Out Of My Comfort Zone

So I must confess that group exercise classes terrify me just a little bit. Ok maybe more than a just a little bit.

Outside of the occasional Zumba or Soul Cycle: both fueled by fun music and positive “come as you are” vibes, it’s rare that you’ll catch me at an organized workout. The thought of being humiliated in a room full of strangers while I suffer through a burpee (after deducing exactly what one is) seems… intimidating. But it’s thoughts like these that will cause a rut, and it’s exactly why I found myself bored stiff of my weekly routine of solo workouts at my gym. One of my guiding mantras is “face your fears” because growth happens outside of your comfort zone. So when SELF and adidas invited me to an early morning workout at the adidas store with Bravo’s Lindsey Clayton, I decided to forgo the comfort of my usual Sunday breakfast in bed and throw on some performance-worthy adidas gear. If nothing else, at least I would look the part…

After blinking the sleep out of my eyes and choosing a mat safely in the middle of the class, near the edge where I could hide, ahem stretch, I prepared to get schooled. There were leg lifts and side leg lifts followed by leg pulses; sit ups with weights that I could barely lift and gliders that made me me feel like a baby giraffe. But a weird thing happened while I was sweating through a speed round of bicycle crunches; I found myself smiling. I was better than I thought I’d be and it felt great to let Lindsey’s encouraging voice push me a little further and a little harder. And guess what I was NOT doing? Looking at anyone else.

By the end of the 30 minutes I felt like a wet noodle; sweaty, a little weak but also...invigorated. I had made it through a class designed for serious fitness junkies, and nobody judged my weight-less sit ups. I didn’t feel humiliated, I felt motivated. The best part was that by getting up for such an early class, I was DONE by the time I normally would have been waking, giving me a positive energy boost that lasted all day. Plus, in my snazzy adidas gear I felt cute and comfy enough to get everything done without even going home to change. So while I can’t promise that I’ll become a bootcamp regular, I’m no longer scared to try.