Mary McCormick Recreation Centre

Even seen that meme that says «Yeah I’m into fitness… Fitness whole pizza in my mouth»? Well that just about sums up my typical opinion of fitness and the thought of going to the gym.
Unfortunately a time comes where you hit your 30’s and your metabolism starts playing tricks on you, and next thing you’re actually signing up for a gym. It’s a sad day, but before you know it you are actually finding some sort of satisfaction in sweating, working out, and doing something after work that doesn’t involve eating or drinking.
Well, that time came for me this year, and I found myself in a gym for the first time since high school. So with that, perhaps I might not be the best or most tenured opinion in the world of fitness, but hey, someones gotta get that first review right?
This place is a community center complete with full size gymnasium, 2 rooms of either free weights or exercise machines of various types, and a 25 yard heated swimming pool which is available for lap swimming on most nights.
I personally like that its cheap ($ 69 for 3 months including peak hour access), and usually the place is pretty empty when I’m there so I’m not waiting for machines or surrounded by meatheads trying to impress someone or taking things too seriously. In fact I’d say there are way more people using the pool for lap swimming than the gym portion.
On the flip side, the negatives are that some of the equipment is pretty dated, and lap swimming is only on certain nights and after 8pm. Also, there are no personal trainers so if you’re not a gym person, you might just have to learn how to use things by creeping on others as they use certain machines. Lastly, the one dude who shows up most nights and absolutely stinks up the entire room like B.O. has ruined my cardio buzz a couple of times. I can’t hold the facility responsible for one guys personal maintenance habits, but it does speak to the type of clientele this place is dealing with as a community centre instead of a fully sanctioned gym.
But, the place is decent and as someone who doesn’t take going to the gym too seriously but sees the benefits, I gotta say its an A-​OK place to get your sweat on.