THE ONGOING QUEST FOR FITNESS

I overslept this morning. Without an alarm clock, I usually will wake between 6:00 and 7:00am on weekends. I don't always get my lazy butt out of bed then but I'm awake. Last night before going to bed, I decided that I would once again try try to make the IRON BODIES class at 8:30am. I didn't bother to set my alarm. I knew that I would wake in time to make it there. Best laid plans.... So when I awoke at 8:10am (it's a 15-20 minute drive to the gym depending on traffic lights), I decided I would try the 9:30am spinning class.

Some of my friends and D1 have all told me that I should try the spinning class but to date, I've been intimidated. I am often trudging along on the elliptical machine which is located just outside of the spinning room. It's dark in there. It's loud. People come out of there looking like roadkill. I guess I was feeling a little adventurous today. Or maybe I just lost my mind!

I arrived a few minutes late. I checked with the very friendly woman at the front desk to see if the instructor is OK with late comers. She said, "oh, yeah, she's fine. Just go on in." With water bottle and towel in hand, I entered the classroom. Class was already in progress so it was dark. In my rush to get out of the house, I neglected to put in my contacts. (No animals or Palm Beachers were harmed on my journey to the gym. My eyesight isn't that bad. It's just the little compact cars that I have trouble seeing.) As I looked around my eyes began to adjust to the darkness. There were several stationery bikes (obviously), a disco ball, mirrors on the walls and the instructor was on a platform shouting out commands into her headset. I was able to make out a few empty bikes and immediately saw that the class was divided into groups. The Palm Beach Barbies were all in front with short shorts and sports bras showing off their beautiful bodies and even in the darkness, I could see they had great tans. The young and athletic group was in the middle. They looked very intense. The old broads were in the back. I quickly determined my place in the class, walked right up to the front, stripped off my tshirt, showing off my 6pack (ok, 12pack) abs and began to peddle like nobody's business. Just call me Barbie's friend, Midge. NOT!

I chose the bike in the back closest to me so that I could make a quick exit if necessary. A voice in the dark told me that bike was fine but the one on the other side of her had a cupholder for my waterbottle. Cupholders are a big thing with me. I will buy a car based on how many cupholders it has. Where was I, again? Oh yeah. Obviously I chose the bike with the cupholder but was quick to notice it was near the fire exit in case things got rough. Now, I don't know if you've ever been to a spinning class before but it is WOW! Like I said the class was already in progress so I just jumped on the bike and tried to keep up. I always wondered what the big deal was just riding a bike. Well, you stand up, sit down, do push ups, punch, row, dance all while you are peddling. The music is very motivating. It was a great mix of hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s. At one point, there was an AC/DC song that's chorus sounded a lot like "f___ you, f___ you?" I didn't think that was really necessary. Afterall, I was doing my best. We went on to peddle with one leg at a time, then went back to the stand up, sit down, pushup only faster and in a combo. I like choreography. I can work with that.

The instructor, Robin, was great. I think she is near my age, give or take a few years but she looks FABULOUS! She is my new fitness role model! It was a great work-out. I think I actually enjoyed it. I worked really hard and really hope that I can walk tomorrow. I didn't keep up with the Barbies. I didn't keep up with the young athletes. I didn't really even keep up with the old broads (but it wasn't their first class) But I stayed to the end and worked my tail off. (I hope) I almost had fun. I thanked Robin for the class and walked out feeling like a new woman.