I’d like to start this off by saying I’m not exactly the most athletic person ever…okay, let’s face it: I’m just not very athletic at all.
Those girls that you see in the dining hall with their cute matching workout gear ready to hit SPAC? I’m not one of them. That girl with the seven-course meal in front of her consisting of french fries, pasta, ice cream and anything else that will stick straight to her thighs? Yeah, that’s more like it.
Try as I might to find the motivation to go, something else always manages to get in the way and I make excuse after excuse not to. I’ve never been one to schedule working out into my daily routine, and while I definitely give all the credit in the world to my friends that do, I’ve never really envied them either.
So, somehow, despite all of my usual excuses and philosophies on the matter, I managed to find myself in a strange and unfamiliar place this week taking…drum roll please… a kickboxing class.
I’m not exactly sure what possessed me to do it, but my friends were going and I thought to myself, “Why the heck not?” I wasn’t too eager to start that night’s homework, and I kind of wanted to wear my new embroidered track shorts anyway.
Before I go ahead, I should probably clear a few things up: I’m not the extremely out of shape person that this is starting to sound like. In fact, I actually danced for fifteen years before coming to college, have a moderately fast metabolism, and can make it into my jeans without ripping them the vast majority of the time.
As far as the actual class went, I didn’t make as much of a fool of myself as I would have guessed. The years of dancing certainly helped with the coordination aspect, but even that didn’t make me immune to the embarrassment of punching when I was supposed to be kicking…or maybe it was the other way around? However, I was definitely challenged and managed to stay entertained while watching the instructor shake it to some Nicki Minaj.
All in all, I managed to get the hang of it, and felt great afterwards. It actually made me realize how much I’ve missed being more active. Don’t get me wrong, I know this is just one class here and nothing to brag about, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s time to kick the laziness to the curb (no pun intended).
Along with feeling better about myself, I also felt more energized than I’ve felt in a long time from getting some real exercise. And heck, spring is here, and who doesn’t want to look their best in the season’s latest bikinis?
I’m not by any means claiming to be a complete convert here, but what I have learned is that sometimes when you stop online shopping, stalking people on Facebook, or watching episodes of your favorite guilty pleasure on Hulu, you can actually feel pretty good about yourself afterwards.