Queen of the Exercise-Gym

Michelle.

Michelle Andrews is the Queen of the Exercise-Gym at the YMCA in nearby Canandaigua.
The so-called “Wellness Center,” where I go at least twice a week, hopefully three times, to do workouts that last two to three hours.
Two extended cardiovascular workouts per visit, plus strength and balance training.
I consider balance training most successful. My balance is sloppy, probably because I had a stroke long ago.
Once while chasing trains in Altoona, PA (“al-TUNE-uh;” as in the name “Al”), I felt like I was gonna fall off an embankment.
So I started doing balance training at the Canandaigua YMCA, standing no hands on a partially deflated rubber half-ball about two feet in diameter.
The tendency is to fall off, but I got so I could do it.
And in so doing my forays up embankments were no longer frightening.
The cardiovascular training is to keep the old ticker working despite age 67. —Plus keep up with our high-energy dog.
Strength training is essentially the leg-press, to make it so I can continue to climb stairs and get up without difficulty.
By doing all this my blood-pressure was managed and made nominal without medication. —It never was that high anyway.
It proved an assertion by a long-ago Physical Therapist, that the key to managing blood-pressure without medication was to get into shape.
I agreed — I used to run footraces.
When I first started going there, which was before they did a major remodeling with new equipment, I noticed a rather husky-looking lady striding the Exercise-Gym.
We called her “Amazon-lady.” (That’s Michelle.)
She was a YMCA employee, and apparently has supervised the Exercise-Gym for years. —She’s a personal-trainer.
I no longer call her “Amazon-lady.”
When they got the new equipment, mainly a Cybex strength-training circuit, I asked her a question, and she suggested a complete orientation.
We set a date and a time.
Her orientation was about an hour explaining and setting-up the entire circuit, about 20 machines.
You are essentially pulling weights.
I had to give up that circuit to save time, but I no longer make fun of Michelle.
She has her feet squarely on the ground.
Personal-trainers have come-and-gone in that Exercise-Gym, but Michelle remains.
When people ask me questions, I refer them to Michelle.

• “Canandaigua” (“cannan-DAY-gwuh”) is a small city nearby where we live in Western NY. The city is also within a rural town called “Canandaigua.” The name is Indian, and means “Chosen Spot.” It’s about 15 miles away. —We live in the small rural town of West Bloomfield, southeast of Rochester.
• I had a stroke October 26, 1993, from which I pretty much recovered.
• I am a railfan, and have been since age-two.
• Our current dog is “Scarlett;” a rescue Irish-Setter. She’s six, and is our sixth Irish-Setter. (A “rescue Irish Setter” is an Irish Setter rescued from a bad home; e.g. abusive or a puppy-mill. By getting a rescue-dog, we avoid puppydom, but the dog is often messed up. —Scarlett isn't bad.)