Gym Class

I went to my favourite Aerobics Class today with the regulars and a few newbies thrown in just to make the regulars feel good! The class, now called, Aerobics Freestyle is a combination of dance, spins and lots of (read toooo much) quad work at the end.

I say now called because it was originally called “Dance Steps”, but this title put off too many punters and they had to change it, seems to have worked a treat for those not in the know, wink wink nudge nudge.
We had a hard core group of would be dancers in “Dance Steps”, you know the type, if I wasn’t too tall, fat, started too late, was given the opportunity etc, I could be a dancer, I could be on the stage, I could be a judge on SYTYCD!, all said with a slightly wistful look toward faraway danceland.

So we still go along to the newly named class 1 or 2 times per week if we can, feeling a leeetle bit dancey, looking a leeetle bit smug cos we can look a leeetle bit dancey when the music starts.
The instructor, we shall call her Candeece (that’s a very dancey name I plucked out of my very dancey brain!, don’t get me started on how I could have been a poet!) Is actually a trained dancer, fabulous to watch and can really make us look like dancers after a while and some modified (we will try that again next week) moves.

The problem lies with egos, yes female egos, obviously very teeny compared to the male ego nonetheless very much present. Some may call it competitiveness, vanity, but I prefer to but it in the ego box.

So back to the problem, there we all are concentrating on the steps, sucking in the abs, dropping the shoulders, keeping the back straight, even including our arms for goodness sake, looking very much like a highly trained chorus line, the glances in the mirror even suggest that given the right stage, costume, lighting of course, (one should never be without good lighting) that we are in fact looking fabulousa!

Enter stage right EGO (or is it actually guilt that we are having a great time?)

NO it says, what were you thinking, that you knew all the steps? That you could do this without Candeece shouting out instructions every couple of moves? That you were looking good, no great?

NO you cannot, and just at that moment when all is going so well, you are even singing along very cleverly knowing the words to this dancey song,……THEN NOOOOOOO…………you falter, the steps are forgotten, it feels like the spotlight that you believe should be on you has actually been turned on at the wrong moment! The rest of the chorus line looking very smug all continue without you until you can catch up with a meek grin and slightly redder face.

Now tell me what is up with that, that is soooo not fair, just a little bit of WOW look at me I’m dancing! gone in a minute or 2. I am thinking of stamping my feet, I am so miffed, (naturally I won't though as I have dancers feet).

Thinking back, I will have to blame it on the singing along bit, next time when I am walking casually in, shoulders back and down, abs tight, slightly pointy feet, I will remember………don’t sing or maybe just hum and I will see where that gets me.

Now where did I put my ballet flats?