Fitness On Tour – Can Frequent Travelers Find a Gym? From The Mind of McFarland music blog.
About a year ago, I made the decision to try to get healthy. Not because I wanted a beach body, not because I thought washboard abs or bulging biceps would attract the ladies, and only partly because I like dipping potato chips in Nutella (try it some time!). The biggest reason was that I’d chosen to make touring a big part of my life, and fitness on tour would be an important thing to keep in mind.
I’ve never been a particularly healthy person, with my predisposition to migraines, my finicky stomach and my joints that started going bad when I was 15. Getting sick was a regular part of my life, and if I was going to be touring regularly I needed to stay healthy. Finding a place that was conducive to fitness on the go, somewhere that works for frequent travelers and is welcoming to an independent musician, seemed it might be a challenge.
So, I was on a mission to find a gym. I auditioned all of the gyms in the Asheville, NC area to find one that was a good fit for me, and like the proverbial Goldilocks of fitness institutions, after a few months of free trials I settled on the gym that was juuuuuust right: Anytime Fitness.
If I were writing this as an Anytime Fitness review, there are a lot of things I could say, but in short: Yes, it’s a chain. But it’s a low-pressure chain (no hard sell!), the contract wasn’t particularly frightening, and the local staff were friendly. The biggest selling point however, ranking right after 24-hour access, was ubiquity. This year I’ll be playing shows in over 50 cities spread all across the US, and almost every one contains an Anytime Fitness. My membership gives me access to all of them.
That doesn’t just mean that I can maintain a level of fitness on tour.
It means that I know there’s always a hot shower waiting for me. No matter if I have to camp out or sleep in my car.
Staying healthy on the road is a big deal – it’s not easy to sing with a stuffy nose or a sore throat – but if I’m going to be meeting new friends all along the way (one of my favorite parts of touring) it’s probably best I don’t smell bad.
-MMcF
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Unleaded rhythmic alt-pop fuels singer/songwriter and two-wheel troubadour Michael McFarland’s engine. Michael McFarland in the simplest summary? Writer, Rocker, Biker, Geek.
For Michael’s Music, Cd’s, Downloads, Merchandise, live show schedule, music blogs, music videos, and everything else you want to know about McFarland, visit the Michael McFarland Website at http://michaelmcfmusic.com/
