Gym chronicles: Body Attack

I left work around mid-morning last Monday because I was feeling the early symptoms of a bad cold. But on my way to the cab queue, I thought of going to the gym instead. After all I already had my gym bag with me. And it was probably my lack of workout over the weekend (we were in Paoay, Ilocos Norte) that made me weak and susceptible to whatever bug was floating around.

So instead of going home, I proceeded to Fitness First Fort Bonifacio. I noticed that unlike SM North and Eastwood, FF Bonifacio had more natural light coming in. It made the place feel less cramped than it actually was. It reminded me of FF Ortigas where I mostly went early this year, except that one was near the top of a high-rise. FF Bonifacio was on the 2nd floor of a low-rise building, but it had a good view of the vacant spaces across the street and some buildings under construction.

The group exercise studio itself had a lot of sunlight streaming in. It upped my mood a bit, and made me confident enough to join Body Attack even if I was feeling off. I actually came in time for Retro at 11:15, but I wasn't too keen on memorizing steps, so I decided to skip it and hit the treadmill while waiting for Body Attack at 12:15.

Cardio challenge
The latest FF booklet lists Body Attack among the intermediate level classes and describes it as a "sports-inspired cardio workout for strength and stamina." It was indeed a cardio challenge--the warmup was enough to get my heart pumping like mad again, just minutes after I got off the treadmill. Before long my omni-dry shirt was soaked in front. And all we did was march around and stretch a bit.

Then the action started to build up. We basically had to do some running and shuffling. I'm used to running, but this wasn't just any running. We had to lift our heels so that they pointed to the butt. We also did knee and leg lifts that looked simple but were actually killers when done repeatedly. The part I found most challenging was running with our knees raised. I couldn't even do it long enough when rested. When I was exhausted, it was just impossible.

There was also a jumping set, which was done differently from the Body Attack class I attended at SM North. There we moved in a square--step right, jump; step back, jump; step left, jump; and step forward, jump. This time, we bent forward from the hips, touched our trainers on the outer side, stood up and jumped--repeatedly, and in one smooth movement. I thought the SM North version was more fun, but that could have been because the instructor was a funny girlie guy and he made the jumps look like we were shooting hoops.

Of course, we also jogged around in a circle. At SM North I just ran around in my most comfortable running form, which was more akin to a lazy, foot-dragging trot. But here the instructor actually called me out and demonstrated how I should lift my heels, and later raise my knees. I looked around, and true enough, everyone else was doing the forms perfectly, or at least, from the look of agony on their faces, trying to.

Overachievers
This was an insanely fit class! There was a tall, 40ish lady out front who did everything with panache, even the superman jumps (note to self: at least wear something stylish next time, so even if I looked awkward I wouldn't look dumpy). There were also others who looked overweight to me, but were able to execute the moves smoothly. I was motivated to try harder to keep up with them, but sweat was pouring down my face and to the front of my shirt. I looked like I joined a 42km marathon, not a 50min exercise class in an air-conditioned gym.

Perhaps I was just paranoid, but it really seemed like their likewise insanely fit instructor was looking straight at me when he demonstrated the easy options. When I did the easy-option pushup (the arms-outside-the-mat version), I saw globules of perspiration dropping from the tip of my nose to the mat below. By the time I was done, I had a small puddle there.

The abs exercises were a welcome break from all the literal leg work. We were at least on our backs. I've also done those routines in other classes so I knew what to do without looking at the instructor every few minutes. For cool down, we did basic stretches, first on our knees then on our feet. I thought the routines felt good and relaxing after the intensive cardio punishment. I was glad I made it through to the end without embarrassing myself, but my ears were ringing when I left the exercise studio.