Gym

Douglas Bayne joined the Merritt Athletic Club in downtown Baltimore about five years ago, but he hasn't exactly been a gym rat. "I work out for two weeks and I'll take off for eight months," the 38-year-old social worker said. So like many other Americans, Bayne resolved to get healthy in 2012. He spent New Year's Day at the gym, hopping onto the treadmill for a 60-minute walk. He hopes to gain energy and improve his health as approaches "the big 4-0," he said. "I don't feel as healthy as I used to feel," Bayne said.

Anne Arundel County police are searching for several people who are stealing from gym lockers at 24 Hour Fitness in Annapolis. Police said the thieves has struck at least four times -- Nov. 4, Jan. 28, Feb. 6 and Feb. 11. In several cases, police said wallets and credit cars were taken, and that the cards were used at various Annapolis stores including Target. Anyone with information is urged to call Det. Mark Ottey at 410-222-1960. See more photos and statement from police here .

Is anyone else annoyed with the Columbia Association ads depicting CA President Phil Nelson as the spokesperson for the CA athletic facilities? As a six time a week user, I have never seen the man, except on the TV monitors, and none of my friends have seen him. Is his ego so large that he feels a need to portray himself as our gym spokesperson? Seems to me there are better real candidates for this ad campaign. Wayne Zimmerman Clarksville

The boys basketball game between Digital Harbor and No. 11 Lake Clifton on Friday has been moved. The Rams were supposed to host Friday's game, but because of water damage in the Digital Harbor gym, the Lakers will host the game instead. Friday's JV game is set to tip at 3:45 p.m. at Lake Clifton, while the varsity game will follow at 5:15.

Members of the Columbia Association's three gyms can wave their free towels goodbye starting Nov. 1, the result of an austere budget proposed for the next two years that would also reduce employee pay raises but leave residents' property lien fees unchanged. The towel move would save up to $5 million over a decade and also help the environment, officials said. But some of the few residents who've heard about the idea aren't buying it. "I no way agree it's environmental," said Cynthia Coyle of Harper's Choice, the elected CA board member who heads the committee examining the budget.

At 51, Rodney "Pop" Wright is as buoyant as ever as he bursts into a high school gym amid cheers from the crowd. But where the one-time Lake Clifton basketball star once wowed them with jump shots, his game now is all talk - though just as electric. Wright's message is a slam-dunk. Steer clear of drugs and booze, he tells the Iowa teens who pack the room. For almost an hour, Wright, 6 feet 3, 240 pounds, shares the tale of a promising young athlete from East Baltimore whose addiction to heroin, cocaine and alcohol cost him his basketball career, his freedom and, very nearly, his life.

If you belong to a gym, you know that people do all sorts of annoying things during workouts. They sweat all over the exercise equipment and don't bother to wipe it off. They park themselves on a machine and yak for 20 minutes with friends, preventing others from using it. They sing loudly - and badly - when listening to their iPods on treadmills and stair-steppers. And they grunt and groan and shout things like "Yeah, baby!" to psych themselves and show everyone what a killer workout they're having.

For the past decade, the Washington Bullets basketball team has paid Bowie State University about $9,000 a year to practice at an old campus gym, an arrangement that costs the state-supported institution about $100,000 annually."

It is said that when it comes to exercise, you get out what you put in. And for some women in Howard County, 20 minutes on the treadmill simply doesn't produce satisfactory returns. For these women, a workout means attacking a giant tire with a sledgehammer, lifting heavy barbells over their heads, or even grappling and throwing punches with workout partners. These adrenaline junkies have found their fix at gyms that cater to those who crave intense workouts. Howard Magazine checked out a couple of gyms in Columbia, and this is what we found.

The Carroll County commissioners yesterday approved the appropriation of $10,000 to $20,000 to pay for additional design plans for a full-size gym at the new Elmer Wolfe Elementary School in Union Bridge.But the commissioners won't make a final decision on whether to go ahead with the construction of the new gymnasium until they receive bids for the project, said Richard Soisson, the county recreation and parks director.Building the gym and a separate activities room would cost $675,000. The cost of the gym alone would be about $400,000, Mr. Soisson said.

Douglas Bayne joined the Merritt Athletic Club in downtown Baltimore about five years ago, but he hasn't exactly been a gym rat. "I work out for two weeks and I'll take off for eight months," the 38-year-old social worker said. So like many other Americans, Bayne resolved to get healthy in 2012. He spent New Year's Day at the gym, hopping onto the treadmill for a 60-minute walk. He hopes to gain energy and improve his health as approaches "the big 4-0," he said. "I don't feel as healthy as I used to feel," Bayne said.

