push it, make the wheels go harder...

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday.

I've been going to Aquafit classes at the pool across the street from my house. And while I like the concept behind Aquafit - bouncing around in a pool for an hour, just like when I was a kid - the classes I'd been going to were less than inspiring. The instructor is a woman in her mid-fifties, in a sweatsuit, yelling out movements every so often. She never gives encouragement, she never exercises with us, and she never motivates. She's going through the motions, in essence. And as a result, her classes are low-key, with little energy. We, too, go through the motions, mostly. I try to push myself, but I rarely leave feeling like I really worked out.

So last night, when I got home from a long day at the office, I was cranky and tired and the last thing I wanted to do was go to an uninspiring aquafit class. Mike pushed and prodded and finally got me out the door, swimsuit and money for the class in hand, but I was convinced the class would be mostly a waste of time.

Boy was I wrong. The usual instructor wasn't there. Instead, one of the life-guards, a young woman probably about 18 or 19 (or even younger), lead the class. And lead it, did she ever. She was in the water with us, she was shouting out instructions left and right, she was motivating, she was enthusiastic. In short, she was everything the other instructor was not. The class was HARD. She had us moving and jumping and working our butts off. And I loved it.

The lesson learned was this - never assume you know what something will be like. Because it might just surprise you...

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As an aside - apparently I was one of the only ones who really enjoyed the class. Most of the other women are in their fifties and sixties and were less than thrilled at the new intensity level (and that they didn't get to use their precious foam weights - she had us use water bottles filled with water instead.) I heard nothing but grumbling in the change room after the class about how hard it was, and how they didn't like it. Which is too bad, because it was exactly the kind of class I was hoping for...

I may have to look into either finding a new place to take aquafit, or a new type of exercise...