Back to the gym - yay!

Cessna Textron West Side Activity Center

Cessna Textron East Side Activity Center

On 3/14/2020, I made my usual trek to one of the gyms in which I have a lifetime membership. Because of my fear of COVID-19, that was the last trek I made there - until this morning. I didn't know when/if the place, itself, closed down. I only knew that I didn't want to be there. Surprisingly, the woman at the front desk told me they had been open since May 2020. Wow! I would not have felt safe working out there (or anywhere away from home).

It felt great working out, again. Masks are required in the public areas of the building; but, in the gym itself, I was the only one who was masked up. The employees and a couple of the fire fighters who work out there recognized me - despite the mask and the hair grown long.

My lifetime membership is courtesy of the company for which I put in a total of 19 years of service (Nov 1975-Apr 1981 and Apr 1990-Apr 2004). The deal was, that to use the gyms one must pay dues (deducted from one's paycheck) to the Employee's Club. I belonged to the Employee's Club for all of those years - only because one had to belong in order to belong to the Flying Club. That was a real carrot for many of us. The bonus was/is that, for belonging to the Employee's Club for the years before retirement, a retiree was awarded a lifetime membership upon retirement. Good deal!

Although I've shown photos of only two gyms, above, I think a third gym was added to the stable when Textron acquired Beech some years ago, but after my retirement. I'm unfamiliar with the facilities other than the West Side Activity Center (top photo) and the East Side Activity Center (second photo). For two reasons, I choose to use the East Side Activity Center: 1) It's a shorter drive from home (about 10 miles versus about 15), and 2) It's a smaller, less used facility. Granted, the West Side has a larger pool, more machines, and fancier locker rooms; but, I like not being among 100 other sweating bodies.

Comments

[Ingineer66]

Good for you. I am glad you are able to go back.

[Liz Hinds]

Yay! The university gym here opens next week and one of my fitness classes in a community centre begins the week after. I am looking forward to it very much.

[Cop Car]

Ingineer--Thank you. One thing I really enjoyed in California was the ability to get outdoor exercise 363 days of each year.

Liz--You seem to get plenty of exercise, even when you can't get into the gym. You put many of us to shame!