Back in the Game

So I finally got it worked out how to best get workouts back into my routine with the new work schedule. Roughly a week or two before Daylight Savings, I'd started running when I got home from work. I'd rush through 5 o'clock traffic in a race against the sun. I usually got home around 6, give or take ten minutes depending on how many times I yelled "GO!" at the stopped-for-no-reason line of cars in front of me :) I'd change from work attire to running clothes while the dogs were outside and then let them stay out there and burn some energy of their own while I went for a short run, usually making it 1-1.5 miles before it was too dark for my liking. 

Since the time change I don't have to worry about running out of time or being restricted to only running for 15 minutes. Even better, Tyler can usually get home in time to go on a run of his own. We both appreciate it being so much simpler to get work outs in, but who knows what's going to happen when the time changes back. If we keep it up then we'll need far more than 15 minutes which might make it so that we have to join a gym, which smoothly transitions me into my next thought.

Are gym memberships worth it? If your workout requires several different weights, machines, or even a spotter, then sure, going to a gym makes perfect sense. But take me for example, I would mostly go just to run on a treadmill, is the cost justified when my neighborhood sidewalks are free? Yes, I would have to change it up in order to feel safe going at night, but I could go with Tyler, take Chester, etc. However, even though my plan would be just to get in a decent run, a certain machine might catch my eye enough for me to try it out. Would I, a gym amateur, be able to figure out how to get the same workout, sans machine, with the limited equipment I have at home? Maybe, maybe not, sometimes I can't even comprehend how to work the machines much less how to substitute it. 

Another pro-gym argument is for cross training. One article says that occasional workouts can be replaced by similar workouts to concentrate on different muscle groups than your normal workout does, which in turn gives the normal workout muscle groups a bit of a break. Suggestions for runners include elliptical, cycling, or swimming, none of which I can do from home. So as much as I talk myself into the gym route, it might have to wait until I'm no longer a Bride on a budget :)