Current status: Flying over Rural Iowa on my way to Las Vegas for corporate meetings.
Figured with 2.5 more hours to kill, a new edition to this blog would be time better spent than arguing with people in the Boston Globe comments section. The most entertaining 99 cent subscription you can purchase by the way. It would be worth it just doing the Sunday crossword puzzle. Throw in hysterical Democrats and it makes it all the more fun. It's my only form of social media along with the loathsome LinkedIn, which is a necessity but the WORST of all of them. I shut down Facebook, X, and Instagram. All of them are time sucks.
With a bridge shutdown bringing absolute gridlock to the neighboring town, I decided to put my membership on hold at my gym and rejoin Planet Fitness with its Black Card membership. The hold lasts 3 months and ends November 1. My Planet Fitness membership ends on November 17.
The bridge was supposed to be ready on October 15, but even though they are close to finishing, the union motto is "don't kill the job." So it's not quite ready yet. I've settled in pretty well at PF. The one I go to has limited and old equipment. It' 5 minutes from my house and I've renewed acquaintances with old friends and having good workouts. There is SUCH a convenience factor to it. Plus throw in the Black Card, I can bring a guest, usually my wife. And have used 5 different gyms with the Black Card while traveling for work or on vacation. I used it in Salem, OR, nicest PF I've ever been to. Three in Naples, FL while on vacation and finally in North Adams, MA where I went to college after an overnight stay. We hiked Mount Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts.
But it does have its drawbacks:
Limited equipment: Dumbbells up to only 75 lb. Poorly made kettlebells up to 30 lb. I only use the treadmills and Stairmasters, of which a 1/3 are broken. Crappy locker room. and HORRIFIC gym etiquette. People stealing your machines. Or leaving dumbbells on weight benches along with their water bottle and using it as a shelf. Doing an exercise in front of the dumbbell rack. And yes, I have policed the area by telling them that's not what the bench is for. Handing out judicial rulings in the judgement free zone. But with all that, I've been told by 2 people that I look, "very fit." So it's working along with my diet.
The Gym, yes that is the name fo the place, has 25 yards of turf to push a sled, Echo Bike, Ski Erg, plenty of new treadmills, Stairmasters and kettlebells up to 48kg/106 lb. For the record, the 106 lb. kettlebell if you've never swung or picked one up, is astoundingly heavy. I do swings with it from time to time. Back in the old days I could push press an 88 lb kettlebell, strict press an 80 and do Turkish Getups with an 88. I don't think at the peak of my strength I could straighten my arm over my head to even BEGIN the TGU.
The Gym also has squat racks, deadlift platforms, heavy dumbbells and barbells. As a guy at PF said, "The Gym is where you get jacked, Planet Fitness is where you get 'fit'." They also just re-did the locker rooms after 25 years and have a sauna. Yes, the old wall to wall carpet was absolutely disgusting. I horrified my 22 year old son walking barefoot on it. I have a ton of friends there. Lots of trash talk about politics, sports and investments. Also, a physical therapy clinic where they let you use the bands and PVC pipe rollers.
Again it has it's drawbacks
$40/month vs. $25. Not a big deal because I go every day. It also is 12-20 minutes each way depending on when the bridge will be fixed. I question whether I really need all of it. Finally etiquette can be lacking as well. People stretching on the turf field horizontally instead of vertically. Which means they take up the width of the field and you're playing Frogger if you push the sled. The sauna can be a challenge. Guys blowing snot rockets, or doing hot yoga in there instead of just sitting quietly. Yes, I've told some meatball 60 year old guy to shut up and sit still. No consideration for others.
What makes PF so convenient is I can use it in every town. And I'm traveling a lot more. If I regularly went to one with new equipment, sign me up, They have everything I need. But the owner isn't reinvesting in new stuff at the one I attend It's 2010 land in there. So I'm 90% sure I'm going back to the old gym. Why don't I keep both memberships? Good question, it's about peace in the neighborhood with the wife as Paul McCartney sang on the extremely mediocre Off the Ground album.
Good news is my IT band has completely healed. FINALLY. I'm able to squat all the way down and run. So I have done some kettlebell workouts at home. Only with 45's. Need to build up to the 55's. If I push it, doing front squats and double swings, there is a 100% chance I pop my SI joint. I did 50 front squats last month on a Friday with 45's and then hiked Greylock the following day in a cool 90 minutes. Spent 30.minutes at the top, had lunch and 80 minutes back down. For the next 5 days I had soreness in my hips, legs and calf muscles that I didn't know existed. I'm also able to run 5 miles. Speed slowly coming back. 5 miles in 47 minutes on the treadmill, incline at 1.0. Would love to cut it under 45 minutes, but that might be wishful thinking. Don't need to be banging my knees hard trying to to that. Whether looks or physicality, Father Time is and always will be undefeated.
After Las Vegas, it's back to Hawaii for the 2nd time in 4 months. Poor me. International Labor Benefits Conference. This time however, I have to take connecting flights. Did Boston to Honolulu non-stop in August. Ten and a half hours going out, 9 coming home. Usually I can sleep on a plane. Coming back only slept 45 minutes.
Air travel is getting worse in the United States. They are all at fault. So far this year, I've wasted 5 hours delayed in Phoenix because American couldn't produce a crew. 3 hour delay Jet Blue in Fort Myers because Boston wasn't allowing in bound planes in. And I missed a connection going to Portland, OR by 5 minutes and had to sit in Minneapolis for 5 hours. Thanks Delta. Plus you get a stale cookie, a half ounce of Cheese-Itz and a cup of soda if you ask for a Diet Coke. Not exactly white glove service.
Door to door from my house to the hotel in Salem, OR was 15 hours and 45 minutes. Coming back was over 14 and I had to change a flight at the last minute to an earlier flight to Seattle to make my connection home. What an adventure. It's so much easier to go to the Catskills or Saratoga to a union conference. Get in my car, drive 3-4 hours and if I get stuck in traffic in the 3rd world highway system of Connecticut, no big deal.
Looking forward to the black jack table this afternoon before the meetings begin. You can play a drinking game with the marketing jargon at these meetings. Every one is "super excited," God I hate the word "super" as a modifier. Or our "robust data," no one can explain the meaning of that. Discuss "healthcare journey's." Is everything a journey these days? The Bachelor TV show is all about journeys. And the "stickiness" of our "platform," meaning getting members to log back in. Finally we will have 90 minutes discussing our "product roadmap."
When I hear "product roadmap," I shut down like people who are terrible with their money having to have a conversation about money. Show me the value to the prospect of what I'm selling, not the features. Features are only good if they offer value.
Hopefully I've provided comedic value here of a middle aged man who is fighting a slow down metabolism that has decided to counterpunch me at 56.
