One of the things I miss from back home in the states is our affordable YMCA membership. I think it was something like $90 per month for the whole family, so we felt pretty good about the value we were receiving. As an alternative, we have found an affordable swimming option nearby and we also get a lot of walking in, even during these short winter days.

But with the kids coming for the holidays, Patrick expressed an interest in being able to maintain his weight lifting routine, and so I assured him that I knew a gym close by where we could go get a lift in. So one day, we walked over to the gym, and I asked the staff member on duty how much would it cost for just a single workout, thinking that maybe it’d be somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 Swiss francs. (Francs are roughly equivalent to a U.S. dollar. It varies from time to time, but that’s how I look at it.) He responded “25 Swiss francs”. I responded, “… you mean for both of us, right?” and he responded, “No, I mean 25 each, or 50 total”, and I responded by saying, “C’est trop cher!” (“That’s too expensive!”), and then turning and walking out the door.

So, being the persevering and flexible types that we are, Patrick and I went about finding a less expensive (moins cher, en francais) alternative. Here’s a video I took of our “plan B”.

And now for some real drama. Patrick and his friend Ben incorporate into their workouts something called a “slow pull-up”. The idea, as the name suggests, is to execute a single pull-up, but make it last as long a possible. Here’s Patrick attempting to eclipse his personal best of 57 seconds. (Note: I totally screw up the counting, which is kinda funny, really.) As you can clearly see, this activity involves high drama and as such definitely warrants its inclusion as a new event in future Olympiad.

As you can clearly see, this activity involves high drama and as such definitely warrants its inclusion as a new event in future Olympiad.