Like No Place Else: Zack's Club 54

Tea Time

written by nicki sooter wilcoxson

In an earlier post I wrote about Barnes and Noble and bookstores in general as being “Like No Place Else” for me. I explained that for a place to be designated as “like no place else” it had to be a place that evoked an emotional response that pulled me to return over and over. In other words, I have to love going there. Now, so that we are all on the same page, let me explain that for you to visualize “Zack’s” (unless you live in Lubbock or Amarillo) you have to know that Zack’s Club is a fitness center, so you can substitute in Curves, Gold’s, Yoga Class, Pilates, or whatever fitness/health club or class that you belong to or enjoy doing. We just happen to belong to Zack’s. If I lived in the Dallas area, I might join Life Time Fitness.

I have always been one of those “strange” adults that really likes working out. Over the years I have taken Jazzercise, Aerobics of all kinds, and Yoga lessons, but it wasn’t until the last few years that I became interested in working out with weights and strength training, along with cardio. I suspect that it is because I have the beginnings of osteoporosis and I realize now how important it is to engage in weight bearing activities for that very reason. As I have said before when Jim and I both retired we made a deal with one another to become work-out partners to encourage each other to continue doing what we need to do to be healthy “seniors”. Happily we have maintained our work out schedule-going to Zack’s 3 to 5 times a week. As a coach, Jim was very interested in strength training for his basketball players and had increased his knowledge of the various exercises, routines, and workout plans to maximize muscle building, flexibility and strength training so he is able to guide me with a plan for weights, and I encourage him to do more cardio.

While we realize that we could work out at home because we have some of the needed equipment, the fact is that working out in a gym or fitness center has more benefits for us and we have grown to love Zack’s—the site for our continuing fitness workouts. It goes without saying that at Zack’s we have all of the equipment that we need at our finger tips as well as trainers and experts who are there to help when needed. In fact Jim has become a trainer himself, working with kids on strength training and basketball skills. We get up and go in the mornings so we have become pretty well acquainted with the group that I will call the AM crowd. It is amazing how static this group of people has remained over the years. Many of them are seniors like us who are dedicated to maintaining healthy bodies. Though we don’t know everyone by name, we know faces well enough that if someone is “missing” for an abnormal period of time, he/she is missed. We have even made a good friend or two as a result of being part of the AM crowd.

Being a member and coming to the gym regularly has served to allow me to engage in one of my favorite past times as a people-watcher. I am convinced that the membership at Zack’s like most other gyms is a microcosm of Amarillo or any community. We see all ages of adults, all races, and certainly both genders. We see doctors, preachers, lawyers, teachers, contractors, stay at home moms and dads, retirees, and a huge range of other jobs and careers represented. Of course, there are ALL body types from the most in shape to the most out of shape. There are the young men and women with the perfectly in shape bodies and the “bare” minimum of the cutest work out clothing and, of course, the requisite blond pony tail or cap. These guys and gals never sweat! There are lots of us regular types who struggle with our weight and work hard to stay in shape. There are a few of us who sweat A LOT. We see the obsessed body builders with huge muscles and the young women who spend hours on the machines engaged in cardio to the point of obsession. Additionally, there are all ability levels, coordinated and uncoordinated. Thankfully, there is an unwritten and unspoken code that no matter the age, size, shape, or ability level of each person he/she is supported and encouraged for whatever exercise or activity being done. Happily there is a wide range of activities from swimming to weight lifting, to spinning classes and other group classes. There is something for everyone!

I truly believe that our fitness clubs and activities are an integral part of our overall well-being. They meet the physical needs of most of their members and as an added benefit the social needs of many of the individual members are met. There is plenty of time for socializing and interaction between work outs and after working out the coffee pot is always there for a quick cup and a few stories before heading home. (No tea there yet, but I am working on it!) There is a fitness place that will meet the needs of every person. If you haven’t found yours yet, get up off the couch and get going! Truly the first step is the hardest.

As for the sweat that rolls down my face, my hair, and soaks my clothes, I say, BRING IT!

There is nothing like it and for Jim and me; Zack’s is “Like No Place Else.”