It is said that when it comes to exercise, you get out what you put in. And for some women in Howard County, 20 minutes on the treadmill simply doesn't produce satisfactory returns. For these women, a workout means attacking a giant tire with a sledgehammer, lifting heavy barbells over their heads, or even grappling and throwing punches with workout partners. These adrenaline junkies have found their fix at gyms that cater to those who crave intense workouts. Howard Magazine checked out a couple of gyms in Columbia, and this is what we found.

Tired of getting beaten up on the basketball court or twisting the night - and your back - away lunging to get that low volley? Is playing 18 holes frustrating, but not invigorating enough to get the endorphins cranked? Does a walk around the neighborhood seem as old as the neighborhood? Try rowing - or, more precisely, sliding-seat rowing. Bill Palatore did, and it changed the way he looked at going out on the water. Since buying a sliding-seat rowing skiff about five years ago, Palatore and one of his neighbors in Annapolis venture onto Ridout Creek and Whitehall Bay about four mornings a week for about 90 minutes at a time.

Is anyone else annoyed with the Columbia Association ads depicting CA President Phil Nelson as the spokesperson for the CA athletic facilities? As a six time a week user, I have never seen the man, except on the TV monitors, and none of my friends have seen him. Is his ego so large that he feels a need to portray himself as our gym spokesperson? Seems to me there are better real candidates for this ad campaign. Wayne Zimmerman Clarksville

When Arundel Middle School launched its Fit Club last year, nearly three dozen students signed up to take part in a gym activity that included cardio exercises, weight training and workouts with the P90X fitness program. But many of them didn't think their teachers would show up, too. "It's kind of funny sometimes," said Arundel seventh-grader Jose Ramirez. "It's a different experience seeing them, like, work. They usually see us work a lot. " That is what Arundel Middle physical education teacher Jason Lively envisioned when he launched the Fit Club last year.

Which songs are you dying to hear - and which are played out?  Z104.3's Jackson Blue weighs in with his handy Heat Meter. GETTIN' HOT: “Stereo Hearts (feat. Adam Levine),” Gym Class Heroes We're bringing them to Rams Head Live Oct. 19, should be a great show. This song just entered the Top 10 and is building quickly. WARMIN' UP: “Sexy and I Know It,” LMFAO The 2011 Dundalk theme song? Another great dance track from LMFAO to wrap up summer. FLAMEOUT: “If I Die Young,” The Band Perry Nap-time is over.

Sigmund Freud would have had a field day with this one.A letter bearing County Executive Robert R. Neall's signature was sent to County Council members last month, informing them that a meeting to discuss illegal signs would be held in the county's "Cheapskate Room."The letter should have read, "Chesapeake Room," which is a conference room in the county's Riva Road complex.For a man whose name has become synonymous with a state law allowing local governments to cut school spending and union contracts, the letter was, uh, interesting.

A security system thwarted intruders as they drilled peepholes to look into the locker room of a Long Reach women's gym Friday night, police said.Officers have made no arrests, but they have identified suspects and charges of breaking and entering are pending, said police spokesman Sgt. Gary L. Gardner.Police were alerted when the security system was triggered about 9:30 p.m. at the Synergy women's gym, in the 8800 block of Columbia 100 Parkway in Long Reach.Police arrived to discover the gym's front door open and holes drilled through the ceiling.

The owner of an Essex gym has been charged with collecting prohibited fees and misleading customers about their cancellation rights, according to the Maryland Attorney General's office. The AG's consumer protection division filed administrative charges against GRS Fitness LLC and its owner, Bernard P. Caplan, Jr. after the gym stopped offering services and charged improperly for services. According to the division, GRS Fitness entered into an agreement with Health Trek Creations LLC to take over a gym on Kelso Drive.

Margaret Case, the retired athletic director for two girls high schools, died of cancer July 29 at Stella Maris Hospice. The former Timonium resident was 90. Born Grace Margaret "Peggy" Sherman in Baltimore and raised on Guilford Avenue, she was a 1939 graduate of Notre Dame Preparatory School. Her yearbook described her as "rollicksome, a firm friend, famed for her ready wit and amusing remarks, not overfond of lessons, a natural actress. " As a young woman she appeared in "Have Another?"