“The Centre Club is calling!”

Addendum:

I would suggest the following addendum to the Advocate Condell’s and Centre Club’s pathetically inaccurate Mission Statement.

Creed/Mission of Bad Medicine at the Libertyville Centre Club

“We strive to be disingenuous, judgmental, underhanded and hypocritical to our mission that pathetically invokes the name of Christ as our guide.”

Please accept my apology for believing that this club had/has any decency; the following words were categorically proven to be as far from the truth I once believed as possible.

Like the beckoning call in Field of Dreams, the Center Club has its own comforting invitation that can be heard throughout the club. It is like an irresistible force that awaits you. During the past several years I have heard it many times. Sometimes it presents as a challenge: “you can do as little as possible, but that’s not going to get it done!” Sometimes it presents as a vision: “Just keep up with me and I’ll take you to the fields of Ambrosia”. If you listen, you will hear it from class leaders, spin instructors and personal trainers. You can even hear it in the café having a cup of coffee or checking something on the internet.

It can be heard from the pool, especially on sunny mornings when the sunlight shines through the glass and provides an extra bit of warmth to an already tranquil sanctuary. It can be heard, albeit silently, in the meditation of Yoga. It can even be heard over the subtle hum of the spin bikes and/or not so subtle clatter of twisting and bending core boards. About the only place I have not heard it coming from is the T.V. – thankfully, that just doesn’t have the same appeal anymore.

Once you hear it -- and undoubtedly you will – it is only a matter of time. “If you come – the centre club will build you.” As you traverse from one activity to another, just be ready for the changes to occur. Be prepared to lose body fat while gaining muscle mass. Be ready to experience your heart and lungs working more and more efficiently over time. Don’t be foolish enough to think that you cannot do it because you can’t make the time or don’t think that you can’t work hard enough to really get results. Keep listening and you will hear it: “If you think that it’s effortless – then it’s EFFORTLESS!”

Rest assured, despite any notions to the contrary, the call of the club is not limited to physical fitness activities. Opportunities for mental, emotional, spiritual and social growth abound. “If you come – the centre club will build you.”

When I was young, my father used to mess with me by questioning what I thought would happen when the irresistible force meets the immovable object. Finally, I have an answer. I was as unmovable as they come – but an immovable object is surely no match for the irresistible force that is found within the people, classes and beckoning call of the Center Club.