Friday, August 10, 2007
Finally facing my Waterloo
Who here can say with all honesty that high school wasn't the biggest social kick in the pants ever. I'd rather re-write my resume or move to a new house (packing, unpacking included) than do a day of high school over.
But I've moved on. I've grown up and am far too mature to dwell on the angst of high school. And really, it wasn't all that bad.
Except for gym class. Where I might be able to use multisyllabic words and find the hidden most meaning of a Toni Morrison book, I was a looser in gym class. I broke a girl's nose once in gym class with a Frisbee. Totally. But the absolute bane of my gym days was my complete and utter inability to ever do a chin up {Sidebar: Who here has ever done one chin up in their life? Seriously. Speak up. I'm curious if I would have hated you for your athletic prowess back then}. Once the gym teacher felt so bad for me (and a few other weak upper-bodied high school girls) that he hoisted us up so that we might feel some simulated version of chin up joy. I'd stand there in my county-issued cotton outfit and glare maliciously at the boys (and butch girls) who would do rapid fire sets of chin ups -- just because they could (and probably seething in my own jealousy because if I could do it, I would have been just another one of those assholes showing off too..).
And now that I've joined a new gym I find that my favorite machine has a direct view to the chin up bar where I spend 40 minutes watching the spirit of my macho high school classmates reincarnated into the young 20-something men that frequent my gym.
ENOUGH, I say! Damnit, teach me to do a chin up!
I met with a personal trainer last night with the simplest of requests --
Me: "My fitness goal? Oh, easy. To do one chin up."
Him: "Just one? You only want to do one?"
Me: "I'm ok with more than one, but one will complete me. Anything after one is chin up gravy."
Him: "I could have you doing a chin up in a month or so. How's that?"
Me: "Awesome."
Me Today: Holy crap. Ouch.
One month, huh. If my arms don't fall off before then.
But I've moved on. I've grown up and am far too mature to dwell on the angst of high school. And really, it wasn't all that bad.
Except for gym class. Where I might be able to use multisyllabic words and find the hidden most meaning of a Toni Morrison book, I was a looser in gym class. I broke a girl's nose once in gym class with a Frisbee. Totally. But the absolute bane of my gym days was my complete and utter inability to ever do a chin up {Sidebar: Who here has ever done one chin up in their life? Seriously. Speak up. I'm curious if I would have hated you for your athletic prowess back then}. Once the gym teacher felt so bad for me (and a few other weak upper-bodied high school girls) that he hoisted us up so that we might feel some simulated version of chin up joy. I'd stand there in my county-issued cotton outfit and glare maliciously at the boys (and butch girls) who would do rapid fire sets of chin ups -- just because they could (and probably seething in my own jealousy because if I could do it, I would have been just another one of those assholes showing off too..).
And now that I've joined a new gym I find that my favorite machine has a direct view to the chin up bar where I spend 40 minutes watching the spirit of my macho high school classmates reincarnated into the young 20-something men that frequent my gym.
ENOUGH, I say! Damnit, teach me to do a chin up!
I met with a personal trainer last night with the simplest of requests --
Me: "My fitness goal? Oh, easy. To do one chin up."
Him: "Just one? You only want to do one?"
Me: "I'm ok with more than one, but one will complete me. Anything after one is chin up gravy."
Him: "I could have you doing a chin up in a month or so. How's that?"
Me: "Awesome."
Me Today: Holy crap. Ouch.
One month, huh. If my arms don't fall off before then.
# posted by Cathy @ 10:51:00 PM 
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You will be my hero (again/ still) when you pull this off. My high school track coach once told the entire girls team that we had to do 3 pullups before the end of the year and, without thinking, I went "In a row?" and everyone laughed. That's a valid question! I never did it.
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