Great "Mom Gym"!

When we were first stationed at Langley I had just had Maddox, and was (of course) trying to lose the baby weight.  I went to the gym on base, and used the Parent room a few times, but it was extremely lacking.  First, it was a pretty small room, with only a few machines in it.  If there were two other people there, chances were the machine you wanted was already taken.  Also, the play area for children was behind an opaque half-wall, so once the kids were in there you couldn't really see them.  There were no toys, just a table and small chairs.  There was a TV, but you had to bring your own movies to watch.  I didn't go there often because Maddox was never happy there, and once we discovered the YMCA down the street from our house had childcare- we joined the Y.

Here at Osan I'm glad to report that there is an AWESOME Parent and Child workout gym.  It is in a separate building than the main gym, in between the main gym and the swimming pool.  There are offices and classrooms also in the building, but I rarely see anyone at all when I go.  The bathrooms are clean and nice, and there is a real changing table in the women's bathroom.  This gym was installed in June 2010, through the help of various sponsors, fundraisers, and volunteers- and other bases should take notes!!  For a base that has less families than other bases, this is incredible!  It is a 1.8 mile walk from our house, so I walk Mdx to school, then walk there (pushing Mav in stroller), do 30 min cardio and around 15 min weights workout), then walk back and I'm home by lunch time.

This is the play area for 6-24 months. There are soft toys and stuff to climb on- and clear walls so you can keep an eye on your child!  

Mdx is showing you the play area for 2-5 yrs.  They have a bookshelf full of books, a pirate ship, a playhouse, and a basket full of toys.  There is a flat screen TV mounted on the wall, with a DVD player, and a basket full of kid movies.  All of this is enclosed in the clear walls with gates that you can latch shut to keep the younger ones from roaming.

The other side of the room is the workout equipment, just steps away from the kids.   On this side: Recumbent bike, stationary bike, stair master, and another stair type machine.

A treadmill, two elliptical machines, free weights, resistance bands, aerobics steps, and two more flat screen TVs complete the workout area.

Osan really has become a much more family-friendly base just in the last few years.  To anyone considering coming here, I would definitely encourage it!  Besides the gym there is a Youth Center, a Community Center, there are a lot of activities for families, in fact Sesame Street Live is coming here next week.  A gym like this goes a long way to keeping the Moms of the families here happy- and we all know that when Mom is happy, life is so much better for everyone involved!  :)