Something To Chew On
July 15-21, 2019
By Becca Bona
becca@dailydata.com
New gym shoes
I’m not a gym rat by any means. But I do find myself in the gym more often than not, these days, as my Mom and I have signed up to do some kind of bootcamp thingy.
I know … that’s probably not the best phrase. But. It’s not exactly a bootcamp workout, nor is it a circuit workout – so for the intents and purposes of this column, we’ll simply go with “bootcamp thingy.”
Anyhow, we signed up for this through my Mom’s gym at work. It’s a 10-week course, and so far, the results have been … mixed at best.
The program runs four days a week – two classes focused on cardio and two classes focused on lifting.
The first day of cardio involved taking all of our measurements. What a doozy. I don’t just mean weight, I mean waist measurements, thigh measurements, biceps (or lack thereof), – the whole nine yards.
We were a little put-out that evening, to say the least.
On day two, we were ready to get lifting. The only thing is – neither my Mom nor I had any experience with typical workout equipment. I mean, I knew the proper form for a deadlift and a few other things with dumbbells, but you started talking about lat pull downs and leg curls and we were lost – more lost than an oyster at a fish market.
Thankfully, our instructor walked us through everything. And it’s a good thing she did because Mom and I were trying to lift the least amount possible – instead of discovering what our maximum weight was.
(Apparently we’re going to compare our maximum weight limit on various machines at the beginning of this course to what our improvements are at the end. If, however, dear reader, you had seen me trying to attempt a proper leg curl, you would have thought there was no hope for me.)
Independence Day thwarted the rest of our first week, but this past week we were shining stars. We showed up late to two classes in a row, but on the third day, we were prepared.
Me texting Mom: What time is class?
Mom texting back: 5:15!
I met her in the parking lot at 4:55 p.m. sharp and noticed immediately something different. She looked nice, as she always did for work, but her gait had changed slightly.
“Mom, are you ok? Did you pull a muscle, yesterday?” I asked, worriedly.
She frowned and then began to laugh, one of those deep laughs that can sometimes cause wheezy gasps of breath – which we refer to in the Bona household as “the wheezy laugh.”
I didn’t understand what was so funny.
“I got new shoes,” she said smiling, wiggling her toes in a bright new pair of New Balance tennis shoes, completely monochromatic grey, save for the bright pink, rubber soles.
“Mom, those are too big,” I said, finally realizing what was going on.
She just shook her head and we made our way into class – only to discover we were late again.
We charged forth and joined the throng of exercise zealots.
The teacher nodded at us – not phased by our now new-normal tardiness.
She did, however at the end of class head over to my Mom and say, “Love the new gym shoes.”
We erupted in a fit of giggles.
If the shoe fits … go to a gym. If not … maybe sit this one out.