is it possible for women to pull a groin muscle? do we call it something else? an adductor?
whatever it's called, i'm pretty sure i've pulled it. and i've got bruises on my right cheek, and both knees. but was it ever worth it.
***
there's a tuesday night dance class ("fame") at my gym (crunch) that's taught by bethany (who is officially my favorite ny gym instructor). it purports to teach us choreography from or inspired by the film and the television series. none of these short routines are familiar to me, but the individual moves are--it's jazz, baby, pure jazz. all drama and flair and FUN. i was doing "drop and recovers" and splits and crazy cat-like leaps, as if i thought i could dance! and as if it wouldn't kill me.
*** bethany amazes me not only for her ability to properly break down choreography for untrained dancers like me (and make us feel completely unselfconscious while we struggle through our pirouettes) but also for her musicality. there is nothing that kills a workout or a fitness class faster than a poorly chosen soundtrack--for me, this means no "ibiza" remixes and no world music. no cyndi lauper. no spin doctors. (can you tell i'm recalling actual bad experiences?) oh, and no variations on a theme of jessica/ashley simpson, either.
at crunch, there are a few teachers who will offer a great balance of new and "throwback" dance tunes (prince, janet, madonna). but bethany pushes the boundaries like no one else. i've taken her dance and spin classes and there are always surprises in her playlists. for example, i never imagined a scenario where i'd be subjected to john mayer (no such thing), keane (is it any wonder), george michael (father figure) and fleetwood mac (you make loving fun) and the pointer sisters (automatic) in a spin class--and that i'd be laughing and singing along. (i couldn't quite believe she made it all work.) but it works because she really understands tempo and cadence and she choreographs to it perfectly.
tonight we had a little prince (kiss), some viva la vida, and this imogen heap song (which i will be listening to all day tomorrow. sorry neighbors):
the final ("performance") part of tonight's class was set to a moderately quick david gray song--i think it was please forgive me?--in any case, we danced to it at half-time, nice and easy.
but with a few minutes left, she asked if we wanted to up the tempo. (yes!) i tried to guess what ass-kicking, high-energy, i-will-survive, anthem-like finale she would play for us.
then i heard the opening bars of i'm on fire. i was doubting this right away (bruce springsteen? you cannot be seri... ) but then we were off! no time to think. we danced double-time, and she wasn't kidding, it was so quick, i was tweaking little muscles in my thighs, and bruising myself coming on and off the floor, trying to keep up. we did it over and over, and i tell you it was a little thrill. so unexpected, that anthem, but a pretty perfect ending.
don't believe it works? come to class next tuesday night...
