When I did the Spring into Action funrun, I got a 3 visit pass for Fitness First so I decided to go along there today for an RPM class. I don't know why, but it felt really scary. I can go to my daggy old gym(s), no worries, but for some reason I felt kind of intimidated about fronting up to FF.

I guess there was a number of issues. For starters, I was on a free pass instead of being a "real" member. That is always a worry because I hate those situations where businesses give out free passes/special offers/discounts then make you feel like a real scum for using them. I don't get that - why would you go back to a business that made you feel bad?

Well, that didn't happen.

Another fear was that it would be full of uber-fit yuppies. Bingo on that one.

Fear number 3 - once they had my details, they'd hound me to join. Not sure if that will happen but they didn't seem ready to do the hard sell and I didn't give them a phone number.

Lastly, I think I was worried that once I used their gym, I'd like it so much I'd want to pay huge sums of money to join. Trouble with that is that my contract in the city only lasts until the end of the year and I have no idea where I'm working after that. If they had a gym near home, it wouldn't be so bad but they don't.

And yeah, it did have those little touches that my gym misses - the hairdryers in the bathrooms, the lounge area (although why you'd want to lounge in the gym, I don't know), the free dvd hire (again, why?) and the sheer size of the place. Oh, and they have a Pizza Hut downstairs. That's always handy. Just kidding.

But I really didn't like it. The treadmills were all in rows and rows in front of the big tellys. That was off-putting. At least it looked easy to get on equipment but they were all so jammed up together. And the change room was full of the aforementioned bimbos. Who all seemed very snotty (except the nice girl who told me how the locker system worked).

So, onto RPM. I really don't understand the difference between RPM and Spin. I mean, I could see differences with this and my Spin class but that could just be the instructors. The bikes at FF were much newer that the old clunkers at my gym, but my seat slipped down mid-class that was scary and very offputting.

I didn't like the instructor. He was a nice enough gym and kinda cute but my regular instructor is very safetly conscious and this guy was not. If I had not been to my other class, I think I'd have some pulled muscles now. But, worst of all, was the music. Gay and disco. My regular class has some bad moments - I could live without ever hearing D-Lite's The Groove is in the Heart ever again, but she does play the Spazzys. Gotta love that.

Two more visits to FF to go. I think I'll try the lunchtime boxing class next week. Since my regular boxing guy is a bit lacking in the instruction department, I figure I can learn some techniques at FF and then go back to my old class.

After class, I went to Target to get some new pyjamas. There were two women looking at a pair of pjs, one encouraging her friend to buy them. They were very cute - oriental style top - and I've looked at them before. But the woman buying the pjs said they wouldn't fit her and held them against her to prove it. I looked at the woman and thought - if they won't fit her, they won't have a hope in hell of fitting me. But I bought them anyway because they were real cheap. Got home, tried them on and they fit perfectly. Just goes to show - I'm not as big as I think I am (or maybe it was the other woman who had an issue with her body size, well one of us did).