It's Nothing Personal, It's Just You ...

For those of you that have been reading here you know that I get up at the butt crack of dawn (or pitch black night, whichever you prefer) for boot camp. A one-hour rigorous exercise program for only the die hard fitness people or the insane.

I choose the latter. HA.

Usually there is a four week break between sessions. This time a two week in between class was offered but it was not taught by our usual leader. It's being taught by a 21-year old participant.

Now I must digress here so you can get the full picture. This is a young guy who goes nuts in our usual class. If we are doing push ups, he'll do as many as humanly possible. If we are jogging he'll be passing us all and you can hear him coming up behind you by the slapping of his feet. He is a karate student and has been since he was a tot. He's trusted with the keys, if that tells you something.

This is our second week of class. I wanted to complain after the FIRST DAY about this kid. And I do mean kid. I could essentially be his mother. (had I given birth to a baby at 18) I am not going to kill myself. Clearly I stand alone.

It is not at all surprising. This might come as a surprise to some of you but I am not a follower. Oh I'll follow a little bit but I do not jump when someone tells me to jump (unless you are my boss and are paying me, then I will most definitely do it ... maybe). I do participate in class and will do all the regular things we do in the four week class.

But I have limits. And last week it was doing this silly relay thing at the very end of class. Where you run back and forth across the room doing push-ups. I didn't sprint. I chuckled to myself and sauntered. Everyone else? Sprinting.

I have no excuse. My body was willing but my mind was like WTF, it's the end of CLASS. We should be cooling down.

Today, same idea. Our warm up consists of a twenty minute stretch where in two minute intervals we jog and at the 30-second break (there is a timer) we do another exercise, like march in place, jumping jacks, push ups, etc.

This time he explains, keep in mind this is a 21 year old guy, when he shouts "go" as we are doing whatever exercise in the 30-second break we should drop and do squat-thrusts.

OH GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER PEOPLE.

Squat-thrusts are dropping down to a squat and then kicking your legs out so you are in a push-up position and then going back to the squat and then standing up, it's exhausting doing them on their own, let alone inbetween on a "break". So when he shouts go at us, we drop and do this, at his command.

Did I mention I don't handle shouting well? I also don't handle changes in routine very well. And frankly, jogging is damn hard enough. Clearly he doesn't get it (which duh, he's 21).

So we jog. Then it's the break. He tells us to march in place. I march. Then he shouts "GO" and everyone else drops down and does squat-thrusts.

Me? I keep marching.

Let's see ... he did this routine for the entire twenty minute stretch. Everyone else listened. Grunting, struggling. I did not.

I tried not to smirk. Really I did. I most certainly did not make eye contact with him. He didn't say anything to me either. There are only SIX of us, so I'm pretty sure it was obvious. While I was marching and everyone else was obeying, I did some thinking. What is wrong with me?

I just didn't want to do it. I've thought about it all day, asking myself why it's bothering me. Why I couldn't bring myself to just go along with everyone and do what he wanted. I did the rest of the exercises and at another part of the class when we did squat-thrusts, I did them.

I think it was the shouting go. That got me. I was offended. I am there to participate in exercise I am not there to be shouted at, to be told to do something extra in a routine that is already difficult. He sits there and drinks his coffee, holding his yellow notepad of extra exercises for us and I ... want to throw my medicine ball at him.

Oh I do!!! Bratty as that sounds, it's true. I wouldn't act on it, obviously. I know he's just trying to do a good job and make us all as sweaty as possible.

I'm just un-co-operative and at my age, I'm allowed. Right?