Staying? Not Staying?

Should I stay in Arlington Heights?, By Merry

Today I got in 45 minutes of elliptical at my building's gym. I'm really thankful that I live in a place that has a gym and that working out for me is as easy as walking downstairs and getting my sorry ass on a treadmill. My lease here is up in March and I'm on the fence as to whether or not I should renew. The negative about this building is that the rent is a bit high and the elevators are always breaking, but the positives are that it is right next to the Metra train station AND there is this gym right in the building. What I'm wondering is, is easy access to a gym one of the contributing factors to my fitness success in the next year and if so, what is that worth? Is it worth paying a lot more in rent?

Men who don't work out with you...., By Merry

Today I was bad with my food intake. I ate two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a cookie, and a pear during the day and a salad for dinner. I need to go grocery shopping soon, otherwise you'll be reading posts about how I had olives and mustard for dinner. Not cool. On to other news, Mr. J, and I had plans tonight. I knew I had to get my workout in, so I told him to bring some workout clothes with him so we can workout together. He did not like this idea. So he told me we can hang out after I worked out. Boo. After work I came home and frantically cleaned my house, and after that ordeal, I was left with fifteen minutes to work out, but work out I did! I did some treadmill action and then did some jumping jacks. My legs and back are sore from all those kicks I did yesterday. The good news is all this soreness pays off - I definitely feel sexier and more confident. Anyway, about the men who won't work out with you? I'll keep you posted on where this goes.

Men and lady farts in Turkey

Yes, we do have a blast at each and every workout but why????? Well Merry is definitely something else! Not only is Merry a usually late client but an entertainer! I have learned this: Merry almost loves men as much as they love her, Merry likes to go to Germany to meet strange men, strange men ditch Merry in countries such as Turkey:) ......maybe because she is a vegetarian? We will never know. So after laughing like heyinas last night another funny thing happened. A fellow trainer and his lady client joined in on our fun and suddenly the "client" farted very loudly! HILARIOUS! Although this has happened numerous of times while I was training a client(And NO it wasn't me)this time it was very different. All 4 of us actually acknowledged the fart!....And spoke about it like it was a god blessed sneeze!

And Merry STOP asking me if our workouts count as part of your weekly 2.5 hours of cardio-YOU HAVE TO DO THAT ON YOUR OWN!!!

Star Shapes and Protein Advice, By Merry

Ilona told me that some workouts are not for everybody and not to feel bad if you can't do a particular move. For me, that something tonight was figure eights with my arms using a weight ball. Thankfully, after my failed attempts at fluid figure eights, Ilona suggested I use my choppy gestures and go a bit more geometrical with square shapes. Then we took it to the next level -- star shapes. Starting with the ball in your hands, bring it above your head, down near your right hip, up in the opposite corner above your head, across your chest, and down by your left hip -- in the shape of a star. Several sets of these worked my arms out like crazy. I like. After our workout which included a lot of leg kicks, I decided to have some protein so that my butt muscles can grow to enormous portions (I am attempting to whip this pancake ass into a rounder shape). Note to our readers: do not eat protein powder straight, as in, without liquid. I ate a giant spoonful of plain protein powder, only to cough up clouds of this fine dust which eventually made it's way to my eyes. Not fun!