El Gimnasio

I recently began going to a gym here in Mexico. It's actually quite different from the US. First of all, I'd like to start with the word 'member' in Spanish. Obviously in English the phrase is 'member of a gym'. Unfortunately my first day I realize that they use a different word. It's not 'miembro', it's 'socio'. So when I walked in and the lady asked if I was a 'socio', I was totally lost. Talk about showing my gringa-ness in the first few seconds of being there. Sigh. Oh well.

Second, you pay by month! Personally, this is an improvement. You aren't tied down to a year long contract or anything. Just pay a month at a time. Awesome!

Third, you have to bring a little hand towel to put on the weight lifting machines before you sit or lie down to keep the machines clean. In the gyms I've been in, they always provide a spray bottle and paper towels to wipe the machines down. Not so here... Hence the requirement of hand towels. Also, you have to bring an extra shirt in case you sweat too much and the employees can ask you to go change your shirt if you're really sweaty. Maybe I've always been in cheap gyms, but I've never heard of that.

The machines are another story. I find them somewhat confusing as all the machines (though in very good condition) are a little bit older than I'm used to. However, what really confuses me is that some of the machines are in kilograms and others in pounds so I'm constantly making the conversion.  Weightlifting machines are easier just cause I keep trying different weights until I find the right one. However, I highly recommend having a Mexican gym buddy that can make that part infinitely easier. :-) Interestingly enough it works both ways... cause occasionally I'm useful in my knowledge of pounds. haha! (ok, maybe not that useful, but that's our little secret). ;-)

The last major difference is that there's no air conditioning. This part is sometimes hard to take especially now in the summer. They have a couple of big fans, but otherwise it's just a "deal with it and sweat it out" type deal. They do open up huge sliding glass doors, so in the end the gym has a very "open-air" feel.

Lastly, classes such as spinning or zumba cost an extra dollar or so (instead of being included in the gym membership). But hey, I'm betting the zumba or dance classes are 100 times better than in the US! Pretty sure those classes would be well worth the dollar they cost. :-)

They keep the place very clean (including the bathrooms and showers). Everything else is pretty much the same with the exception of the fact that maybe the people at the gym wear more neon colors and occasionally more provocative clothes than at American gyms (where some people feel okay going in their pajamas). Oh and the bathroom gossip is a bit more risque at times. hahaha! But I blame the janitor who's there every day for hours on end... what else is she going to talk about?

Overall, the gym experience has been a good one and really despite the small differences, it's really much more similar to the US than I expected.