No. Not for me. The pain-to-fun ratio was way off, tipped far in favor of pain. The whole skin gripping the pole aspect burned intensely. I had the beginning of a welt forming on the top side of my foot, and that was in the first 5 minutes of the 2 hour class. I understood that working with the pole could hurt, but this crossed the line with what I could tolerate. I was instantly frustrated by that.
I suppose that today isn't an ideal day for me to be doing this because I have some soreness in my quads and hamstrings from some hard independent gym work yesterday. Even though I'm accustomed to that kind of discomfort, I thought it interfered. I'm also a little tired, possibly because I'm tinkering with my diet in preparation for the Buffalo show. I need to strip away a little more fat, so I'm low carbing today.
Anyway, the instructor Pantera was awesome. Very funny and charismatic, with great stories from her past 11 years teaching this craft, along with time she spent in "titty bars, " as she referred to them. She's loose and free, but she's tough, smart and highly conscious of safety. She takes pride in having had zero injuries in all the time she's been teaching. I have a ton of respect for her talent and ability to support herself with this activity. I also love her personal motto: same pole, different swing.
Looking ahead: The Buffalo show is exactly 2 weeks from today. I feel a lot more settled with the prospect of doing everything all over again. It seems like much of the anxiety has been drained outta me.
I have a new cardio activity to restore some novelty to my training - jumping rope. It's hard to believe how intense it can be, especially since I recall jumping rope as a kid and never becoming winded. Now it makes my chest feel like it's on fire, with just a 30-second interval. Gonna need to work on that.
Glenn has offered to accompany me to the Gorilla Pit, a hardcore gym he belongs to where there are no machines, just heavy objects. He insists I'll be able to find things to do there, despite my doubts. We'll be going there in a week, next Sunday.
Otherwise, it's strict eating and serious strength work.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment