FlyeFit

Hello!

So naturally after I got my bank account, I signed up for a gym! I needed my bank card because that's what you use to get into the actual gym. There are blue barred doors, similar to the kind at train stations that you pass through after you submit your ticket, only they're tall to the ceiling and completely block the way. In order to get in, you have to scan your card. And they lock after you've moved them. Like revolving doors that lock after one person makes it through. I don't know.

But yes. So I am with FlyeFit! They are 24 hours which is super handy (cause I'm always going to the gym at 3 in the morning) and there's three different locations to chose from. The one I go to is about 5 minutes walk away. It's really nice!

If you believed me when I said that I go to the gym at 3 in the morning...gotcha! ;)

I had to buy trainers (sneakers) when I got here because I didn't bring any over with me. Luckily, there's a store called Penny's that sells things for RIDICULOUSLY cheap prices. They have everythingggg. However, the quality is questionable. But these shoes are great! I had to purchase insoles for them to add an extra layer between my foot and the thin foam-like sole of the shoes, but whatevs I'm cheap as fuck.

So FlyeFit. Dats mah spot! My spot, that is, if I feel like getting sweaty and working on my fitness. (If those are the only qualifications, then my local Tesco is also "my spot"...lol just kidding for reals, I'm not sweaty at the grocery store).

Except sometimes I am sweaty at the Tesco because my gym is RIGHT NEXT TO IT. My gym is right next to the grocery store. You can imagine the internal struggle everyday walking to the gym and going home from the gym. Sometimes I leave to go to the gym and end up coming home with cookies and never having gone to the gym ... O_O

So FlyeFit's logo looks kind of like the symbol for the band Flight Facilities. I don't know which came first

My gym here is not much different than Gold's Gym Express that I went to in Normal, Illinois. The layout is very different, but the types of machines offered, weights, and other facilities (Flight Facilities) are the same.

There are two levels. Once you make it past the troll at the gate, there is the level with the tredmills and other cardio machines, along with a make-shift football field that is almost the length of the room, but no where near the size of the real deal. It has that fake rubber, shredded material painted to look like the grass on the field.

Then you can go upstairs to where a lot of machines are for weight lifting as well as a room with weights and a mirrored wall. Also upstairs are the locker rooms. When I arrive at the gym, I always go upstairs, dump my stuff into a locker, and then go back downstairs for the tredmill.

Now I know what you're thinking. Damn, Erika at the gym?! She probably rocks the fitness fashion like a boss.

And you're wrong. I actually look pretty strange when I'm at the gym. I didn't bring any work out clothes with me, besides sports bras, and so what I wear are leggings and fashionable sweaters that I don't care for too much anymore. Anyone remember that light grey owl sweater I've worn the past three winters? Good, because that'd be weird if you paid that much attention to my clothes.

Besides that sweater, I also rock a black one with gold chain accents on it, and my cheetah sweater from H&M that I got in Edinburgh last summer. I also re-wear these outfits if they didn't get too sweaty the previous time...WOW Erika, you're so gross.

At first I was very nervous about going to the gym because I didn't know what the machines would be like. Instead of judging distance in miles, they use kilometers over here and I wasn't sure what level I'd have to place the machine on. Hell, I didn't know what to expect from the machines!

But actually I was SHOCKED and also comforted to find that the tredmill is the exact same brand as the one I ran on in Gold's Gym! Matrix, to be exact. It looks a little different, but the settings were the same! I always used "manual." And it's really easy to use! And even the cup holders are in the same spot and the emergency stop button is in the same spot and it's just so wonderful!

At first I felt like a bad ass because the settings were in km/hour and not mph. So instead of running at a steady pace of 6.5-7mph, I'm running at about 10-11 kmph. And instead of saying I ran 4 ish miles, I ran 7 km. Which makes me feel like a bamf. You can imagine my stride during my cool down.

Also weight is measured in kg which is your weight divided by 2.2. For example, if you weigh 110 pounds, you are 50 kg. So if someone says they lost 3 kg it's actually an accomplishment. If someone says they lost 3 pounds, you're like "so what?" or "did you just take a poop?" (I haven't lost weight and that's not my weight in kg, these are just examples ppl!) Also, to convert miles to km, you do the number of miles multiplied by 1.6

I really like the gym because it's a place where I can jam to my music. Seriously. When I walk on the tredmill, I'm practicing my catwalk. Sometimes I'm also dancing. I'm in the midst of choreographing an interpretive dance that I will film and show you later (this is real).

I am personally proud of my gym playlist, and am always adding to it. For me, it's a lot easier to run when I am running to the beat of the song. Here is a list of songs that I can run to in rhythm with the music (ranging from slower, bigger and bouncier strides to smaller, faster steps):

Bang-Bang: Jessie Jay and you know
Chalk Outline: Three Days Grace
Alone: Heart
It's Gonna Be Me: NSYNC
A New Way to Bleed Remix: Evanescence
I Just Had Sex: The Lonely Island
Touchin on My: 3Oh!3
Black Widow: Iggy and Rita
Off to the Races: Lana Del Rey
Whip My Hair: Willow Smith (the best. it's against my rules to not run when this plays)
Upgrade Ya: Beyonce and her Boo
Serial Killer: Lana Del Rey
Chandelier: Sia
Centuries: Fall Out Boy

Other songs that are on my playlist (but don't fully line up with my pace, yet still good!) are:
No Enemiesz: Kiesza
The Inuyasha theme song (this shouldn't surprise you)
Let it Go: The Alex Boye cover
Sia: Elastic Heart
Change Your Life: Iggy Azalea
And We Danced: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Original Don: Major Lazor
I am the Best: 2NE1
Take Me To Church: Hozier

and a bunch more. There's 44 songs, too many to list all!

So one day The Motto by Drake was playing when I entered the gym, and I smiled to myself as I screamed "fuck yes" on the inside. It was all I could do to keep from strutting to the locker room. And to be honest, I probably did. I know I did. But to avoid this confirmation, I neglected to look any of my passerbys in the face and gauge their reaction to my impromptu catwalk. When I reached the locker room and busted open the door in all my strutting glory, I found two girls dancing and clapping to the song. "Awe, hell ya I feel you girl!" was what came out of my mouth. And they totally laughed. At first I wasn't sure if I should have been embarrassed by my comment but that moment fleeted after a second as I thought "no regrets"

So that's everything about the gym! Hope you enjoyed this little entry-poo.

:)

xxKa