Just looking at the title of this class you suspect that something odd is being communicated. I happen to know that this class was originally designed for seniors (more on that below) and hence the unusual spelling of “prime” and “time”. Exactly how/why the “y” insertion indicates an advancing age I’m not so sure. I guess it just looks olde tymey.
Having now taken the class I can assure you this isn’t for your stereotypical grandma or grandpa. It was sufficiently difficult to elicit the occasional groans from classmates - and myself (btw, mild groaning is a sign of respect in a group ex class whereas the chucking of shoes, weights or water bottles cue the instructor to dial it back a notch).
Before I describe today’s class though, I want to give a little background. The Pryme Tyme class actually has a rich history and is, in fact, the longest running class on our schedule.
A storied instructor named Anne Piazza created this class back in the mid ‘80’s when this place was known as the Westside Tennis Club. As conceived by Anne, the Pryme Tyme class was definitely aimed at and geared for ‘seniors’ (there’s another indeterminate age denotation – I suppose if asked at the time, Anne might have said the target audience was 50 and up but in practice it was predominately 60 plus).
Anne’s Pryme Tymer’s practiced choreographed dance routines. For a while, this group was even booked as the entertainment at various local venues (e.g. nursing homes, shopping malls, etc.). Their most famous routine involved a cane, top hat and tails.
Below is a photo of the Pryme Tymers circa 1992 gathering for their famous monthly celebration of birthdays. (FYI, they are posed in the Club’s cafe, which at that time was a second location for Izzy’s – before that wonderful restaurant moved further west and tripled in size).
Pryme Tymers ca. 1992
Okay, back to the present. Today’s class was more of a traditional body sculpt offering. Students use hand weights and body bars to increase the load as the teacher led us through a variety of squats, lunges, leg raises, ab crunches and the like. Basically every muscle group gets a thorough toning workout. You can self-regulate the intensity of the class by selecting appropriate weight amounts. I opted for the lightest ones that decorum allowed.
Our instructor today was Hannah Pinkston. She is obviously well liked by her students who told me before and after class how wonderful she is. They bragged on the fact that she changes her routines constantly so they never get stale.
Hannah has been teaching group exercise classes since 1994. She began teaching at the LRAC/LRRC in 2000. She is also an ACE certified Personal Trainer and recently completed course work for a Physical Education certification. Along with this class, Hannah teaches Sculpt, Cardio Sculpt and Step and in the past has taught almost everything we offer other than Pilates and Yoga.
There were 12 or so fellow participants in today’s class. For a while I thought I’d be the only fellow again but coming in at the bell was another guy – yea for that. The winner of the $25 gift certificate from this morning is Becky Stoelzing. Becky has been a long time member and supporter of the Club – congrats to her!
That’s five down and one oh five to go – yikes. Next up, the 6:15 NIA class.
Love the creative pictures!
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