Braverism

IU Southeast to offer free fitness classes beginning Sept. 6

Each class will last for 13 weeks beginning the week of Sept. 5. 

Core Fusion: Mondays, 12:15 p.m. – 1:05 p.m., Activities Building
Turbo Kick: Mondays, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Woodland Lodge
Yoga: Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Orchard Lodge
Zumba: Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Woodland Lodge

-deep breath-

I am contemplating joining the Core Fusion exercise class at my school... I've never done a group exercise activity, unless you count clogging, which I don't. When I went to clogging class I could wear jeans and a t-shirt. I could wear comfortable clothing, in other words. To work out, I have to wear workout gear, which is ever so flattering to us of the whale-sized persuasion...

The thought of squeezing into my workout tights, t-shirt, and grubby tennies and standing in a group of fit gazelles makes me feel remarkably like a hippo out of water. A hippo that will then be flopping and undulating around, trying to emulate the no-doubt graceful, serene, and effortless movements of the thin wispy little beauties around me. Now, I know that the benefit of college over high school is that you're surrounded by adults as opposed to bitchy, catty, ignorant teenagers.

But how many of those mature adults will be standing there in that Core Fusion Class with me? I imagine most of the attendees will (A) know each other, all of them pursuing some sort of Fitness Trainer or Sports-related degree or (B) on a number of sports teams on campus. I doubt there will be any people there who need to lose weight.

What if I can't keep up with the class? (I'm sure I can, since I can keep up with Jillian Micheal's and Jackie Warner's workouts and those ladies don't let you have it easy!) What if the sight of my flab happily flapping around distracts everyone from their physical pursuits? What if the wind created from my huffing and puffing blows over a poor stick insect working out next to me? What if I'm the joke of the class when they all go to grab their Lite Lattes from the coffee shop on their way to their next class (no doubt something about Sports Biology)?

Am I just finding excuses to chicken out? Are these realistic fears? I wish I had someone to attend with me, then I would have someone, at least one soul, not making me feel like a total spaz trying to work out with the already-in-shape people that I'm sure will populate the class...

What if this is a great oppurtunity that I'm psyching myself out of? Maybe this class will be the motivation to kick me into high gear to lose the 57 pounds I am going to lose by April!

On the other hand....It could also be the biggest humiliation of my life.

I remember the gym classes of high school. I remember always coming in last. I remember not getting credit for the mile I ran/walked because I was about a minute over the fourteen minute limit. I remember everyone sitting in the bleachers watching us stragglers blob around the track and then not receiving credit for all that heart-attack inducing "work" of jiggling around the track. (I was actually not in too bad of shape in high school... but exaggerating that fact makes it more comical! I didn't put effort into gym class just because I didn't care about gym class. I was at school to learn, not look like an idiot in front of cheerleaders and asshole jocks. But I digress.)

Do I want to put myself into a similar situation at this point in my life?

For at least the first Monday of the class... I am going to try. Hopefully I can get up the nerve to stroll in there, warm up, and then hop right into a Core Fusion Class. I'm not even sure what Core Fusion is, but I'll keep up with the effortless exercisers even though I'll probably be sweating more and maybe breathing a bit harder. But I can do it! I have two weeks to really freak myself out about it before it starts, but I am going to give it an honest attempt! At least one class. If I hate it, I hate it. But I might love it!