trying out a body pump class

I Tried a Body Pump Class So You Don’t Have To

Ever wondered what you’d feel like after a body pump class? Well, wonder no more, folks, because I tried one so you don’t have to…

A long time ago, in a land not-so-very-far from here, there lived a beautiful princess young woman who decided to take a step class at her local gym. “I shall take a step class,” said the young woman. “Because I bet that won’t hurt AT ALL.”

So she did take the step class. And it did hurt. But not half so much as it hurt the next morning when the young woman tried to get out of bed and instantly fell flat on her face. Somehow, in the still watches of the night, her poor, tired leg muscles had seized up completely, leaving her legs “frozen” in a sort of “sitting down position”. The young woman could straighten her legs, but not without a great deal of pain, so she was forced to walk around all day long with her legs in that same, “sitting down” position. This sucked, especially given that she now had a flat face too, after falling out of the bed.

At this time, the young woman worked in an office which could only be accessed via a steep flight of stairs. Of course, when our heroine arrived at that office, still in her leg-locked, hunchback position, she found she couldn’t negotiate this staircase while standing up. Because she was a determined young woman – and also: a stupid one – however, she decided to persevere, and made her way up the stairs by sitting down on her poor, aching butt (also injured during the step class) and hauling herself up with her arms (thankfully functioning normally). She made her way back down in the same, ungainly fashion.

After that, the young woman didn’t go to step class no more. But years passed, and as she grew older but no wiser, the young woman started to realise that she could not possibly continue to eat the Easter chocolate< at such a rate without doing something to work it off, so the young woman had a long, hard think to herself, and she thought, “I know! I will take a Body Pump class! Because I bet lifting heavy weights for 45 minutes won’t hurt AT ALL, and that whole “step class” fiasco was probably just a fluke.”

And so it was that our heroine found herself in a Body Pump class, lifting weights to music. And almost instantly, she realised that this? Was a mistake. Even although there were other people in the class who’d never done Body Pump before either, the instructor decided to focus her attention on our heroine. “Everyone add more weights to their bar!” she would shout encouragingly. “Ginger girl at the back: go down to the lightest weight possible!”

It was during a set of exercises known only to the girl as “Oh my holy God, why am I doing this?” that our heroine realised she was in trouble. Because, you know that scene in Harry Potter where Harry has all the bones removed from his arm and had to grown them back? That’s exactly how her arms felt. Only without the “growing back” bit. Because the girl was still stupid, though, she persevered. “Am I not the girl who once ran for 49 minutes and two seconds before almost fainting with exhaustion, after all?” she asked herself. She was, indeed, that girl. But perhaps a better question to ask herself would have been, “Am I not the girl who once fell off her bike twice in thirty seconds?” because seriously, WHO PUTS THEMSELVES THROUGH THIS KIND OF CRAP?

Well, I do. For this, people, was no fairytale. I AM THAT GIRL. Today? My legs aren’t quite “frozen”, like they were after step, but I’ve been avoiding the stairs as best I can all day, and let’s just say I’m really worried about how I’m going to get my wine glass to and from my mouth tomorrow.

And next week? I’m going to do it again. And I’m also thinking of signing up for Body Attack. Because seriously, I bet that won’t hurt AT ALL…

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COMMENTS
  • Oh my GOD! That's miserable! But just think of all the Easter candy your can eat now…

    March 28, 2008
  • Um, "you can"–not "your can". I was originally going somewhere else with that sentence!

    March 28, 2008
  • I remember once spending an afternoon at one of those huge tall climbing walls? You know the ones I mean?

    So I climbed, had fun, and when I got down, my hands were so wiped that I literally could not bring my thumb and pointer finger together. My muscles just wouldn't work.

    So I kinda sorta know how it goes.

    So you should definitely do that body attack class.

    March 28, 2008
  • Yeah, you go! I went to a step class and was just mortified at how stupid I felt out of sync with everyone else. How can I do dance routines and what nots and not keep up with 30-40 year olds in a step class. But you keep at it, and as soon as my ankle heels, I'll totally go back to step.

    Maybe I should just stay with kickboxing…

    March 28, 2008
  • Hank – that's EXACTLY what it was like, in my right arm and hand particularly. I actually thought I'd had a stroke at first – hypochondria is all kinds of fun, seriously.

    March 29, 2008
  • Kristen

    REPLY

    Thanks for the biggest laugh I've had this spring! I'm right there with you – this getting is shape is great, if it doesn't kill you first… which then leads to the thought, "If it is my last day on earth, shouldn't I enjoy it with some chocolate?"

    March 29, 2008
  • Any class that involves exercise is evil. Just plain evil.

    March 31, 2008
  • Laura

    REPLY

    Body Pump is the best! Yes, of course, it hurts like hell but you do see instant results and you get nice and strong along the way. I've been doing it for 5 years now and absolutely love it. Body Combat & Body Balance are also great but, be warned, Body Attack is the devil's work!

    April 1, 2008
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