This morning’s Fitness Challenge class went well I think, although I may have scared off the new person… not new to exercises or classes at the gym as I’ve seen them before in other classes but I’m pretty sure it was the first time they’d been to the Friday 6:15am class – which is a pretty hardcore group if I do say so myself.
The idea of “perfect tens” came from another instructor colleague of mine, but I think today was the first time I actually tried putting it to action. The thing about this class is, if you don’t make them feel like they might almost be dying by about halfway through the class, they don’t seem to think they’ve gotten enough of a workout. I am forever racking my brain for ways to make the class hard enough, cos even with today’s high degree of difficulty I could have sworn a few of them simply breezed through the workout (you know who you are!) 😛
So the way “perfect tens” works – two exercises back to back. Do exercise #1 ten times, then exercise #2 ten times. Then exercise #1 nine times, exercise #2 nine times. Then exercise #1 eight times, exercise #2 eight times. And so on until you get to one time per exercise. And if that isn’t enough, you then work your way back up to ten repetitions per exercise. The goal: to keep your form and technique perfect even as the muscles start to fatigue more and more under the burden of the high volume of repetitions.
Of course I gave options to modify various exercises based on fitness levels or injuries/other issues. I also gave the option to start with exercise #1 one time, exercise #2 one time, work their way up to ten times and back down to one… but I’m not sure that anyone took it! What did I tell you? Hardcore!
So what were the exercises?
FIRST SET – #1: Squats, #2: Step Ups
SECOND SET – #1: Bicep Curls, #2: Overhead Tricep Extensions
THIRD SET – #1: Skipping, #2: Star Jumps
FOURTH SET – #1: Overhead Shoulder Presses, #2: Burpees – I am certain that this was their favourite set by far!
What is the moral of this story? Well there really isn’t one, but I can make one up right now cos I’ve just thought of it!
It may very well work for some people to aim to demolish themselves during a workout in order to feel like they’ve done a good enough job. This is particularly true for the group of people that I have a privilege of seeing every Friday morning before the crack of dawn, because a lot of them have been attending this gym, even this class, for quite a few years. Some of them actually get up at 5am and go for a run BEFORE the class (seriously? YES!).
But if you are starting out in 2011 with a desire to get active and improve your fitness, please do not let yourself be intimidated by this! Don’t fall into the trap of playing the comparison game – comparing what you did do, with what you could have done (or comparing what you did do with what that other person did). One step at a time, that’s the key!
And if you still haven’t set any fitness goals for 2011 but would still like to, it’s not too late!
May I make a suggestion? Just pick one. Pick one that is realistic, and be brave enough to pick one that might be a tiny bit challenging to achieve. Then focus on that one. Then when (not if!) you achieve it, you will feel that sense of accomplishment. And if you accomplish it before the year is over, then you can pick another! But if you pick ten, and only achieve three – that’s seven unaccomplished goals that you have to beat yourself over the head with. Don’t do it to yourself. 🙂
A Healthy Mumma 