24hr Fitness Update

So, much to my chagrin, I have discovered that the Active level of gyms offered by 24hr Fitness offer just about everything I need, and in a very straight-forward format.  I have a Sport level membership, and I guess the Sport gyms are supposed to be a big time upgrade from the Active level facilities.  As far as I can tell, the only major difference is that Sport facilities are two-story, and have a full pool, whereas the Active gyms are single floor, and don't necessarily have a pool (although the one near me has a steam room and a hot tub thing).  The Sport gyms also have a lot more "office" space and bigger locker rooms, neither of which has any actual impact on my workout.  I tend to like the super easy to use Active gym by my house, which utilizes the most common sense approach to gym layout, and which seems also to be populated by more "serious" gym goers.  Though I  don't really look like a "serious" gym goer these days, it helps me to feel like crap while I'm in there and to want to change my composition.  Some people are intimidated by this environment, but it doesn't seem to bother me.  The biggest down side for me is that I've actually been paying for a Sport level membership this whole time when an Active level would have been just fine.

I have been using it mostly for cardio (stair gauntlet), but I have also been using the hack squat and leg press while I'm preparing for the Grand Canyon trip.  After I get back, I think that I should really focus on my squat form, since my legs are stronger than the numbers that my form allows.  If I was more disciplined about my technique, I think that I could shoot up pretty fast to my former PRs without exacerbating some of the joint pains that I have been dealing with lately.