Back in the game gym

 After several months, I have finally decided to go back to the gym. 

However, in a departure from the usual type of gym I go to - community gyms - which were typically cheaper and didn't require signing up for memberships, though the quality of the equipment varied from place to place - I decided to sign up to a franchise gym instead. Anyone who has been to one of the many franchise gyms in Japan will know that they are not cheap, with some costing over 10,000 yen per month alone, though the upside is that those gyms are 24 hours, have better equipment, and are convenient by being in much better locations, such as near train stations, making it ideal for those who want to go straight from finishing work. 

The reason I signed up for a gym membership this time is, well because of distance. Now that I don't have a car (fortunately, given the continuing rise in cost of petrol these days), the community gym isn't as easy to get to. I would have to take the bus for 40-50 minute trip one way, pay to use the gym for a session, and then take the bus for another 40-50 minutes to get home. Factoring all the costs associated with that, and doing a quick cost comparison with the gym I signed up with, the community gym (and round trip) was cheaper. However, this is only if I go twice a week. If I'm going more than twice a week at the franchise gym, it actually turns out to be cheaper, plus It won't take me nearly an hour to get there. Also, the gym is 24 hours, meaning I can go there on my way back from work, whereas the community gym's hours limit me to going on the weekend.

In addition, there's a campaign running at the gym I signed up for which lasts until the end of the month. Basically, I sign up and pay for my key card and the last day of this month, and the monthly fee for July is waived. Plus, after a month, I can go to any location to use the gym, which will be good for times that I will need to go out of town for work for an extended period of time (and beats just sitting in a hotel room watching youtube all evening).

It will be nice to finally get back in to it, but given my back injuries from last year, I need to be extra careful when getting back in to it. Once again, I'll be starting from nothing, though there's nothing wrong with that. Better I take my time, and perhaps focus more on control this time, as opposed to trying to quickly get back to what I could lift back at my peak and risk injuring myself again.