a solution to the struggle?
this is more of a post asking for your feedback/advice on something...
If you read the "life's greatest struggle" post you know that i'm trying to have a more balanced life taking care of family time, exercise, and all the other stuff that life forces you to try and balance...
and i think i came up with a parital but EXPENSIVE solution. Joc and I were talking about joining lifetime fitness, we do this every so often until we realize how much it costs. But it was different this time, because joc brought up that if we joined lifetime that we could work out TOGETHER.
now for some of you working out with your partner may sound awful, but joc and i have done it often before and enjoy it. Since lifetime has childcare we could drop the girls off workout and even sit for a while and talk after... it could be a date night and a workout night... or we could make a trip to lifetime everyday and workout some and drink smoothies in the cafe on others all with babysitting taken care of :)
but i guess i'm wondering if there are any lifetime members (or anyone else) out there who would be able to shed light on whether or not this is a good idea or whether i've lost touch with reality. If we do join, it IS expensive so we're talking of divesting ourselves of cell phones (or at least me getting rid of mine) to free up cash flow for it. Before we dive in we wanted some feedback on whether this might have merit or is 100% idiotic. any counsel?
posted by Dion @ 9/07/2006 10:05:00 AM
9 Comments
9 Comments:
LIfetime Fitness is a nice facility for a whole family to spend sometime. But it is important what time of the day you guys think you would go. It can get a little chaotic with the 9 to 5ers after 5 and then a wave of teens hits the place around 7pm.
I would also ask Kath or any other people you know that have memberships and kids regarding the child care. I have heard good and bad things. Nothing major, just some kids not liking it or the issue that they don't feed or change diapers. Just another part to investigate.
The best part is that you can sign up for a 30 trial. You can decide at the end of the month that it works for your family or not.
We love it and would love to workout with you guys too! Double date anyone?
oh but i've never waited for a machine.....
I think it's great that you want to take care of your body and spend time with your wife. That's a sweet idea.
Now, that being said Lifetime is not a cheap place. Because of that the cost effectiveness of this is something you might want to question. For the amount you are going to spend is it worth the amount of money you will spend?
Now, I like the idea but the expense is killer. You may want to take a look at the times of day you would go. Plan it out a little. Then take a look for options other than lifetime that offer what you are looking for. In Troy, where I used to live, there was the Troy Rec Center. It wasn't open 24/7 but offered the equipment, childcare, and other things you might be looking for. Is there something in your area that would do the same thing? The cost difference could be enough that you could keep your cell phone. It's that big of a cost difference.
thanks for your posts. i checked it out over there last night. seems like that could be a haven in the cold winter months to do stuff with joc or with all of us as a family. We might do the 30 day trial and see if it IS cost effective (do we actually use it enough to justify the cost)
I'm seriously praying about it though, b/c it IS expensive and unfortunately there aren't very man other options around the area except little gyms like the one i used to belong to. (i wish there were a 'Y' in town... but i think milford is the closest)
we'll see :) thanks for the input, if anyone else has any feel free to toss it in.
I was just going to say, that I heard the Y in Milford is really nice. Not sure if they have childcare.
Also, totally talking out of my realm, but how much would it cost you to get a sitter twice a week and go to a cheap gym (do you have one with your condo complex?). Not sure what babysitters charge now, but since Lifetime is pricey I thought it might be compareable. Just a crazy thought.
The Huron Valley School District has new pool and fitness facilities (and they have child care while parents are using the facilities). These are located at the two high schools, one of which is Lakeland High School on Bogie Lake Rd (8-10 miles north of church). We are not residents of the Walled Lake School District so don't know if comparable facilities exist in that school district (but I would think they do.) Just a suggestion. For more information on these facilities, go to www.huronvalley.k12.mi.us
By the way, rates for non-residents of the school district are $660 for the year, $352 for 6 mos. and $187 for 3 mos.
This facility is not open 24/7 and may not be as "posh" as Lifetime, but its an option.
Jim and I were members for many of the same reasons you are thinking of it but I had some serious questions about the safety of the childcare. They had the kids with teenagers and the childcare manager in an office down the hall and I had to go get her out of the office on more than one occasion when I felt the play was too rough and too many kids were getting hurt. The other frustration was not being able to know until you got there if they had room for the kids. they hit a number and don't take anymore until someone leaves. The Cafe always seemed like a fun place to hang out but was very pricey. It became a real drag to get everyone ready to go in the winter with the boots, hats, gloves, scarf routine with the kids so the workout was only harder with that on top of it. Now for a possible solution. Jim and I were at the Salvation Army Store in Walled lake and found a stationary bike for $10 and a rower for $10. They do take up room in the house but also sets a good example for the kids when they see mom and dad using them as part of their everyday life not a special trip someplace.
thanks for all the suggestions. how kind of you all! now i just gotta get you commenting on things like the synoptic gospels post i did :)
oh yeah... we joined.
it's working out great so far. Can't tell you how good it is to be able to work out. I'm so much happier and less stressed now.
It's great being able to have the childcare too. I'll report if anything goes awry!
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