Discount Workout!

    It always amazes me that no matter how convenient it is to work out (example: complete 24 hour gym less than 5 minutes from my house), I want it more convenient. Hence, my slow accumulation of various workout equipment over the years. We have exercise balls, weights (ankle and dumbell) in various sizes, a small collection of workout dvds and at one time, a large treadmill that took up a huge amount of room.
    The treadmill has been consigned to dumpster land after I tried to put it in the storage position, forgetting that I had left the incline up. OOPS! No matter how hard I tried, or how many people I got involved, it just never worked right after that.
    My workout video collection was expanded during my deployment by the addition of the P90X videos on my laptop. It was great when I was right there and could set my laptop on the counter in the little tent gym right outside the hospital in Bagram, but I just couldn't picture it working at the big gym here on base, or any other gym I might have access to.
    My solution was to get all the weights I would ever need, and a weight bench, and I could do the workout at home. Sounds great, right? Have you ever priced dumbells? Not the type you might find sitting on a couch in front of the T.V., but those weights designed to be lifted one handed? If you can find them for a dollar a pound, you are doing pretty good. Considering that in just one P90X workout I might use the 10s, 15s, 20s, 30s, 45s, and 50s, I was going to need a lot of weights. I only had the 15s, so how was I going to afford all those weights? I wasn't. 
    Someone very smart had a solution, a weight set that was completely adjustable from 5 to 90 pounds, and much more affordable than 1 dollar per pound. They are called PowerBlocks. But, they still ain't cheap. According to the website www.powerblock.com, "The Elite 5-90 set comes with plates 1-8, and has a weight range of 5-90 lbs per hand. The Elite 5-90 lb equals/replaces 28 pairs of dumbbells, or 2565 lbs of free weights while taking up the space of just 1 pair (90 lb dumbbell is just 16" in length) This set is expandable to 130 lbs per hand using the 8-11 Elite Big Block Kit. The dimensions of the Elite 90 are; 16"L x 6" W x 6" H. Ships in 4 boxes. Made in USA." Price: a measly $588.00 per pair, plus $89.00 shipping and handling.
     Hard on the bank account, but I was willing to do it, especially since we are moving to the land of snow and ice and other cold weather phenomenon. I was still going to have to find a weight bench as well.
    And then Mrs. Penguin happened to check the Travis yardsales e-mail one evening a week or so ago. Lo and behold, a weight bench and the PowerBlock Elite set for the low, low, low price of $350.00! Immediately Mrs. P sent an e-mail saying we were interested, and I went and picked them up the next day, plus the safety mat the seller had the weight bench on. Half price! 
    I rushed them home, set them up in the garage, and . . . there they sat until the movers packed them up on Tuesday. We will be reunited in Anchorage, where I intend to get my money's worth out of my discount workout equipment!