Gym facilities

[Miranda]

I was told there was a gym facility at Saba. I was wondering what the conditions were--how big, how many machines, any weights?

[bigguy]

Hi Miranda,
The gym at the school is small but adequate. There are machines for the basic moves, like the various presses and pull downs. I think there are a few cardio machines (like a treadmill and maybe a climber), and them some regular dumbells and free weights which should suffice (unless you're an exceptionally macho girl). It's clean and nice, but small. I think if you had 6 people in there, it would feel crowded.

There's also a local gym on the Windwardside which has some rusty machines and rusty freeweights. I think it's 24 hours and works pretty much on an honor system (I believe it's a room off of someone's house). It's kind of dirty and feels more like a guy's weightlifting place.

Then, one of the hotels (I can't remember the name, maybe Willard's?, but it's up some ungodly hill that my rental car wouldn't make it up) has a fitness room and sells memberships to students. I didn't see it, because I was too out of breath after my walk up the hill to do anything more than drink Caribs, but I'd bet it's pretty nice. The hotel is gorgeous.

But there's nothing like Bally's on Saba. And in response to your post on the September students stickie, Saba is more like Gilligan's Island than St. Martin. Saba is incredible, but it is very very basic. Go to Starbucks, Burger King, the MiniMart, and Walgreens as much as possible now, because there isn't anything like that on Saba. Nor are there dance clubs, movie theaters, or really any form of organized entertainment. Saba epitomizes the concept of voluntary simplicity.

Go to my post (around Feb 17th) entitled JUST BACK FROM VISIT TO SABA AND VERY PLEASANTLY SURPRISED to read my impressions of Saba. Saba is amazing in it's own right, and the perfect place to study medicine (because there's nothing else to do) but you need to get your mind around the idea that this island has very few of the comforts, conveniences, or indulgences of home.

I'm glad to hear you're thinking of fitness on the island. If you're not into hiking and scuba when you arrive, you will be by the time you leave.

See you in the gym soon,
Bigguy (Tony)

[classic]

I've not been to the one on Winward, but a few of the guys go there b/c they have heavier weights. The school gym has 3 treadmills (one of which scares me a little), one stepper, a cross-trainer, and your basic weight machines. I actually only go there to use the weights (and occasionally run when I have alot of notes to read). Running outside since the weather is always so terrific and it makes you feel better to run in the sunshine.
All in all, it isn't like your gym back home, but it's nice to have something.

[Miranda]

Thanks--that's all I needed to hear. As long as I have a few light free weights and a road/path to run on, I'm happy.

[Nate-MD]

Don't let Classic fool you.... She has some sick running addiction. Most normal to decent runners could not handle the workout she takes upon herself. I mean the truck we tool around in has a harder time getting up the hill from Well's bay than she does. To get a good idea, put the incline on a treadmill all the way up. Now jack it up even higher using 2 cinder blocks. Put the speed about halfway up. Carry another cinder block in your arms. If you can do this for more than 10 minutes, you can keep up with her.

[Siddman]

Don't let Classic fool you.... She has some sick running addiction. Most normal to decent runners could not handle the workout she takes upon herself. I mean the truck we tool around in has a harder time getting up the hill from Well's bay than she does. To get a good idea, put the incline on a treadmill all the way up. Now jack it up even higher using 2 cinder blocks. Put the speed about halfway up. Carry another cinder block in your arms. If you can do this for more than 10 minutes, you can keep up with her.

From what it sounds like Classic seems to be a soilder....i guess its hard for civilians to carry out a soilders act......

Siddman

[clean_press]

I have the honor of bringing down a bare-bones squat rack,

Its puny but it'll do the job, I'm gonna be setting it up in the saba weight room and do all my heavy squat work out of saba's gym and then shift over to winward for the heavy dumbbell work. So all you squat fiends out there worry not, you can once again do barbell squats!!

Awww yeah,

A s a d

[classic]

Well, let me say that running here on the island really isn't that difficult. (But you do have to work up to a steady pace on some of the hills.)

