The Colosseum

Despite the sweat and discomfort I experience at the gym (aka the Colosseum), it's probably my favorite place on camp (aside form the DFAC). Not because it's so posh and fancy, but because it's a nice break from the routine. I get there almost every day, and thanks to the Australian trainer who's stationed there, I'm working through a pretty tough regimin.

By US standards, the gym is austere. The basketball court floor has certainly seen better days, for example, but by deployment standards, it's got to be one of the best equipped gyms around. There are plenty of treadmills, stationary bikes, rowing machines and weight lifting equipment. I'm impressed with the number and variety of classes they offer - everything from spinning to yoga - and it seems like there's always a special workout or run or something going on.

For example, the "Hero Workout" in this poster scares me a little. Notice the small print that says the actual workout will be revealed on the day of the event. Man, you have to be pretty tough to sign up and pay $20 (it's a fundraiser) for a workout... and not know what it's going to be. Talk about being ready for anything, right?

I did notice a quirky feature in the equipment room, however. I came across this locker full of boxing gloves... but the shelves are have labels like "volleyball," soccer," and "half marathon." Come on, I know this is an armed military camp, but seriously, what kind of volleyball do they play around here? On second thought, maybe I don't want to know.

And then there's the mountain of bottled water. I think I previously mentioned that we can't drink the tap water, so everywhere you go there are these big stashes of bottled water, free for the taking. As far as I can tell, the gym has the biggest stash. My only question is how they managed to stack it so high. Maybe that was the mystery workout from the poster. It makes me thirsty just thinking about it.