I had a few of those fitness moments last week that made me feel my age.First, I fell down in my indoor cycling class.
I know, I know. You normally sit safely on the saddle during most classes but in my class, you never can expect normal things to unfold.Anyway, mid-class, I got off my bike to motivate (!!) a few of my favorite Moms in the back row and somehow,this is where it gets all blurry as to what exactly made me land on my face, but I know for sure that I didn’t fall down athletically.I fell down like one of those old ladies they show on America’s Funniest Videos, which I love. when they are not me in the video.
I was in a sort of slow motion with a few lurching steps and arms flailing- actually a workout in itself. Then,”No, Officer, I wasn’t wearing my seat belt.” It turned into”Can she catch herself? Can she defy the embarrassment rushing at her from the ground up?”(sigh)
Sadly, no. And the most upsetting and least favorite part of this story is that all the Moms I was hoping to inspire,they almost had motherly heart attacks, knowing I am total hip replacement recipient (stay with me).
So instead of the fun memories I have of falling down as a teenager -my favorite of which was when I fell down while holding my cymbals in concert band class-where I stayed on the ground laughing so hard I peed my pants which made it even funnier (and got me out of music for the rest of 6th period) Instead of this fall being HIGH-larious, it was just. like. an. old. lady.
Gasps were followed by”Are you okAAAYYY???!” Followed by palms to the chest followed by “whews!!!” . Then I got up and checked to be sure my hips were actually in their sockets, just to reassure the Moms.
Then I went quietly back to my bike, leaving my fitness pro persona over there,in a heap on the floor. It doesn’t really end there. I went into the next room to teach my next class, a Core Revolution class. After enjoying some homemade black bean soup for dinner the night before, my own core had it’s own little revolution and this noise came out of a part of my body that was not my mouth . I was just sitting there talking! It made me wish I’d only fallen down again. And here again,no one fell apart laughing (although no one looked concerned like they did when I fell. Yet there was maybe a different and more urgent reason to be concerned). There was pretty much silence.Those Moms are so polite. No one looked at anyone else.We just kept exercising. Looking back,I tried to remember if the sound could’ve possibly been passed off as maybe my sneaker squeaking,but my ears have the auditory equivalent of a photographic memory and mine was a noise no shoe has ever made.
Does this make me less of an athlete?Does this make me less fit? No. Maybe the real question should be “Does this make you want to skip my class?”
But here’s the thought that I’ve had all week and it is that THINGS CHANGE.We start to take ourselves and everyone around us, for that matter, so seriously.
If I can just start to chose to laugh when something unexpected happens instead of getting flustered, I’d be a happier athlete and a happier athlete is a more fit athlete, in my workout world.
So that is my fitness advice for this week. Look for those Bill Cosby moments. Roll down your window and have a joke with the neighboring driver at the red light.
Wink at the mail man. And if you happen to see me walking down the street and I fall flat on my face,
don’t feel obligated to help me up. Just laugh loud enough that I can hear you as you drive by.
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