I am sitting here in the middle of a helluva wind storm right now. The electricity just came back on, but it could go back out at any moment. It went out right around dinner time, so we are having cereal/sandwiches or whatever. The wrecking of the dinner plans doesn't bother me at all. The lack of electricity, however, bothers me a great deal. I swear I can hear shingles blowing off our poor roof....again. And my poor goats are outside and probably scared.
So, with the wicked weather we skipped going to the gym tonight. Well, there's that AND the fact that we have been trying to be very diligent with our gym-going since New Years and we are both so stiff and sore that we can barely walk. I figure 1 night off to heal won't hurt too much. I have this schedule of classes that I like to go to. The one that my husband and I BOTH try to make every Monday (and occasionally Wed. except for tonight) is Body Pump. Its a head to toe conditioning class where we use barbells with adjustable weights to work out every major muscle group. Think weighted barbells slung across the back of your shoulders while you do squats to some upbeat music for dozens upon dozens of repetitions. We do that with arms and abs and all of that, but its the squats that always get me. She makes us do singles, then slow ones where you go down for a slow count of four then back up again....slowly. But I think its the "bottom half" ones that hurt the most. The ones where you have to stay down and only do halfway up little ones as many as 8 at a time before you can come up for air. And thats why our legs hurt so damned much.
Anyway, I am sure that everybody has some characters at their gyms. I try not to get annoyed.
I mean, we are all there to get healthy, so I TRY to withhold judgement. But there is the "Door Opening" Woman that I totally do NOT get. Door Opening Woman always comes to this Pump class. She is a tiny, skinny little thing who looks like a nervous wreck. She props the class studio doors open and proceeds to go through the whole entire routine right there, in the middle of the open doors. It drives me crazy. I imagine it drives the other people right outside crazy, too. The studio is fairly sound proof, because the music is upbeat and loud. Right outside are all these elliptical/treadmill/bikes/ and weight machines. Do you think those people want to have to listen to our instructor bellow out orders over this loud music? I wonder if maybe Door Opening woman might be claustrophobic. I mean, I am claustrophobic to some degree. A crowded elevator, for instance, makes me nervous. But an large open studio with glass windows just doesn't panic me.
And then there is "Leaving" woman. Leaving woman shows up to Pump class pretty much every week, but at some point or another, she leaves for a period of time and then comes back.
What the hell? Surely a grown adult could make it through an hour class without having to stop and pee or whatever. I mean, I am sure it could happen that you need to excuse yourself to make a restroom stop. But EVERY SINGLE TIME??? Maybe she just can't get through the whole routine without a break, but honestly other people just hang out right there until they catch their breath again. Strange. But then again, I have noticed that its during the leg lunges when she leaves most of the time. Maybe she has bad knees or something. Lunges are pretty hard on the knees. I was having a heck of a time with those until my daughter came to the class with me while she was in town and gave me the sage advice to drop my back leg even further back. It makes balancing a little sketchy, but it does help with the knee problems. I don't know.
I sometimes want to ask these people: "What the hell?" But I don't.
And then, at the end of Pump class there is a ten minute stretching segment that is probably my favorite part. Like at the end of Yoga there is a meditation. But half the class rudely makes a mass exodus, stomping all over the rest of us who are trying to finish the class. Rushing to put up their equipment. It annoys the instructors, you can tell. I usually make an effort to position myself on the left side of the studio. The right side has the exit door (which will probably be propped open if Door Opening Woman is there), and I have been nearly trampled on several occasions. It always makes me want to scream, "If you really can't spare the time to finish the last 10 minutes of the class, then stay the heck home." Have a little respect for those of us who enjoy the ending part. If I don't have the chance to stretch it out, I will be too crippled to hobble out of the gym afterwards.
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