After spending a day in exile, I was able to move back into Locker 29. That is because I got to the gym a 5:30 am rather than pm. I really enjoy Wednesday class; it is an ass kicker. In fact, I have nicknamed the Weds. 6:00 am Sports Conditioning class at the Y taught by Teresa, the Atonement class. Some people might look at this class as more of a punishment class, but I see it as my chance to make amends for my past slothful ways. It is an unrelenting 45 min. to 60 min. excursion into a little place called: PAIN. I thought that I might actually pass out the first time I took this class. I use to dread every Weds and try to find reason to skip the class, but after about the fourth time I attended this class, I began to love it. Now, I look forward to it, and think of it as personal challenge.
Here are some important facts about this class, the instructor, and the people in the class:
1. Teresa is a former Drill Instructor and she carries herself as such. She does not yell, but she leaves not doubt in your mind about who is in charge of the class. Each exercise is a debt that you owe her, and you will pay that debt in full.
2. She piles on more reps than any of the other instructors and does NOT wait for everyone to finish an exercise before moving to the next. When the first person finishes an exercise, she tells you what is next an how many.
3. The class has about 25 members on average and most of these bastards people skip reps. I do NOT skip reps. I view skipping reps an indication of lack moral fiber. If you are physically unable to perform and exercise, then ask for an alternative because otherwise you are cheating yourself.
4. In all of the morning classes there is a core group of Type A personality types, who are out in front pushing each other and the pace of the class. This group has four primary members two guys and two girls (one guy is an NC STATE grad and the other is a UNC grad, and they make exercise a point of school pride). There are also two other people, who are not far behind them (another guy and girl).
5. This core group of alpha push the pace of this class and cause most of the other members to skip reps to keep up.
6. I am not an Alpha. My personality type is more A/B, but like I said, I do NOT skip reps. There are one or two other people in the class, who like me do not skip reps, but can not keep up with the Alphas. We are always far back, but we are always pushing ourselves to improve.
7. My goal is to one day catch up to the Alphas!
Today's Workout:
A wide variety of abdominal totaling around 500 reps. These exercises were included but there were others that I either can not describe or have forgotten the exact total or form.
standard crunches: 50
hip raises: 50
bicycles: 50
vertical leg crunch: 50
crossover crunch: 25 each leg
half curl: 30
back extensions: 20
forearm break down push & standard pushup: 10 each
fire hydrants: 20 each leg
resistance bands - standing biceps curls: 25
dips 15
walking lunges across the width of two basketball courts
leg raises 15 (each leg)
burpees + jumping jack (1 jack for each count of the burpees)
mt. climbers 40
jump rope 200 skips
heel raises 30 (each leg)
roman chair 1 min.
standing side leg raises 20 each leg
suicides across the width of two basketball courts
resistance bands - upright rows 25
resistance bands - kickbacks 25
incline & decline push ups 10 each
4 flights of stairs up and down & two laps around the track (each lap is 1/15 of a mile)
resistance bands - hip flexors 20 each leg
walking lunges across the width of two basketball courts
jump squats 40
jump rope 200 skips
one legged raises 10 (each leg) **sit on a chair, or a bench and try to stand up using only one leg.**
one legged roman chair 20 sec. each leg
This is where I had to stop because I needed to go to work. Other people had gotten farther, but I was happy to get this far. I left this class feeling really good about my overall progress. I can tell that I am in much better shape than I was awhile ago. I am hoping that I can get better at writing about these classes because I feel a real sense of accomplishment when I write about them, and writing about these classes reminds me of what exercises were difficult, so that when I go back to the gym, I can try to work on improving.
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