Trial run fail... I…read moregot up the nerve to head to the gym to enquire about memberships, and I brought my gear to do a dry-run. First of all, the gym closes down over lunch on a Saturday, so I had to kill 90 minutes and get up my nerve again (doesn't take long for me to lose my work-out motivation). I went back, and as the young woman behind the desk was the only staff member on at that time, I had to show myself around. She did let me do a free-trial, but informed me it would normally cost $15. I went upstairs to the cardio floor and set out on an elliptical. Away I went until the machine was unable to read my heart rate. Beep beep beep. Try again. Nothing. Beep beep beep. This is bullshit. Quit my workout and stepped over to the next elliptical. Same thing. Next elliptical, ended up coming up with an error. Epic fail. There's no designated stretching area, and as the AC units were blasting full blast and not even taking the edge off, I decided to book it. At the desk, the young woman told me that some machines won't read your heart rate unless there is a certain amount of moisture on your palms. Soooo they are aware of the issue... Lame. Bah. I want to work out when I want to work out. I want central air. I want cardio machines that work the way they are supposed to. It's a bonus if said cardio equipment has individual tv's. Joined Jetts. End rant.

So the Range location was closed today due to the roof caving in (?), so I booked it to the Stenner…read moreStreet locale. This is a bigger gym, with oodles of cardio and machine equipment. There are even some duplicates of the weight machines. There's a designated weight room in the back. Not much of a stretching area, but there is plenty room to move around. The cardio machines are a little older than the Range location. The tv's are a little temperamental. And out of the 5 main tv's on the wall, there were only 3 different shows on. Lame. "I wake up with Today!"

From the owner: Get started at Jetts with no contracts, low fees and 24/7 access. You can workout on your terms at…read morea time that suits you.

When I first tried regular yoga styles back in the 90s, I was less than impressed because it all…read moreseemed like a bit of stretching while trying not to fart, followed by a bit of lying there, all to really bad music and the stink of incense. I always walked out of there feeling a little more stressed out than when I walked in. When I heard about hot yoga styles many years later, I was quite torn - I wanted to be in a nice warm room and find something that stretched out my back and gym-worn muscles but did I want to do yoga? I finally tried bikram with a friend and fucking loved it. I loved the heat and the repetition and the fact that the instructors kind of yelled at you like zenned out drill sergeants and the pleasantly exhausted feeling after a session. Sure, Bikram the man is a total douche, but I liked his product. Sadly, there is no bikram in Toowoomba. There is, however, hot yoga at Zama Yoga. As a bikram enthusiast, I was a bit wary of having to make the shift to hot yoga out of necessity. Bikram, after all, works with the same 26 poses every class so you know what you're in for - that kind of certainty is part of what helps you through the heat. The first time I went to Zama Yoga, I must admit I was a little bit disappointed - the room is heated largely by little space heaters rather than the large systems used in bikram studios so it is more of a warm room than a hot room, from my experience. I was also a little late in claiming a spot, so ended up near the door where it was actually a bit cool and draughty. I did, however, like the class itself and that old familiar achy stretched out feeling the next day - even with the draught, I knew I had gotten a good workout. Zama have a great intro deal - $25 for two weeks for first-time students. Determined to get my money's worth and also interested to see what the other styles offered (Zama do power and vinyasa; my first class was a power class), I went for a vinyasa class later in the week. Holy handstands, Batman! My shoulders ache pleasantly as I write this the next day. This time, I made sure to get a spot deeper in the room, away from draughts. While the room is never going to hit bikram-like heat, this gave me a little more of what I was looking for, plus the class is INTENSE. Zama Yoga's hot classes may not offer the heat factor that I would like, but what they lack in heat they more than make up with really challenging (but accessible) sequences.