Todd wasted no time getting back on the training wagon after returning home from zones. The very next day (Monday) he took advantage of his family still being away on vacation and did what any suddenly single guy would do: he joined me for a wild night at the grove gym.
That’s right, he opted out on cougar night (which is Thursday night anyway (or so I’ve heard)) and went for the straight up exercise triple header. And that worked fine for me since I was (informally) planning to make it to the gym every day of the week on my first time off of taper in over a month.
By carefully reading the group fitness class schedule I discovered that there was a (seemingly new) FIT class on monday at 5:30 pm followed by an hour of downtime before the 7:30 Yoga/Pilates Fusion class that I had attended many times previously. We had both skipped morning workout at Garrison (having had plenty of wet over the weekend), but it’s hard to get away from what you know, so the middle hour seemed like a perfect time to stretch it out in a nice evening swim. Now most ordinary people would likely balk at such an evening plan, but for a dedicated world record holder like Todd (who was also a steady, if not almost obnoxiously frequent reader of my antics) it was an easy sell.
Todd rolled up around 5:25 and that left just enough time to get him signed in as my guest, dump our bags in the locker room, and make our way up to studio 1, which was pretty packed. I found two open spaces near the instructor’s stage (most people do seem to prefer the periphery) and had Todd hang out there while I rounded up equipment (funny how it always seems to be in the other room, but maybe that little bit of extra exercise is a bonus of arriving last). I think Todd had a somewhat curious look on his face when I dropped off the balance balls and the BOSUs (“hmm, fun!” that must have been what he was thinking). I also picked up hand weights (only light 10 pounders), long stretchy bands, figure-eight bands, and heavy body bars.
Upon completing my double hunt-and-gather mission I looked up and appreciated for the first time that the instructor was someone totally new to me. It’s fairly impressive how much a class workout can vary by instructor, so I was interested to see how familiar or different this class would be. Turns out it the answer was, “fairly.”
I won’t go into all the sweaty details, but I think it’s safe to say that Todd rather enjoyed the class. He liked the squat press with stretchy bands (at one point he said his heart rate monitor was over 150), the presses and crunches on the BOSU, and he especially enjoyed the part where we were lying on our backs with our straight legs at 90 degrees in the air and figure-eight bands on our feet, trying to separate our feet as much as possible, hold them apart, pulse there, then hold them apart some more. Hip or leg abduction might be a more compact term, and I was certainly feeling it in my gluteus medius (or there abouts in the outer booty). Now I suppose it could have been a workout induced haze (Todd can either correct me or back me up on this), but it seemed like the instructor kept insisting that we should be feeling this exercise in our inner thighs; I found that claim to be quite perplexing. Maybe she was feeling it there, though I’m not sure how (perhaps female anatomy is a lot more different than I realized). This last exercise was by far the most agonizing for me, and based on the effortful sounds coming from Todd’s direction I imagine that it was challenging for him too. I have to say, I think we were both also laughing a bit at this point (because that’s so much more manly that crying). There must be something slightly humorous in self-induced shared suffering.
After FIT we put away the equipment and made our way down to the pool, only to discover that some ominous looking storm clouds had foiled our plans for a nice evening swim (apparently someone saw lightning six counties over). Fortunately the indoor pool was still open, but with one person in each of the four-foot-wide lanes it seemed pretty crowded. After a few minutes of standing around Todd unintentionally intimidated one of the dunked denizens into departing by politely asking if he would be willing to split the lane or circle. The fellow responded that he was fairly certain he wouldn’t be able to do either in such a skinny lane and seemed satisfied to just get out. So, Todd and I split the lane, and in about 30 minutes managed to get in about 2k.
Following the swim we were back up in studio 2 in time for the stretchy yoga class. This class was nearly as full as the first one, but this time there were not two adjacent spaces and Todd (perhaps intentionally) set himself up way over against the wall. With the class actually a mixture of yoga and pilates (a fusion I guess) there was a fair bit of stretching, but also a fair bit of exercise. With both yoga and pilates to pull from there are a lot of different things for the instructor to choose in one hour, so the class varies quite a bit.
I’m not entirely sure what Todd’s take was on the whole thing, but he did get to try one of the pilates exercises that often makes me laugh: open leg rocker. Here you’re sitting up on your “sits bones” with your straight legs and back all elevated so that your body makes kind of a V shape. Then while holding onto your legs you roll backwards onto your shoulders, hang out there for a moment, and then roll back up into the V-shaped seated position, ideally without falling forward or letting your legs collapse. Then you do that several times. As you rock back and forth your straight legs are slightly spread, or open, hence the name. The funny part comes when the instructor says, “those of you who are able can take two fingers and wrap them around each of your big toes and keep going.” I can appreciate how doing this would make the exercise easier to control, assuming that you could actually wrap your fingers around your toes while keeping your legs straight. For me it’s the seeming absurdity of this notion that often makes me laugh, and watching Todd try it was no exception. With Todd in the room I think there finally might have been someone even more “hamstring challenged” than I.
After that class we were all done at the gym and I was hungry. Someone had the good idea to get some dinner so we left the gym and regrouped over at Pei-Wei. I had spicy thai noodles and a Kirin, and Todd had something like dan dan noodles and a bud. I can’t say for sure if it was exercise-induced sensory enhancement or just a particularly skilled cook, but that food tasted really good.
Epilogue:
While it’s certainly helpful to train with someone of similar ability (who can push, pull or prod you through a moment of mediocrity, and for whom you can do the same), simply having someone familiar or friendly nearby can often be just as motivational. Staying healthy and fit is important for our bodies and minds, but it’s not so easy a task in our modern world of conveniences; finding effective and lasting ways to get it done can often be a challenge.
I have to brag on Todd a little right now. Only a few years back he used to carry around the equivalent of a 45 pound plate with him everywhere he went. Anyone who’s ever hefted one of those things might have an idea about what that would be like. At some point Todd decided that he wanted to make a change, so he found something that worked for him and he stuck with it. Very few people have the luxury to exercise for three hours every night, and Todd is no exception (I certainly have no expectation of him being my frequent dryland training partner). Work and family obligations typically come first (and rightly so), but that doesn’t mean that there’s zero room for anything else. Three days after our monday night three-hour workout Todd had a gotten a BOSU for his house and was home in the evening showing his kids all the things he had learned how to do with it. Sometimes all it takes to light a fire is one tiny spark.
One of the best features of my fitness club (I do often call it a gym though it’s a lot more than that) is its wide offering of adult group fitness classes. There really is something for everyone and the instructors are very good at pointing out modifications for almost every exercise so that people at every fitness level can stay moving and working together as a group. That kind of thing may not work for everyone, but something else might, and trying it once might light a spark like it did for Todd. If you find yourself wanting to improve your life in a way that lasts why not try something new? Take a chance, it might change your life for the better in ways you never expect!
