I'll be up in the gym, just workin' on my fitness

A few months ago, I joined LA Fitness. I left the YMCA in February and thought that I could work out on my own at home. That was ok for a brief span of time, but it's not very easy to be motivated at home ("Hey, 'Intervention' is on!"), so I decided it was time to join a gym again.

They have a nice gym at LA Fitness and a pool, too! So far, I have worked out in the gym/weight area, done laps in the pool and taken a few classes. Pilates and water aerobics were both nice and gave me a good workout without hurting me. Then, I decided to try yoga.

I thought it would be relaxing and rejuvenating. A lot of other people must think that, too, because there were about 30 people in the class! When the teacher started class and began giving us instructions to do things like “child’s pose”, I thought, “Oh my God! He sounds just like Kim Jong Il in ‘Team America World Police’.” I smiled to myself and then wondered if I would be going to hell for thinking that.

I would have been laughing to myself, too, except that I was trying to breathe deeply and not fall over, which took all my concentration. It was an ass kicking class. Not relaxing at all. I was sweating like it was a step aerobics class. Usually it’s just me that’s sweating, but people around me were perspiring so much that they were swabbing off with towels, which made me feel better. I should have brought a towel, but all I had was my t-shirt sleeve, and believe me, I surreptitiously used both sleeves to wipe away errant sweat on more than one occasion during class.

Was it Hatha or Viniyoga? I’m not sure. But I did a back bend, some swan arms, a lot of downward-facing dog, and a lot of other balance and stretching poses that humans should not be asked to do. I wasn't sure that my back would ever be the same, but somehow I have recovered and can sit upright again.

Will I go back to yoga? Probably not. Although, I might try some other classes, like kick-boxing and maybe Spinning. I plan to avoid anything that requires dance coordination, like Hip Hop or Latin Dance. That Seinfeld where Elaine dances? Yeah, that could be me. Sweet fancy Moses. So I plan to stick to non-choreographed classes. I have my dignity.