Tuesday's with Toning: 2/22

Tuesday's afternoon Toning class is becoming a real staple of my workout week because it is a class that is easy for Hiroko and I to attend together.  Hiroko can't make the morning classes because of her work and her unwillingness to wake up.  Honestly, when Hiroko is sleepy, it is like dealing with a belligerent drunk (minus the the smell of cheap liquor, vomit, and urine).  So, I long ago gave up on the idea of getting her to attend the morning workout classes with me.  Afternoon classes and runs are a definite maybe, but unless we are talking about a race, even asking her to attend anything before 10am with me is a waste of a good 14 seconds of my life.  Luckily, Toning class is an easy sell because Hiroko HATES HATES HATES being cold, and unlike the nOg run or the Fleet Feet Social run, Toning Class is all in doors!
This weeks class was taught by Jana and it was the first time that either Hiroko or I had taken a class with her.  I enjoyed the class immensely because not only was her class awesome, but her comments had me crackin' up.  I don't mind instructors, who don't say that much and greatly prefer the silent type over someone that thinks they're funny and isn't, or the type that feel the need to drone on and on because they
can't stand silence.  (Here is a hint I might offer to any instructor type -- if a dude drags himself to you 6am workout class the night after his favorite hockey team loses a game 7 and can still muster the pride to wear their T-shirt to class, DON'T look at this a conversation starter!  It will probably end badly and make everyone in the room just a bit uncomfortable.) 



 Anyway . . . Still a little bitter . . . but . . . where was I . . . oh yeah . . . . Jana's Toning Class Awesomeness!  Along with some hilarious banter, you get a very balanced workout that leaves you feeling like you worked out hard, but doesn't cause you to hate the fact that you worked out hard, which I think is the point of a Toning class.  She used two sets of dumbbells: one heavy and one light, but must of the exercises were just body weight exercises.  She varied her rep count and the speed of the reps to add intensity to the workout.  Also, she made sure to balance out the areas worked.  She hit the the back and hamstrings as well as the abs and quads.  And, in my opinion balancing out a workout is a tell-tale sign of a quality fitness instructor.  Far too often, instructors will pile on the ab and quads work to the point that you are plotting their death by the end of class, but completely ignore the back and hamstrings, which over time leads to muscle imbalances and injuries.  Once, I notice that an instructor focuses on easy to work areas like quads and core, I tend to avoid their class because I start to wonder what else might they be doing wrong that I don't realize.  Therefore, I was really impressed when our instructor not only worked our back and hamstrings but commented upon the need to do so. 

After class both Hiroko and I agreed that we got a quality workout.  Personally, after the Two-a-day on Monday, this well balanced workout was just what I needed.