Mr. Clean, I'm not sure you can fit your squat rack in the school gym. It's a rather small room that's already almost full. I brought down my pilates ball and a couple of weights with me- thought about taking the ball to the gym since my dorm room was so small- but decided not to b/c:
1. the room is so small
2. I didn't want other people to rub 'their ikies' on my ball- just call me selfish for that one :wink:
3. it was too much fun bouncing it around when I was going to group studies in other people's dorm room

(Nate was just teasing about the running- however, when he said you'd have to carry a cinder block while running - I hope he wasn't refering to my gut I carry with me :( .)

[ResearchingGuy]

The Block in Micro when we did "ikies" was perhaps the most enlightening.

-RG :oops:

[Nate-MD]

Classic is as nuts as I previously mentioned..... She runs twice a day sometimes. While the cinder block may have been a slight overstatement- it seems about right for me, but I usually fire up a smoke at the base of the hill to the dorms- maybe that's my problem.

Don't get me started on what I really think she has that ball in her room for though. I've told her many a times..... :wink:
Just kidding, she's a good girl..... crazy, but good.....

[clean_press]

and the rack is so thin, its not even a rack its just a stand to hold the bar, and if need be I'll rebuild it every time I squat which is like once every 10 days or so , so it won't that much effort, but thanks for the heads up! classic

[Irpus]

I'll be an incoming student this Fall and I had a quick question about where to run in Saba. Are there any paths free from snakes? I think I scared myself reading the posts on snakes in Saba...
Also, are there any pools at the school or elsewhere to swim?
thanks.

[ResearchingGuy]

Most folks run on the roads. I daresay you will probably run the whole time you're there without seeing a snake.

-RG

[Miranda]

So from what it sounds like, I don't think I'll ever be able to keep up with classic running...I don't really enjoy it to be honest, it's just a convenient way to keep in shape. I'm a swimmer at heart.

I hate snakes too. I live pretty far back in the woods now and I've been out running many times and come across a snake in the road. I've actually landed in a thorn bush trying to sprint around one once :) I've even been chased by the neighbors donkey--hoping this won't happen at Saba, haha. However, I've never actually been hurt by a snake in the road so I wouldnt worry too much.

[Irpus]

Miranda, where are you from that there's donkeys running around? :shock:
I'm petrified by snakes, I might make myself imagine snakes on the road!
Where do you go swim?

[Siddman]

Miranda, where are you from that there's donkeys running around? :shock:
I'm petrified by snakes, I might make myself imagine snakes on the road!
Where do you go swim?


Do you know there are snakes under water near the shores....dont know if they can handle salt water...but all of them are bad....if they bite you you are dead....

Siddman

[Nate-MD]

I had a run in with a donkey on Saba, I was coming back from Eco Lodge from dinner (and drinks of course) when I decided it would be fun to pet the donkey. It didn't have the same idea. That's the only donkey that I'm aware of.

I've only seen one sea snake when I was out snorkeling. The divemasters said it's actually pretty rare to see one, so I wouldn't worry about them. The baracuda following you around can get pretty unsettling at times though.

[ResearchingGuy]

I think the "sea snakes" are more like eels. The divemasters used to laugh at the snorkelers whoi would rush up to the boat screaming "Snake!".

-RG


BTW - No poisonous snakes on (or around or in or under) Saba.

[Siddman]

I had a run in with a donkey on Saba, I was coming back from Eco Lodge from dinner (and drinks of course) when I decided it would be fun to pet the donkey.


Cool... :lol: :lol: ...so you actually tried to make friends with a donkey....i think its the smell of the drinks....good for you it didn't kick you ...i have actually seen one guy got kicked by a Donkey.....believe me its not a good thing to watch....funny though...:lol: :lol: :lol:


Siddman

[Miranda]

Irpus--I'm from southern Indiana (the town I live in is actually called Boonville--I've heard all the jokes, so don't bother :) ).

