.

Arc Trainer vs. Elliptical

I hate the elliptical trainer, but I love the arc trainer. I never even knew what the arc was until my trainer suggested it to me a year or two ago. Luckily my gym has about 10 arc trainers. The difference between the arc trainer and the elliptical trainer is that the arc footplates move in an arc path of motion and the elliptical moves in an elliptical pattern. I like how the arc feels better. Also, it’s supposed to be less stressful on your knees and body than the elliptical.

Back at Cheetah Gym

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:

gym_cold_stone.jpg

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

Crunch Gym

Crunch Gym
Crunch Gym, River North, Chicago

When I lived in East Ukrainian Village/Wicker Park I used to go to the Cheetah Gym on North Avenue. When Dallas and I moved to Roscoe Village there wasn’t a gym in the neighborhood except for Curves, which I wasn’t interested in. Nobody must have been interested in that gym because it closed while we lived in the neighborhood. There was the Lakeview YMCA, but I have to have something close or I won’t go. In Logan Square there isn’t a gym, but there are rumors that Cheetah is going to open this summer. I would like to join Cheetah, then, but decided that I couldn’t put off not exercising any more. In the winter I am just a lazy couch potato. In the summer I will ride my bike every single day, but it’s not a complete work out.

On Friday I joined Crunch Gym at a location that is near my office. They were having a promotion where I got $150 off my enrollment fee (it was $49) and got my monthly membership reduced to $49/month. That’s $10 off the normal membership fee. I also get 2 free personal trainer sessions. I’m especially interested in these PT sessions because even when I did go to the gym all I did was walk and try to run on the treadmill. I say try to run because I actually hate running. I thought a PT would be able to teach me some new things and get me psyched to be at the gym. Start me off on the right foot. If I decide I like it Crunch is also having a special on some super cheap PT sessions. My membership at Crunch is month to month so I can stay a member as long or as little as I like. And if I decide to move to a different gym, I’m not tied into a yearly membership.

Last night I met Eric, my new personal trainer. We talked for a bit about goals and stuff. Then we got going. I did a lot of step exercises, squats, lunges, ab exercises, push ups, jumping jacks, and squat thrusts. Not anything I’d normally do, but definitely was interesting and challenging. I was sore last night. I’m not going to lie. Walking down the red line steps, transferring up and down steps at Jackson to the Blue Line and walking down the California Blue Line stairs were a challenge. Plus the gym is in a basement. It’s a lot of stairs to do after a tough work out! Today, I expected not to be able to move, but I’m ok. A bit sore, but manageable. Still looking forward to my next PT session on Friday, which is good. Eric says he is all over the place doing functional exercises like the ones we did last night, stuff on the trampoline, with weights, and in the boxing ring. Looking forward to the variety and working out different muscles. Instead of legs on my bike or legs on the treadmill every single time.