Imagine the following scenario: You enter a ballet studio. A warm afternoon sunshine falls onto the pale, polished wood floor from the windows by the ceiling. A ballet bar runs across the length of the room. Sultry Latin music fills the air. A single chicken breast lays at the back of the room. I am that chicken breast.
Or such is the extent of my flexibility, grace, or endurance, as I've come to learn this afternoon at the TAC Physique class at The Athletic Club. Never mind that I decided to stock up on booze before my favorite liquor store supposedly goes on strike tonight, and subsequently decided to nonchalantly walk into the gym with two bottles of red wine, already adding to my confusing image, but I, despite my best efforts, looked ridiculous all around.
TAC Physique is described as a toning class focused around ballet-style movements. The instructor took us from dumbell-heavy toning moves, to squats, to push ups, to pliés, to something called a Second Position, to high ballerina-style kicks, to side kicks and twists and lunges and then I died. Or at least I thought I was going to. How can running endurance be so different from toning endurance? Look, I didn't think I was a pro, but I thought I would at least look like this:
And instead, well, you get it:
I can't remember the last time my muscles felt like they were tearing, but they began to burn about ten minutes into the workout. Hamstrings, why you gotta be like that? I thought we was close, with all that running! But anyway, that's just TAC Physique for you - an intense (but actually really fun) muscle-toning class where you feel like you've got all the grace in the world (thanks to the legitimacy of the ballet bar) despite all the sweat running down your chin. I'd love to go back, although admittedly, I could barely handle the 40 minute lunch time class I did, so I'm not sure I can handle the full evening hour-long version.
Thank God there's wine.
No comments