I swam competitively for about 15 years and just finished my college swimming career in February--as for swimming on Saba, I don't even know if they have a pool. I have my Scuba certification but after listening to all of these snake/eel/baracuda stories, I might be sticking to the shore. I might swim like a fish but I'm terrified of them and anything else that lives in the ocean...stupid fear, I know but I guess everyone has to be afraid of something.

[edoki]

I think by now the issue of snakes or no snakes in the Island should have died a natural death. Researchguy had alread replied that we are never gonna be at combat with snakes. I think, it will ne fun to see one green thing once in a blue moon whreas we are going to live on a mount.

Get Relaxed!

Edoki

[wolfvgang22]

Can we eat the snakes, or are they protected? Can we make wallets and belts out of their hides to sell to defray tuition?

What about sharks in the water? I would love to scuba, but I wouldn't want to be a snack for JAWS... :wink: :lol:

[Siddman]

Can we eat the snakes, or are they protected? Can we make wallets and belts out of their hides to sell to defray tuition?


Looks like you are a hunter....i plan to hunt every saturday.....not for snakes though but for run away chickens.....:lol: :lol: :lol:


Siddman

[ResearchingGuy]

Can we eat the snakes, or are they protected? Can we make wallets and belts out of their hides to sell to defray tuition?


Looks like you are a hunter....i plan to hunt every saturday.....not for snakes though but for run away chickens.....:lol: :lol: :lol:


Siddman

The most amazing thing is the guys who dress up in camo and go out to hunt goats. No kidding.

-RG

[Nate-MD]

Well since I stayed behind for the break I'm finding myself with not alot to do. The highlight of my day is usually posting on Valuemd. I can't really go out in the sun between 0900 and 1600, or else I'll burn. Ah to be pasty white and live in the carribean.

My parents have donkeys and when I was younger I was lucky enough to take a kick or two. This donkey tried to bite me....

As for the person who thinks the sea snakes are eels, I assure you they are not. I snorkel here like a madman and I assure you that it was in fact a sea snake. Eels have flattened bodies, the sea snakes are round for the most part, look like snakes, and have the paddle tail. Plus the fact that I floated for a good while watching it, so I got a good look. I saw some eels the same day and you can assuredly tell the difference. The divemasters have charts of all the sea life if you don't know what something is.

The goat hunters here are the brunt of many a joke from the people that hunt back in the states. It's not really hunting if you can walk right up to the goats. I don't know why they get all decked out in camo and for that matter even use guns. I think I could kill a goat with a really sharp stick while wearing flip-flops while smoking a stinky cigar and singing Irish pub songs at the top of my lungs.

[Miranda]

hahaha, nice Nate-MD. the goat hunting visual definitely put a huge smile on my face. perhaps I could bring my hunting dogs...we could use them too; might increase our chances.

[bigguy]

HEY ALL,

I AM ABSOLUTELY GOB-SMACKED THAT YET ANOTHER THREAD HAS BEEN CONTORTED INTO THE ONLINE CHAPTER OF CO-DEPENDENT SNAKE PHOBICS ANONYMOUS.

I'M CERTAIN I WILL HAVE AN ANEURYSM WHEN SIDDMAN'S SNAKE POST REACHES IT'S 1000th VIEW.

ZERO PERCENT OF SABA'S ATTRITION RATE IS DUE TO SNAKE FATALITIES.

THE REAL ISSUE THAT YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON THROUGH THIS FORUM IS THE SPIDER ISSUE. SABA HAS SPIDERS THE SIZE OF KITTENS. BUT DON'T WORRY, I BELIEVE 80% OF THEM ARE HARMLESS. THE BITES USUALLY CAUSE SOME BASEBALL SIZE SWELLING, AND SOME LOCALIZED NECROSIS. IT'S NOT REALLY A BIG DEAL AS LONG AS THEY DON'T BITE YOU ON THE FACE WHILE YOU SLEEP. AND OF COURSE, THEN THERE ARE THOSE SMALL ONES THAT CAN CRAWL INTO YOUR EAR WHILE YOU SLEEP AND CAUSE A BRAIN ABSCESS....BUT THAT'S VERY RARE.

