Behind the Seams: Freegan Fitness, Week 1

By Melissa Massello, June 7, 2010

Last Monday, I officially ended my 10-year stretch as a dues-paying member of a pricey well-known Northeast sports club chain. A conservative estimate puts the amount I spent on membership payments in this last decade at about $9,000, and I now weigh more — not less — than I did then.

Though I can’t say I went to the gym more than 2 to 3 times a week in the last two years — hey, the life of a startup entrepreneur leaves little play time! — I already feel the loss acutely, and am jonesing for a workout. So, today marks my first attempt at going freegan with my fitness routine, inspired by Julia Neyman of Buns of Steal, whom I interviewed yesterday afternoon for an upcoming story in our Health & Fitness issue (dropping in two weeks!)

So, here’s my game plan for the next seven days:

MONDAY
Wii Fit Plus at home during my lunch break since I had a lunchtime business meeting cancelled on me. It’s my only free time to work out today, sadly, or I might go on a very long walk with my dog and explore my new neighborhood, which includes the Harvard University campus (sure to be replete with lots of stairs I could climb up and down). Very interested to see what the little Mii trainer has to say about my lack of usage since March…those Japanese programmers at Nintendo sure do know how to lay on the not-so-subtle guilt.

TUESDAY
Lap swim at the Somerville public schools’ Kennedy indoor pool. Haven’t been there to swim in 10 years. Going to ask for a free trial before booking their (amazingly priced) $65 summer-long pool pass for residents. Totally forgot that I used to take advantage of the public Mirabella pool in the North End — a gorgeous hidden gem of a Boston public swimming pool that overlooks the Charlestown Navy Yard across Boston Harbor — each summer when I lived there, at a cost of about $15/summer for residents. And to think I was paying $100/month at my previous sports club chain for a premium membership that granted me year-round access to the lap pool at Wellington station, in addition to other services. (Vomit in my mouth a little.) Fingers crossed the Kennedy School pool peeps let me in on a trial basis, otherwise it’s $4/day for Somerville residents. Guess I just won’t be buying a coffee that day.

WEDNESDAY
Going to try and schedule a free fitness and postural assessment at our local indie training facility, aptly name The Training Room. I’ve heard awesome things about the place and have been dying to check it out and possibly buy a pack of personal training and class visits. Going to ask them if I can stay afterward and try a “50/50″ class: a half and half mix of spinning and weights. I’ve heard that spinning is an awesome workout, and the exercise bike is one of the few cardio things I can do with my (understatement) bad knees, the result of 20+ years of internationally competitive figure skating (both singles and synchronized). I think I have a free class coupon for The Training Room from the Somerville Local First holiday coupon book that may still be good…will check the coupon for expiration dates.

THURSDAY
Free yoga somewhere with my dear friend and Shoestring stylist/Home & Garden editor, Kara B. She’s still a member of my former sports club, so here’s hoping she can snag me a guest pass. Otherwise, we’ll just check the listings to see which of the local yoga or dance studios are offering free classes. Two other local blogger friends frequently teach free classes: Rebecca Pacheco, of OmGal.com, frequently teaches free yoga classes at Lululemon and other places, so maybe we’ll ask her where she’s teaching this week; Lisa Johnson, another BlogHer friend and owner of Modern Pilates in Boston, has also offered a free trial session to me in the past. Maybe it’s finally time to take her up on it…

FRIDAY
Given that it’s my 8-year “smoochiversary” (read: first date) observed with my now husband, I don’t really see a traditional workout in my future for this day (but I do see a three-course meal at the newly opened Bergamot on our plates, so let’s hope I stick to the plan for the rest of the week). Maybe I’ll try to work in an old-school Jillian Michaels “shredhead” workout through Exercise TV On Demand before work on Friday morning. Depends on how much wine Kara and I drink on Thursday night after yoga, I suppose…

SATURDAY
Checking out the free weekly workout classes taught by Equinox trainers at the Liberty Hotel in Beacon Hill. If, for some reason, I oversleep, I’ll just have to wrangle the girls to go out dancing that night. Or, if the weather’s good, perhaps Gingy and I can take the dog for a hike at the Fells.

OTHER FITNESS FREEBIES
Some other potential free & low-cost sweat sessions I thought about trying, maybe for next week: rollerblading on the bike path; dance classes to celebrate the local Tango Festival; outdoor boot camps on the Common; events & leagues hosted by our friends at Social Boston Sports; exercise meetups on Meetup.com; and watching out for fitness deals on Groupon. Definitely open to additional ideas, so send ‘em my way if you got ‘em.

OK, friends, wish me luck! I’ll be posting updates back here on this post as footnotes under each day of the week. Feel free to come and join me and hold me to my word on some of these if you’re in the Boston area!

~ MM