Working out

So, I love to work out. I like challenging my body to do more than just sitting in a chair, staring at a computer developing back, wrist and eyesight problems. I love Bikram yoga, triathlons, normal yoga, running with a dog that I no longer have, biking, hiking, climbing... really, I love most outdoor activities.

Except when it is -12 degrees Celsius. I actually refuse to look it up and see what the temperature is in Fahrenheit simply because I think Celsius makes more sense, even though I grew up with Fahrenheit. Since I barely understand anything else around me here in Germany, I figure, I might as well learn celsius as well. Also, -12 Celsius just sounds colder. And when attempting to run outside, my nose freezes which means I start breathing through my mouth, which means the cold air is hitting the back of my throat directly, which means I am in perfect condition to acquire bronchitis or pneumonia. Since i dont yet have a doctor and have no idea how to call and set up an appointment, I am really trying to avoid activities that would give me either of the above.

After a month of excuses for not working out (trying to find a place to live, trying to furnish my apartment without being able to use a credit card since ikea doesn't accept credit cards here, trying to figure out what I am supposed to be doing at work, trying to learn german and make new friends...), I finally decided to buy a gym membership. I first tried to "shop around" and went to this gym right across the street from my house. Studio 90 is located right above a steakhouse, and while I was visiting, I was pretty sure all of the men in the studio ate downstairs every night, since they all looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was 50 Euro per month if I signed a year, and if I went month to month it was 55 Euro. Since I am still a newbie and still converting into dollars (which is a bad idea) I decided that was way too much considering they opened at 8:30am!! Yes, for some reason, German culture doesn't view working out in the morning to be necessary. I think the fact that some clubs don't close until 6am or sometimes just stay open may have something to do with this. Since I have to be on a train around 8am, I decided this probably wasn't the gym for me.

Fitness First for Ladies was my next stop. Here there was also a special, 39.95 Euro if i signed a year contract instead of 53.95 Euro, and I wouldn't have to pay the 45 Euro setup fee! Also, they told me that the gym opens at 7am, which they emphasized was very early. I thought about my other gym options (McFit, and InterSports) and decided this was a good option for me, especially since I can use all of the Fitness Firsts for Ladies and all of the normal Fitness Firsts throughout Berlin and all of Germany.

Then I figured out how to get a locker and hopped on a machine. All he buttons were in German and there were no pictures. =( I spoke to one of the ladies who worked there who spoke a little English and explained that I wanted "Hills" on the Eliptical. (This is a pretty standard request, I thought, and it is usually what I do on Elipticals in other parts of the world.) She basically told me that hills were very hard, and so they don't really do them on the elliptical, but rather people do hills on the treadmill. Haha. Soo, after some coersing, I convinced here that I really did want the "automatic hill setting" instead of the manual hill option, and she showed me which button to push. Victory!