It's not what you think.... It's my strength class that I go to four nights a week.
It's not what I thought either when I started going. But this dedicated group of women have become my peeps. We work hard. We sweat a lot. Our fearless leader encourages us. She puts up with our moans, but she pushes us to do as much as we can. She also senses our exhaustion. She remembers who has what injuries, and she says to them, "be careful here, Susan!"
And somehow, with eyes in the back of her head, she says, (completely looking away from me), "now you guys know, your legs are supposed to be close to the floor here, not way up high." (Mine were up high, and I quickly lower them...) That's why we need a leader -- to constantly describe, demonstrate and remind us of proper technique. I have yet to figure out how she does it. I mean the part about how you tell a large room full of people how to do a specific set of stretches while moving to the next set of push ups and burpees, all the while describing what comes next and counting -- and she doesn't yell. Somehow she can instruct us by speaking loudly enough over the motivating music on the playlist. I can't even talk, much less imagine talking the whole hour, having to tell the group what to do next and how many reps.
In the small amount of time we get to chat before starting class and on our way out the door after it ends, we learn about each others' kids, we talk about where so & so has been, and do we need to call her? We share new granola recipes and tips for healthy snacking. And we confess the fried food we ate over the weekend or at lunch that day.
We've decided that we've got it all figured out. Life is short. Don't take all the fun out of it by never treating yourself. My vice is a Coke at a local burger joint. I have one almost every day. It used to be a large, but I have scaled back to medium. I am aiming at small. And I love iced tea so much, sometimes I can go a few days without my favorite Coke. At my house, we have been making strides toward eating better, and we rarely eat dessert, so I guess we get bonus points for that. The whole idea of being all around healthy is a journey not a sprint.
We really do have a great time, and I know that our uber-qualified instructor would want me to encourage you to come if you are so inclined. Not everyone makes it everyday. We strive for some sort of consistency, not perfection. Well, I guess you can strive for perfection if you want, but it doesn't work so well for me. I have to remind myself that just because I didn't make it on Monday night, doesn't mean I can't go the one night that week I am available. Something is always better than nothing.
"Everytime I leave, I'm always glad I came."
(Actual class models photographed with their cooperation.)
