If you are anything like me, exercising is not one of your favorite activities; in fact, exercising is one of those things that you promise yourself you’ll get around to, but when the time comes, you just rationalize that it’s ultimately the thought that counts. Putting on leggings and walking to class every day is totally exercise, right?
Wrong.
For the last year and a half that I’ve spent at UNH, I am ashamed to admit that I could probably count on both hands the number of times in which I’ve stepped foot in the Hamel Rec Center. But with the new semester, I’ve gotten a new outlook on exercising. I could possibly attribute it to my mom’s oh-so-kind words over the phone, “Meg, stop eating junk food and go to the gym, or get used to a saggy ass”… yes, that happened. But either way, I am not quite ready to take that giant leap towards a daily exercise routine. So, I tried one of the group exercise classes: Cardio Boxing/Strength.
I should preface this review by mentioning that prior to attending the class, I expected it to be an hour of carefree, low impact exercise that would make me feel better about the fact that I hadn’t been to the gym since the beginning of the fall semester. I don’t know what I was thinking.
From the moment I entered the studio, I was smacked with the reality that the instructor, May Win, wasn’t messing around, as I was told to join the large cluster of girls running laps around the room. After about two laps I was already over it. But I pushed through as May Win instructed us on how to do the basics: jabs, hooks, uppercuts, ducks, etc. She also made sure to emphasize the cardio portion of the class, which entailed foot fire—a task during which I conveniently headed to the side of the room to chug some water.
After ten minutes, I was drenched in sweat, heaving for oxygen, and truly resenting every single word of encouragement that came out of May Win’s mouth. Yet I found that I was determined to make it until 7:45. May Win continued the class, somehow incorporating squats, kicking, and punching all into the routine. For the final fifteen minutes, we used mats to work our abs and butts, but of course, I took advantage of this time to lie down and catch my breath.
Having survived the class, I am surprised by my eagerness to return to May Win’s class next week. For those of you who are like me, and aren’t quite the fitness fanatics we’d like to be, I would suggest allowing May Win to whip you into shape; Cardio Boxing/Strength is the perfect middle ground between a “saggy ass” and the daily cardio and weights routine we all fear.