Class #72 Power Pump Thursday 5:30 p.m. (Bonnie)

I’ve never been much of a weight lifter, which probably isn’t exactly a news flash for anyone checking out my slight physique. The most muscled I ever got was during my days as a competitive swimmer back in high school and college. Even then I was mostly skin and bones but you couldn’t help but have broad shoulders and a well-defined back from churning out all those laps.

Since my college days, there have been a few periods where I included a weight lifting regimen in my workouts but eventually I’d always move on to something more to my liking. I figure life was too short to do something that I just don’t care for – especially when there are so many great ways to exercise and stay (reasonably) strong.

This aversion to lifting weights explains why a class named Power Pump might not get me too excited. Unfortunately (for me) we’ve got seven on the weekly schedule and today’s class makes number five on the quest. I can say that IF I were going to get into weight lifting this is most likely the way I’d do it. This sort of misery is just so much more fun when shared with others.

Every teacher has a little different take on Power Pump. Bonnie’s version is a combination of using a bar loaded with weights, hand weights and exercises using one’s own body weight (i.e. push ups, planks, etc.). Where weight lifitng is concerned, variety is the spice of life for me.

Most of my other Power Pump classes have been with Kris Mougeot who has us do lots and lots of reps with relatively light weights. Bonnie on the other hand prefers to do fewer repetitions using heavier weight. Either way is fine as long as you know what’s coming. During set up for class one of the regulars clued me in on how much weight to use so I was prepared.

Bonnie, from what I’ve seen, has a strong following for all of her classes. She and the regulars engage in a playful banter throughout class that smacks of an easy familiarity. Like most teachers at the Club, Bonnie likes to challenge her class to push a little harder than they would on their own, which gives the regulars a chance to “complain” about class being hard. In reality it’s why they come but it’s fun to give the instructor a little grief along the way – Bonnie’s style, I notice, is to give that grief right back.

Bonnie in a serious moment

There are about 15 in class today – mostly women but a handful of guys too. The $25 gift certificate goes to Marti Rouby.