I have not had a rate increase in five or six years. I can't even remember when it was. But I need to make the change. The change will begin on June 1st. However until that time, you may purchase as many sessions as you wish at the old rates. Even if you are an existing client with several sessions remaining on your last package, you may purchase more sessions at your current rate as long as you do so prior to June 1st.  

The new rates are listed below:

So you don't have to do the math, that's a $3 per session rate increase. All sessions are about an hour long. But remember, you can stock up now and save!

          April is my favorite month of the year. The weather here in South Carolina (aka: God's Country) is beautiful. Spring is in full bloom. It's my birthday month as well as that of both my kids. My birthday is the 17th. Tanner's is the 13th, and Darby's the 29th. And it's the beginning of baseball season.

            In my opinion, baseball is the greatest game in the world. I know not everyone agrees with that statement, and that's okay. But one of the things that makes baseball a great game are the nuances of the game. Here's a scenario: It's the bottom of the 8th inning with the Pittsburgh Pirates batting. They trail the Cincinnati Reds 3-2. There are two outs and Josh Harrison is on first with Neil Walker coming up against Sam LeCure, the right-handed set-up man for the Reds. Walker is a switch-hitter, but his batting average is 60 points higher from the left side. As the Reds manager, do you want LeCure facing Walker or do you bring in your ace closer Aroldis Chapman, a lefty with a 100 mph fastball, to turn Walker around. It's rare for Chapman to come into a game before the 9th, and he's closed out the last two games in a row.

            As the Pirates manager, you have a decision to make too. Should you give Harrison the signal to steal second? On second base, he could score the tying run on a single. It will take an extra-base hit or two singles to score him from first, and realistically, this may be your last shot, because if Chapman comes in to close the 9th, you're probably not going to score against him. But Mesoraco, the Reds catcher, is one of the best in the league at throwing out baserunners. What do you do?

            That's just one fairly simple situation. Sometimes it gets way more complicated than that, and the more you know about the game, the more fun it is to watch. Every pitch is a decision, especially in a close game. As the batter, you've just seen two straight fastballs nip the outside corner at 94 mph and now you're down in the count 0 and 2. What's the guy gonna throw you this time - another heater or a slider off the plate or maybe he senses you're inching up closer to the plate so you can reach that outside fastball easier and this time you're gonna get a little chin music? As the pitcher, you've got the same questions to answer. Who will guess right?

            What about the skills involved in playing this game? A 90 mph fastball takes 0.4 seconds from the time it leaves the pitcher's hand until it hits the catcher's glove. As a batter, that's how much time you've got to determine whether or not to swing and where the ball will be when it crosses the plate. Major League hitters can actually pick up the spin of the baseball in that length of time and tell whether the pitch is a fastball or curve. I could go on and on. There are 162 regular games in a baseball season that lasts from the beginning of April until the end of September and for the teams in close divisional races every single one of them is important. How's that for sustained excitement?

           I spend eight hours a day in several different gyms. One thing I've noticed is every gym has its own personality. For instance, I train my clients at the Harbison Rec Center, at Wolf's Fitness, and at a gym in Eastminster Presbyterian Church. I also work out frequently at Pivotal Fitness. In addition, at one time or another I've worked out at most of the other gyms in Columbia and a couple dozen more in other cities.

          The Harbison Rec Center is a small but well-equipped gym. It's often noisy and sometimes cramped, and the people who use it run the gamut from fit young men and women to the elderly. But you won't see any serious body builders there. Wolf's Fitness on the other hand is a muscle gym populated by bulked-up young men and women lifting heavy weights. It's no frills. Eastminster's gym is mostly older people and not much heavy lifting. Pivotal is more eclectic. It offers something for everybody - lots of weight machines and free weights as well as huge rubber tires to move or pound with a sledge hammer and heavy ropes and boxing bags.

           I also make it my habit to observe how people are lifting and how other trainers are training. I see a lot of poor form at Eastminster, but almost no one uses poor lifting form at Wolf's. When you are lifting heavy, you better use good form. Trainers all have different styles. Some opt for the basics while others are into more modern techniques.

          The point of all this rambling is to encourage you to find a gym that fits your personality. If you are new to weight lifting, you might feel intimidated at Wolf's. But if you want to build some serious muscle, you should seek out a gym such as Wolf's or Brickhouse or even Gold's or Pivotal. Brickhouse is much like Wolf's, but it's in an old warehouse and is pretty much open to the weather in all seasons. Gold's is an everyman/everywoman gym. I don't think Gold's really has a personality. Here's the deal: Find a gym where you're comfortable with like-minded people. That way, you're more likely to continue going there. Don't settle for the cheapest or most convenient. Cost and convenience are important, but even more important is your comfort level.

             The same goes with trainers. If you're 65 years old and just looking to shed a few pounds and maybe get off the blood pressure medication, you probably don't need a 25 year old who looks like a young Schwarzenegger. On the other hand, if you want huge sculpted muscles, you need to find a trainer who looks like you desire to look.