I've never really had the means to prepare entirely for a new venture so I've kind of learned to pick things up as I go along when I realize which things I actually need. Thus, after 2 weeks I've put together a list of things I've acquired specifically for my visits to the YMCA and the reasons I have them.

• Backpack - This one is kind of self explanatory, other than why I've chosen a backpack rather than a traditional gym bag. Main reason, I ride my bike to the YMCA and a backpack is easier to carry than a gym bag. The backpack has compartments that come in handy, for instance there's a small compartment on the side where I keep my deodorant so it doesn't wipe off on anything else. Another nice thing about the backpack is that I can hang it upright from the hooks inside of my locker.
• Gym Shorts / Sweat Pants - I only wear the sweat pants to/from the Y when it's cold outside now. I wear the gym shorts while working out, and while in the sauna/steam rooms. I have 3 pairs of sweat pants and 5 pairs of shorts. When I get out of the sauna and shower off, I rinse out my shorts before using the spinning dryer thingy they have to get as much water out of them as I can. This way I can take them home with me every day to toss them in my hamper and I don't have sweaty stinky gym shorts hanging out anywhere.
• Hand Towels - I picked up a few hand towels at Walmart to wipe sweat off my face/arms and to lay across the pads on certain machines. Sweaty arms make using some machines tougher. I also use my hand towels to dry off my flip flops after getting out of the shower and putting them back in my backpack. I made the mistake of not washing one of the towels before I used it the first time and ended up looking like a goofball when the lint from the new unwashed towel was all over my face and arms. I also bring a shower towel with me, but I have enough shower towels already that I didn't need to pick up any specifically for the Y.
• Flip Flops - Simple flip flops with no cloth for foot fungus to find a home in. I wear these in the sauna, steam room, locker room, and I'm sure once summer rolls around I'll use them in the pool area. I use the ones Old Navy has on sale for $2.50 a pair now and then with the foam soles and plastic thongs.
• Water Bottle - I found mine in the bike accessories section at Walmart. It's just a plain black plastic water bottle with a squirter cap. I fill it in the locker room before I go into the exercise area, and I refill it when I go into the sauna.
• Membership Card Strap - Simple strap that clips onto my membership card. Mine has a velcro section by the card that I can easily tug apart to pull the card from my neck. This way I can put the card around my neck before I leave home, then I can just walk in, tug the card off my neck to get it scanned, then put my card in my back pack once in the locker room. That way I don't have to sit in the welcoming area digging through my wallet or back pack looking for my card.
• Applesauce Cups - Small single serving apple sauce cups. I eat one every day 30-60 minutes before leave home.
• Granola Bars - Plain honey and oat granola bars. Same deal as the apple sauce.

Then there's a few things I'm still considering getting, but so far I've been able to do without.

• Combination Lock - (ended up getting one) For the locker room. I tend to take my things home in my back pack every day, and I'm not really concerned with anyone stealing things out of my locker while I'm working out or taking a shower at this point. I tend to work out around 5:30AM when there's a bunch of retired people there.
• Small Waterproof Radio - For the sauna and steam room. I use my phones radio when working out, but don't want to take it into the extreme hot/humidity. I like to listen to the older peoples stories when we're in there at the same time, but more times than not so far I've been alone in these rooms.
• Shaving Kit - The old people all have shaving kits, so there must be something to shaving there instead of home. I typically shave while I'm in the shower at home.
• Digital Scale - The Y has an older sliding weight scale that I have a tough time calibrating, and the scale I have at home kind of sticks. They both serve their purpose for tracking weight loss/gain, but they're tough to use.

Digital scales are a godsend. I bought one many years ago, it works in Stones/pounds and kilos. It would be useful if it had a setting to weigh in pounds alone- that way if I ever discuss my weight on this board, I wouldn't keep having to convert it from Stones!

They're cheap as chips nowadays, even the ones with the body fat measurement on them seem to have come right down.

As for shaving, well I've become quite fussy about my choice of implements of late, so don't get me started!

Too late, you're going to have to tell me everything you know about shaving now.

Well, I get a lot of razor burn on my neck- I seem to have a nobbly neck, and shaving isn't the most pleasant of experiences. I shave my head, and that's no problem, but my neck- ouch. Anyway, I started looking into getting a better shave, and was surprised at just how much there is out there on t'internet about it. If I may, I'll just cut and paste a couple of my blog entries:

Part the first:
As a man of nearly forty, it goes without saying that I’ve been shaving for quite some years now. I started with an electric shaver, which whilst at least reasonably effective, never gave me that great a shave. At around twenty I started wet shaving, utilizing canned foam and a Gillette Sensor cartridge razor. Two blades, cartridges not too pricey. Then as the years went by I was seduced by different models and makes. Three blades, four blades, ones with little safety wires across the blades so you don’t cut yourself. All of these tried, eventually settling on a Wilkinson Sword model- the Performer (later to become the Performer Diamond FX). This last was tried as it came out – they have bendy blades which is particularly good for me as for over a decade now, I’ve also been wet shaving my head, and my head is particularly bumpy, it seems. *Edit - Wilkinson Sword are marketed under the name 'Schick' or something in many markets, don't know which name you guys have...

Anyway, I digress. I always figured I was really good at wet shaving as I hardly ever cut myself (save one or two on my head). I had always grown up with the notion that cutting yourself was just something that you did when you shaved- that’s what the films tell us, anyway. I’ve recently discovered I’m not that good at it at all, and here’s why:

Wet shaving with a cartridge razor isn’t really proper wet shaving at all.

