The Y

Working out is an interesting phenomenon. First I decided that the only way to get my squishy butt off the couch and into some other non-squishy state was to spend money on a gym membership. That way I would at least feel guilty if I was not working out but still spending the money on it. So I searched around a bit (and by that I mean I checked out the Y, found it to be just a tad pricier than I desired, and checked out one other gym that sent something to my house advertising "teacher discounts", which turned out to be nothing much), and finally decided that since the local YMCA is only about a stone's throw from my cosy casa (depending on who is throwing the stone) that would be my best bet. So I paid my dues and signed up. So far my genius guilt-induced work-out program is going beautifully. I even have a little schedule of when I go and roughly what I do when I am there.

So that is where I found myself this Monday evening: dance aerobics night. I was running quite late in getting there due to a dinner engagement that involved really good free food (you can take the kid out of college, but you can't get them to pass up free food) so I missed like the first half of my class. This left me quite un-warmed-up and a bit off. My grapevines were kind of small and the little hop in the middle threw me off. And should I clap now or just fling my arm in some artful way? Oh crap, I think I two-stepped when I was supposed to pony!

Anyhow, I finished up dance aerobics without major incident and even stayed for the "toning" afterward, which involved five minutes of me (and the rest of the class of course), two 4-pound weights, and a brief glimpse of hell. Three words: we did arms. Now no offense mom and dad, but I blame my genes for my wussy upper body, as well as my under-developed neck muscles which prevent me from leaning over and looking into the mirror simultaneously. I mean really, my head is not that big.

Once the class was over I decided to take a break from the treadmill and mount an elliptical. They are supposed to be better for your knees but it took the first ten minutes or so just to get over the knee pain. Once I found my stride I began to realize that it was a much slower stride than the other Y patrons around me. I know that you shouldn't compare yourself to others but I totally do. I am that person who secretly checks out what speed the person next to me is going, or always checks to see how long those around me have been going. Done after only 10 minutes? Amateur. Going on mile 7 huh? I'm leaving now. Well I checked everyone else out and finally decided I just needed to go at my own speed at resistance level 4, not the resistance 20 the woman next to me was going. It looked like she was running through water! Maybe she is training for Baywatch.

I ellipted for a while and mused about things to put in my blog... much cleverer things than I have actually written... then walked home, stretched my burning legs out on my yoga mat while fighting off the dog who figured that since I was lying on the floor I needed a hug, and now I am going to bed. Hope this post isn't too detailed, I am a little out of practice.