Met Con

My friend Ritchie the Knife* told me Johnny boy you have to try Dana’s class on Monday nights. I said what’s this latest fad about? He said: Johnny it’s sick. I said is it fun? He said no it wasn’t but that I had to try it.  I have been reluctant to go back into the main studio mainly because spin is my drug and as an alcoholic I don’t like change.  I have taken some of Kristen and Pam’s group fitness classes and there is no doubt they are killer but I hated slipping in my own pool of sweat on the floor. But more than that these group classes are totally anaerobic and difficult for me with beta-blockers and my low HR. 

And so tonight I took on the challenge and to be frank I was a bit nervous but with assurances from Keith, Ari, Stacey, and the aforementioned Ritchie into the breach I descended. And this young lass Dana is amazing. I hate to sound pedestrian with such a simple adjective but amazing she is. She has a style that is tender because she gave us alternatives to each and every move which catered to my weaker knees for example and the fact that some of us like yours truly are just not fully up to the challenge that Met Con poses. But make no mistake Dana Mancini is a major up and coming personality and force in Woodbury EQ.  By the way Met Con is short for Metabolic Conditioning.

So what happened? I found that my upper body strength did pretty well because I have been conditioning myself with pushups and dumb bell curls so the plank and weight lift segments   of the class were challenging and  I was able to keep up with the rest of the class in fact I used those intervals to catch my breath after the lunges and dips nearly brought me to near collapse.  I kept thinking I nearly murder myself everyday in spin class and leave a lake under my bike but Met Con shook my paradigm that I was in shape and crushed that thought. Not to beat myself up too much it is after all a different kind of exercise but I am IN! 

*The Knife because he’s so sharp.