What makes me say this? Let me explain. I get a lot of razor burn on my neck, horrible stuff it is, and I decided to try and find a better shave. Out there on the internet there is a horde of blokes learning to do things the old way- soaps and creams applied with a brush rather than goop from a can just slapped on with the hand. Proper safety razors that actually cut the hair, rather than just pull it and hack it off.

It’s the safety razor that brings me back to my ‘Wet shaving with a cartridge razor isn’t really proper wet shaving at all’ comment. With a cartridge razor, you can use as much pressure as you like, go at almost any speed, and you’re unlikely to cut yourself, unless you’re really careless. With a safety razor- one that uses the old fashioned double edged blades, you have to concentrate, get the head at the right angle, let the weight of the razor do the work rather than try to press the razor to the face, and take a little time, rather than than go at it like a bull at a gate.

I’ve recently taken my first tentative steps into this world, and I’m relearning my shaving technique almost from scratch. The brush and soap was first, and it makes shaving far more pleasurable, I have to say. And why shouldn’t it be? Shaving is something most of us chaps have to do many times a week, if not every day (I often leave it a couple of days, being clean shaven isn’t an issue with my line of work), so why shouldn’t it be something to look forward to, rather than a chore to simply tick off the list?

Part the Second:
Anyway, as I said, my first foray into a more traditional type of wet shaving was to get some proper soap and a badger brush. There’s an art to building and applying a lather that you just never learn with the canned stuff. It might take a little bit longer, but the shave is much nicer, even if you choose to continue with cartridge razors. Some people DO get a perfectly good shave with them, no razor burn or soreness, and that’s just fine. If it works for you, then keep on doing it – though I would say that the proper lathering would be pleasant for anybody!

Last night (just before my last post, in fact) I tried out my new double-edged safety razor for the first time. I’d been intending to blog about that, but the back story got in the way. Anyway, here’s how it went.

I’ll admit, I was half-expecting to slice my face to ribbons, but I actually didn’t. Not so much as a nick, in fact. I did take a chunk out of the back of my head, but that was with my ‘Headblade’, a purpose-built device specifically for the head. There was a bit of ‘bull at the gate’ syndrome, I guess, or overconfidence after my successful first shave with the safety razor. Certain amount of irony there, I guess. Still, my trusty alum block soon stopped the blood (another little bit of traditional kit I now love) and no harm done. If I cut my head, it’s always within an inch or two of my crown- thin skin I guess…

Was my shave with the safety razor perfect? No, not by a long shot, but it was pretty good despite my less than perfect technique. It’ll get better as my technique gets better.

You may at this point be wondering why I didn’t use the safety for my head too. Maybe one day – for now I’ll continue with the Wilkinson Sword cartridge razor or the Headblade for that. I think my technique with my new razor will need some improvement before then or I’ll finish up with my head looking like I’ve been in a car accident…

Part the third (more of a grumble than anything...):
Right, here comes my grumble.

First, as far as I can see, other than being a little quicker to use due to their design and the fact that you don’t need to take too much care with them, the only reason cartridge razors exist is to make big piles of cash for the manufacturer. The adverts are always selling us a newer, ‘better’ model, and as consumers we lap them up. Whether it be two three, or four blades (and another on the back for ‘detail’ work…) or the addition of a battery to add ‘power’, the manufacturers keep adding new ‘features’ that are little more than gimmicks.

Then of course comes the point that the one cartridge you got with your cheap handle goes blunt and you have to go and get more. How much???!!! A 4 pack of Gillette Fusion cost £8.97 in Sainsburys. C’mon, seriously? Are we mental here?I used to think the Mach 3 blades were bad when I tried them, but Fusion is an increase of about 33% per blade. The blades for the Fusion Power are £10.99 for 4. Ulp.

Just think what the next gimmicky piece of crap will cost.

On top of all of this is the fact that a cartridge is so much less environmentally friendly too. If that’s something you think is important, then it’s very much worth bearing in mind.

It’s insane, yet people keep buying them…

That's a lot of info to take in all at once.

I ended up getting a combination lock for a locker. I'll probably start leaving things like my flip flops, water bottle, etc at the Y. I just have to ask the person in the front office how the lockers work, I'm not sure if I can just start using an empty locker on my own or whether I need to go to the front desk and register for a locker. Leaving my stuff in a locker permanently is a little different from just using it while I'm there, I wouldn't want to come back to a cut lock or a note that says "will the owner of this lock please see us".

I went with the combination lock instead of a key lock because I don't want to carry a key around with me. I don't even carry my membership card with me once I get past the front desk and into the locker room. When I got the lock I immediately opened it about a dozen times so I could memorize the combination, which worked like a charm because I remembered it the next day and right now.

I know at the YMCA's here in Washington State, the lockers are for day use only. Members are not allowed to leave belongings in lockers overnight and if you do, your lock has the chance of being cut open and the items being removed. Not sure how it works in Florida though!

I forgot to ask about the lockers both times I walked past the front desk today, so I just went ahead and called. I can either leave my membership card at the front desk every morning to borrow a lock for the day, or I can rent a locker by the month and keep my lock on it and things in it all month long.

Well that's cool that you have the option to rent out a locker by the month!

It's probably going to be worth renting one too. I have a feeling lockers are going to become scarce for the first part of the year with new years resolutions and the YMCAs around here waiving registration fees for the time being. At least, the ones big enough to put my backpack in will be.

One of the things I didn't mention yesterday, is that I left my flip flops and water bottle locked in a locker when I left and before I'd called and found out what the deal with the lockers is. Luckily my lock and stuff was still there this morning. I took my lock and stuff home today though.

My membership is due in a little over a week and I'm definitely going to get a locker when that time comes. I forgot a hand towel today and it just sapped the motivation right out of me. I want to leave a couple of backup items in a locker so this doesn't happen again.