Class #104 Sculpt Class Tuesday 9:40 a.m. (Beth)

Some of the biggest classes in the Club are ones we call Sculpt. The one this morning, taught by Beth Cirwinski and held in the gym is indeed a large class with around 30 in attendance.

The protocol, I’ve learned, for Sculpt classes on the gym floor, is to read the white grease board above the stereo system. On that board, the teacher has written what equipment is needed for class. Today I see that we need a step, two sets of hand weights, a heavy bar and a mat.

These classes are a non-stop assault on all the various muscle groups. We start with squats, move on to biceps, triceps, lunges, chest presses, shoulder raises, flys, push-ups and so on. In each exercise we do a LOT of reps so selecting the right sized weight is important. Too light and nothing is gained, too heavy and you can’t make it through to the end. Over the length of the quest, I’ve managed to gradually increased my weight amounts – not that the poundage is anything to brag about. I have clearly gotten stronger though so I know these classes are working.

Lunging

One of the things that’s helpful if you want to teach a class like this is to be able to maintain a smile while doing all the exercises and counting out the reps. This requirement would be somewhere between hard and impossible for me but Beth is great at it. She beams out a beautiful smile the entire time she's teaching – it’s impressive.

Beth Cirwinski teaching (note the smile)

One thing I should point out and I’m definitely not complaining here but somehow we get through this entire class without doing any abs. Glory Hallelujah. My poor midsection needs a break and I’ll happily accept this small crumb.

The rest of class though is plenty hard and there are times I’d really like to scream but I’ve learned that no one does that here. I’m still not sure why. We are a group of stoics and that’s cool with me.

Tricep Kickbacks

The class, as usual, is filled mostly with fit, strong women although there are a few fellow hombres trying to keep pace this morning. The $25 gift certificate goes to Sandy Copeland.