July 21, 2011

YMCA vs. Yoga


{Source: fitsugar}

I started this post about two weeks ago when I was REALLY sick of the YMCA & contemplating giving up my $68/month membership & joining a yoga studio instead. I've since changed my mind, of course. I realized I was bored with my work-outs & simply changing things up a bit & adding in some outside yoga made all the difference.

A brief back story. Before I lost my job in Nov, I went to the Downtown Y most days during lunch & worked-out. When I lost my job, I kept up most of my lunch work-outs, but started swimming because of my knee injury. Then I did that month long boot camp in May. Immediately after, I re-started my old/new job downtown & went back to my lunch time work-outs. And here we are.

For someone who doesn't like change, it's funny that my main complaint with these lunch time classes is that they haven't changed. But they haven't! And I've been going to them for years & I'm bored as shit! Plus, now that I've been through physical therapy, I'm hyper aware of how many muscle groups are getting repeatedly ignored in these classes. Hello, glutes!

I REALLY like yoga, so I talked to my friend Paige, who teaches at 12South Yoga, about quitting the Y & buying a yoga package. I was mostly trying to decide if doing yoga 1-2 times a week would be the same as attending 1-2 (sometimes 3) strength training class a week (my running is my cardio, so I mostly use the Y for strength training).

Here's what I've done. For the past 2 weeks, I've switched to the Green Hills Y & started trying some of their classes. So far, I really like them, although they're mostly after work, which is a challenge for me, but I've been powering through. I've also been doing the free lululemon yoga classes at sanctuary in the gulch every Thurs night. I'm so glad lululemon does this. It's a great way to try out various yoga studios & instructors.

So what am I ultimately going to do? Give up my Y membership & buy a yoga package? Meh, I don't know, probably not. For now, the new Green Hills classes are pulling me back in. Also, yoga packages aren't as expensive as I always assumed they were, so I may still buy a package somewhere. Now I just have to decide where.

To be continued...

Namaste!

10 comments:

Panda Parables said...

i have been totally slacking with yoga. i used to make it a point to attend the smyrna rec center class on monday night and the smyrna Y class on thurs. and workout 3x week. it's been MONTHS since i've been to yoga. no real reason that i quit. you know i don't really do classes at the Y, but i've also been very bored and unmotivated lately. i still go 3x a week, but i just try to use a different machine each time (elliptical, different elliptical, run on treadmill for a few miles). all this to say: i really need to go back to yoga! i miss it!

chou chou said...

i actually gave up my Y membership in january (i like to go against the grain) for a yoga studio session and i am very happy i did so. i take at 12th south and i also go do lululemon classes. when i miss the more y-type classes, i just go to my community center and do zumba or something. the thing i think is best about it is the quality of the classes at 12th south, just so much better than anything at the Y and i really feel like i'm not going to get injured by some moron who makes me do jumping jacks over and over.

abpaulson said...

this is very interesting to me. i havent worked out regularly since january and have just been taking long walks with the dog (and putting back on a little weight). i think i really burnt myself out on spin, and ive never been able to motivate myself to do cardio machines on my own. i really miss yoga too, but i think i kind of forgot about how good it can be since most of the classes at the y are so crappy (except for the really good one that is always full and is way too hard for me). now im thinking about dropping the y membership and joining a yoga studio... hmm... i need to look around my neighborhood.

The Blonde Mule said...

Katie: I wonder if we're all slacking a little because it's so hot outside. I have zero motivation to go get hotter & sweatier than I already am on any given day. Come on, fall!

The Blonde Mule said...

Erika: I'm so glad you weighed in on this. I wondered if you still went to the Y or gave up & went full-time yoga. I'm so tempted to give up my Y membership. If I were skinnier, I would, but I feel like giving up my membership is giving up losing those extra 10-20 lbs, which is apparently a burden I'm going to carry around for the rest of my life, haha.

Thanks for the info. I'll keep you posted. Maybe I'll run into you in a yoga class soon!

The Blonde Mule said...

Alexis: As I've been talking about this lately, the general consensus is that I'm also burned out, which is probably true. Plus, I'm hot & I HATE summer. A recipe for disaster. And fat pants.

My friend Paige used to teach in East Nashville. Apparently 12South has an East Side location. I'd recommend checking into that.

In my dreams, we all live in the same 'hood, go to the same classes & eat Indian together every night. Well, not every night, but you know what I mean.

Libby said...

I definitely slow down on the workouts in the summer. It's hot and there is a lot of other stuff going on. Have you thought about swimming more in the summer?

The Blonde Mule said...

Libby: I should swim more. I really liked it & was starting to get the hang of it, but then went back to running & forgot about the pool. I'm also hesitant to swim a lot now because of my hair. When you pay this much for color, you tend to shy away from chlorine... So vain! Whatever, haha.

Sarah said...

So I have pretty much stopped all weight training over the past 2 and a half months. And like you, I just can't give up my Y membership. I have only been taking yoga classes though. I have given up weight training for the time being. And by going 3-4 times a week I feel more toned than I have felt in a while. Seriously contemplating going to yoga studio only, but I love the option of getting in more cardio before a class if I want. Maybe one of these days I will take the jump and. I love Steadfast and True and Sanctuary in Green Hills.

The Blonde Mule said...

Thanks for weighing in Sarah. That's good to know about you feeling more toned from yoga. I'm assuming that will be the case with me, too, but I just haven't gotten there yet. I bought a month pass to Sanctuary in the Gulch, so I'm there through August. I've been to Steadfast & LOVED IT!

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