THE HUGE BATS THAT FLY AROUND AREN'T REALLY MUCH OF AN ISSUE, AS LONG AS YOU'RE NEVER OUT AFTER DARK, AND HAVE PROTECTIVE COVERS FOR YOUR DOORS, WINDOWS, AND VENTS.

RELATEDLY, FOR ANY OF YOU PLANNING ON DRIVING WHILE ON SABA, I WAS TOLD BY THE CAR RENTAL GIRL THAT THERE IS A FERRET-LIKE RODENT THAT TENDS TO CLIMB UP THROUGH THE UNDER-CARRIAGE VENTS OF CARS AND NEST UNDER THE SEATS. SHE TOLD ME A LOT OF ACCIDENTS ON SABA ARE CAUSED BY THESE THINGS JUMPING OUT WHILE PEOPLE ARE DRIVING AND ATTACKING THEIR LEGS. THE BITES ARE MINOR OF COURSE, BUT I'M SURE IT'S QUITE STARTLING.

LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL SOON.

BIGGUY

PS. WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO KILL A GOAT? GOAT'S ARE GOD'S MOST SACRED CREATURES.

[wolfvgang22]

You're kidding about all that stuff, right? :shock:
:lol:
I'll be sure to watch for ferrets. How about we all go snipe hunting when we get on island?

[Nate-MD]

If anyone hasn't noticed, I'm obsessed about Saba's goat overpopulation.... Most tropical islands have a cockroach infestation problem. Saba has a goat infestation problem. Last night I caught a baby goat that had crawled out from under the couch in my new place and had jumped onto the counter top in search of food. I smashed it with a shoe, but these things are so hard to kill and it just scurried off.

[swinginislanddoc]

Poor Classic. She is nuts though.... I've known her for five years...

Then again I'm nuts too. I don't run Well's Bay, but I ran on Saba quite a bit. Never planned a time but apparently I did have a usual time - someone else noticed and pointed it out to me. Ha!

I did see some snakes while out running the road, but only one was alive, and he/she didn't give a darn that I was there - it was sunning itself on the wall and didn't budge a bit even when I walked back to look at it. The snakes on Saba are harmless...believe me, we had some baby ones in our bathroom (long story) that I caught and set free - never been hurt by one. One of my classmates actually used to pick them up by the tail and chase his girlfriend with them. hahaha!!

Have fun running on Saba guys! I'm back in the States where the hills are less hilly. Careful though - don't run downhill there. The grade is so steep that I started having some knee problems. I hadn't run in over a month when I went a couple of days ago... it's like an itch you have to scratch! hahah!

~S

[ResearchingGuy]

Okay...

sea snakes, huge bats, ferret-like creatures...

Next somebody is gonna tell us the island is inhabited by lots of tiny lizards.





:wink:

-RG

[Nate-MD]

No one has mentioned the huge colonies of alcoholic ants. They're capable of carrying off a 6-pack of Sam Adams! I was laying on the couch drinking beer this morning (no suprise there) and I was leaving drops of Amstel Light for the ants. Pretty soon there were hundreds of them in a huge chain streaming from outside to our trash. So I did what any bored medical student on break would do..... I got a lint roller and rolled about 1,000 ants onto it from their little trail on the wall and floor.

[Siddman]

HEY ALL,

I AM ABSOLUTELY GOB-SMACKED THAT YET ANOTHER THREAD HAS BEEN CONTORTED INTO THE ONLINE CHAPTER OF CO-DEPENDENT SNAKE PHOBICS ANONYMOUS.

I'M CERTAIN I WILL HAVE AN ANEURYSM WHEN SIDDMAN'S SNAKE POST REACHES IT'S 1000th VIEW.

ZERO PERCENT OF SABA'S ATTRITION RATE IS DUE TO SNAKE FATALITIES.

