How Much is Exercise worth?

In my Universal Truths, I forgot a very important one - going to a gym is not worth driving 128 km round-trip. That's what I've been doing twice a week all summer to go to Curves in Liverpool.

It's my own fault - last winter when I was looking for an exercise programme which my poor old knees could handle, I thought it would be good to find something which I could continue here in Nova Scotia during the summer. I looked at Good Life, but the Super Stores here don't have any included (and the nearest SuperStore is in Liverpool too for that matter even if it had a gym).

Curves seemed like a good solution - all female, good variety of machines, 10,000+ facilities world-wide and your membership is portable - you can have a visitor's pass to take along for up to a month and if you are somewhere longer than that you can simply switch your membership over to the new facility. In Ottawa, I was going 4 times a week (they recommend 3 times) and found it mostly fun and an opportunity to chat to lots of women, many of whom I knew from various activities over the years. I had to drive about 4 km each way. No sweat - except at the gym.

Here in Nova Scotia, I switched my membership to the Curves in Liverpool which is 64 km away. I have been going twice a week and having to force myself to make the drive every time.

During 6 weeks in July and August, I had a friend, Kathy, from Ottawa to share the driving. I would drive to the car pool parking in Sable River (18 km) to meet her and from there we would take one of our cars - someone to share gas costs and chat with. Those weeks were easy. But since Kathy returned to Ottawa and the sun is coming up later, I am finding it harder and harder to make the trip. The cost of Curves is now $55.36/month for the membership plus about $120/month for gas, and I'm not going 3 times a week! So, when my year's membership is up, or at least when we come back down here next spring/summer, I will have to quit Curves and find another exercise solution.

Or go broke.