Finding a new gym

Now that the new route to work is down pat and having spoken to a few of my fellow compadres I have found that there are a couple of fancy gyms on my route home from work.

Just the ticket as I find, and ohmygoshIcan'tbelieveIamgoingtosaythis, I miss the gym. Yes, you do not need to readjust your screens, I confess. I miss it. The curious thing is, I can't quite put my finger on why I miss it so. Is it my expanding mid section? Maybe. Is it the smell of sweat and the hum of crap dance toons?Definitely not. It's somewhere between the whirring, clunking sound of the groaning CV machines and the smug self righteous feeling I have as I step through the door. On the way out of course. I never feel smug walking into the gym. That would just be mental.

Anyhoo, I went for a wee nosey today around a fitness emporium, which is part of a chain and if I am to believe Seth, today's tour guide, it's the largest corporation for health and fitness in the world.

Seth, by the way, looked about 17, a right cockney geezer covered in tattoos and wouldn't look out of place in the one album wonder boy band, Busted. Nice enough guy but if he said "d'cha know what I mean though" one more time I would have cried real tears of acute frustration.

The gym itself is above a pub (it beggars belief) and in the middle of a high street. It's just a plain weird location. Despite this, the monthly rates were respectable with lots of extra bits thrown in like a few personal training sessions. It has a little weights room for women only, in case you felt a bit insecure by all the testosterone filling the room (which it certainly did tonight), t'is a nice idea. There's a big boxing room with a ring, bags, speed balls and alike, there are even boxing classes which sound really cool. Tons of group classes, free newspapers, free tea, coffee and soft drinks. Changing rooms were gorgeous (which is more important than you think). Staff all seemed nice enough and it seemed like a sociable place to be.

There was just one thing wrong with this place. Something I can't shake.

But for the life of me I can't figure out what it is.....

I'm going to see fancy gym number 2 next week. And this one is real fancy and probably well out of my price range, even after playing the I'm a student and I work in the NHS card but hey ho, let's give it a bash.