THE REAL ISSUE THAT YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON THROUGH THIS FORUM IS THE SPIDER ISSUE. SABA HAS SPIDERS THE SIZE OF KITTENS. BUT DON'T WORRY, I BELIEVE 80% OF THEM ARE HARMLESS. THE BITES USUALLY CAUSE SOME BASEBALL SIZE SWELLING, AND SOME LOCALIZED NECROSIS. IT'S NOT REALLY A BIG DEAL AS LONG AS THEY DON'T BITE YOU ON THE FACE WHILE YOU SLEEP. AND OF COURSE, THEN THERE ARE THOSE SMALL ONES THAT CAN CRAWL INTO YOUR EAR WHILE YOU SLEEP AND CAUSE A BRAIN ABSCESS....BUT THAT'S VERY RARE.

THE HUGE BATS THAT FLY AROUND AREN'T REALLY MUCH OF AN ISSUE, AS LONG AS YOU'RE NEVER OUT AFTER DARK, AND HAVE PROTECTIVE COVERS FOR YOUR DOORS, WINDOWS, AND VENTS.

RELATEDLY, FOR ANY OF YOU PLANNING ON DRIVING WHILE ON SABA, I WAS TOLD BY THE CAR RENTAL GIRL THAT THERE IS A FERRET-LIKE RODENT THAT TENDS TO CLIMB UP THROUGH THE UNDER-CARRIAGE VENTS OF CARS AND NEST UNDER THE SEATS. SHE TOLD ME A LOT OF ACCIDENTS ON SABA ARE CAUSED BY THESE THINGS JUMPING OUT WHILE PEOPLE ARE DRIVING AND ATTACKING THEIR LEGS. THE BITES ARE MINOR OF COURSE, BUT I'M SURE IT'S QUITE STARTLING.

LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL SOON.

BIGGUY

PS. WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO KILL A GOAT? GOAT'S ARE GOD'S MOST SACRED CREATURES.


People tend to remember bad experiences more them good ones.....yah i want to know about the bats.....the big ones can cause a lot fo problems....



Siddman

[swinginislanddoc]

Okay, you guys are killing me. Ferret attacks, alcoholic ants....

:lol:


Oh man, I miss you weirdos!!!

By the way Nate, my bruise has finally gone away! ;-)

[bigguy]

Siddman,
Really, don't worry about the bats. Only a few people a year get bitten by them. The rabies prophylaxis is a painful series of intra-abdominal injections every day for 8 months. Other than the localized pain, they cause an hour or two of nausea, but no biggie. But your chances of getting bitten by one are less than 40%.

The only thing I'm really worried about is the Tree Scorpions. It kind of freaks me out that there are scorpions the size of small lobster that live in the bushes and can drop from any overhanging tree. It kind of makes me not want to go outside. I met a guy near the airport who had had 2 fingers amputated following a Tree Scorpion sting.

I know a lot of people wear shorts and flip flops on Saba, but I'm not going anywhere without ankle high boots, long pants, a long sleeve shirt, and a wide brim hat. Apparently if you blow a whistle every few seconds, it'll scare the snakes within 10 feet and clear the path for you.

All you can do is just use normal precautions. Getting attacked by animals is just part of life outside the U.S.; you just have to deal with it, it's part of the experience. It's nature.

Nate, I did a count of all the goats on the island when I visited in February. If there are any missing, I'm coming for you. What kind of person beats a baby goat?! You drunken sot!!! You can expect a nighttime visit from my disciples, The Followers of the Goat.

Bigguy, Pope of the Goats
Ps. Normal case, are you happy Wolf?

[dreamdoc]

Why NATE? Why were you trying to hurt a baby goat? Ive been trying to defend you as the beer fairy, but now I just dont know what to say!
The goat deciples(sp) WILL be coming for you in the middle of the night when you are passed out from excess alcohol consumption, so be ready!

[edoki]

NATE, don't mind them. No harm will befall you. But be not you drunk with wine wherein in excess.
Being drunk will make you not to give a good decision as a doc.

Shalom!

Edoki