It's fun to stay at the...

YMCA
I find it very funny interesting (not funny haha) that in Birmingham - and probably in Alabama in general - the Y is the gym to belong to and the place to get your work out on. And there is one in every part of town.

Based on my hometown, I was of the school of thought that the YMCA was from the '70s when the Village People had a hit and the facilities were all old and outdated with moldy locker rooms.

So when I moved to the Ham and wanted to join a gym, I was drooling over the new UAB rec center, but realized I couldn't be a member unless I was a student. So I found an apartment first and then chose a gym based on proximity - Dawson Baptist Church's gym - because I could walk there.

It wasn't quite the state-out-the-art facility I was looking for, so when I asked a Bham native where I should join, and they suggested the YMCA, I was flabbergasted. I'm sure I made a face and said, "Are you kidding?"

No, they weren't kidding and the YMCAs here in Birmingham turned out to be a very different story from the ones in Southeast Louisiana. I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoy having the multiple locations as an option (I can even walk to the one downtown) and love the classes they offer. A far cry from the seedy, falling-apart Ys I grew up with.