Opening Up The Hotel Gym

When I travel, I look forward to working out in the hotel gym. Since I workout alone in my basement at home, having a bright room with (hopefully) state-of-the art equipment and (sometimes) an attendant or trainer is a nice change of pace.

I’ve learned the hard way that it can be important to get to the gym early (I don’t want to be stuck with the exercise bike or stepper as the only cardio options!) so I keep my alarm set for 5:00 and try to be the one to “open” the gym. I also like to check out the gym the day before, so I know what to expect. If it’s disappointing, I can prepare myself for a “make the most of it” workout. If it’s really nice, I will make sure to get there with plenty of time to “play.”

The hotel I’m at this week has a “24 hour” gym, which is nice when I have meetings that start at 8:00 am. I didn’t have a chance to check it out yesterday, so I didn’t know what I was in for today. I got a bit worried as I walked down the hallway and had to go down a few sets of stairs and more corridors, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Since I was the first person there, I took some pictures.

But someone else came before I could get a picture of the pool area.

I hopped on a treadmill and chose a 45 minute “rolling hills” workout at a relatively low incline so I could push the pace up a bit. I love the LifeFitness treadmills with the built-in TV screen.

After I cooled down and stretched, I used my Starbucks app to find the closest Starbucks. I figured out that 0.2 miles is barely 2 blocks, although I did pass 2 Dunkin Donuts before I got there.

After my grande Christmas Blend and Perfect Oatmeal (with a bit of brown sugar and nuts) I was ready to face my day of meetings.