Fox Valley residents have some great choices when it comes to fitness. Recently Anytime Fitness came to the Valley, offering 3 gyms with great equipment and a 24/7 model. The facilities are staffed from 10 am to 7 pm most day, but members can come anytime using a pass to unlock the door and gain access. Video cameras monitor all parts of the gym. Equipment is high-end, with individual cable TV monitors for the many various cardio units. One of my sons and I have been trying it out for the past month and really liked it - until something went wrong with their system and kept my son out for two days during this holiday week. Frustrated with the bug in their service, an unusual fluke but still disappointing, I checked out a competitor before deciding to renew and enter the six-month or year-long contracts required at Anytime Fitness.

So I went to Gold's Gym in Menasha in the Shopko Plaza on Highway 47 (Appleton Road) just south of Highway 441, north of Midway Road. Wow - I had no idea that it was that large. In contrast to the quiet, low-key atmosphere at Anytime Fitness, Gold's Gym is a sprawling, bustling place with lots of staff, large classes, a sea of equipment, many users, but still plenty of free equipment. They have something for everybody, including a lady's-only gym room if you don't want to work out with muscle-bound guys nearby. There's also a pool, a hot tub, a theater room where a group can watch movies playing all day long while using cardio devices, and many other features. Very impressive. They are less expensive than Anytime Fitness, with a regular program going for $10 a month and a more advanced program for $17 that includes classes and some other perks. But the $10 plan looks great for me. I took my wife over there and she liked it, too.

A nice thing about Gold's is that membership is month-by-month, so you don't have to get locked into a contract for a long period of time. I'll let you know how it goes.

I was all set to renew at Anytime, but the unfortunate glitch really causes a problem for two days in a row of the very short time I had with my son before he begins college again in January. The problem was supposedly fixed after I left a message, but the next day he was denied entry again. Had to drive him him and go back alone to exercise that morning. That's what led me to look at Gold's.

There are other choices, of course. Many women in the area really like Curves, which has a great business model and good offerings. But what is your favorite fitness center or fitness-related business in the Fox Valley?

Update: Gyms of course, are interested in selling you on expensive services like a personal trainer. Gold's Gym offers you a free one-hour session with a personal trainer who supposedly will get you acquainted with the equipment and so forth, but it turns out to be pretty much a sales pitch for a $780 month-long package of about 20 sessions with a personal trainer to help you reach your goals. Less intensive, less expensive options are available. A friend of mine has had great results with his training, but that's too pricey for me.

Labels: fitness, gyms

Had a wonderful evening at the Seasons last night for a work party with the Innovationedge team and family. Especially enjoyed their amazing jumbo shrimp and spectacular apple dessert (also tried some of their chocolate mousse--yum!). The Seasons struggled for a while with a reputation of being too pricey, but a look at their menu refutes that. The lunch menu has everything between $8 and $12, such as dill seared salmon for $10 or their Reuben sandwich for $9, or seared ahi tuna salad for $12. The dinner menu has butternut squash ravioli for $18, Chilean sea bass for $28, and rack of lamb for $30. For starters, there are crabcakes for $12, a cheese plate for $12, etc., and four salads at $6.

They also have a page of Asian dishes, having brought in the chef that was doing Lemon Grass, the excellent Thai restaurant that was in an awkward location. The Asian menu features orange glazed chicken for $18, red, yellow, or green curry for $17, shrimp and scallops for $25, and among appetizers, there is ahi tuna tacos for $12 or Thai spring rolls for $6.

Great food, excellent service, and a very pleasant, classy setting, now including some touches of Thai decoration.

Thumbs up for the Seasons. They are at 213 South Nicolet Road in Appleton, a few yards south of the golden reflective Berbee building near the College Avenue entrance to the mall, and just west and a bit south of Outback Steakhouse.
(920) 993-9860

Next week the Hmong New Year celebration in the Fox Valley will be at Appleton East High School, 10 am to 3 pm. This is a wonderful, busy event filled with beautiful costumes, dancing, music, food, and fun. The vibrant Hmong community in the Fox Valley will be showing many aspects of Hmong culture and fun. Hope you'll stop by and experience some of it.

An important part of Appleton's wonderful musical heritage is the Appleton Boy Choir. They have been ambassadors of Appleton for over 30 years. On Saturday, I heard the incredibly beautiful performance of the Boy Choir combined with the adult male voices of the Mastersingers in their Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols performance, an annual event that has been held every year since 1979. Nine readers from the community offer short readings from the Bible, each followed by hymns and carols that shine light on the powerful message of Christmas. The event was held at Lawrence Chapel.

My beautiful wife, Kendra, was selected as one the readers this year. I'm very grateful for that (it also meant I got a great seat near the front of the chapel). Other readers included our outstanding mayor, Timothy Hanna, Ellen Kort (Wisconsin's Poet Laureate), Brian Pertl (Dean of Lawrence University's Conservatory of Music), Dar Stumpf (as in Stumpf Ford--a big supporter of the Choir), Eli Oestreich (choir member), Barry Hoff (one of the MasterSingers), Todd Nennig (Boy Choir Camp Dad), and Anne-Marie Brunner Abderholden (Exec. Director of the Valley Academy for the Arts). Wonderful readings and beautiful singing. Such a treat.

I lingered after the performance to keep listening to the wonderful organ music afterward by Marianne Chaudoir, the organist for the Festival. Just wonderful!

Appleton has so many great cultural events. Love it! And really, the people of this community are so terrific, from the Mayor and big leaders of commerce and government to my neighbors, co-workers, and random people I meet at the store. There are some exceptions, but this really is a wonderful place to live. And the great is part of the Appleton experience.