P.E. was the downfall of my otherwise straight-A year in 9th grade. I was uncoordinated, out-of-shape, asthmatic, and entirely unmotivated when it came to athletic endeavors. When I transferred schools midway through high school, I was relieved that my new school offered the option of taking P.E. pass/fail, which meant I could show up, don the uniform, make a fool out of myself, and not suffer any academic consequences.
I like to think I've come a long way since then, but today I joined a gym for the first time in my life, and I'm not so sure. I'm still a little under the weather from my round of pneumonia a couple weeks ago, but I'm feeling like it's time to get moving again to shake what's left of this bug, so when Catherine suggested joining the gym with her, I decided to give it a try.
Since I've done absolutely no physical activity in the past three weeks, I was surprised that I didn't do too terribly on the treadmill. I'd never used one before, so it took a while to figure out how to keep my balance on it, but once I got the hang of it, I kept going for longer than I thought I would. However, stretching was another matter entirely. The trainer at the gym gave Catherine and me a stretching lesson that was a little too complicated for me. I couldn't follow the instructions in Korean, so I did my best to watch the trainer in the mirror and do what she was doing. What a flashback to adolescent uncoordination. At one point, Catherine noticed me struggling to figure it out and stopped what she was doing to reposition my arms. The whole ordeal made me laugh, which didn't help. Yeah, it's a good thing I went for the pass/fail option in high school.
We're going back again in the morning, and they're going to do something or other to analyze our body fat and water balance. Other than no breakfast tomorrow morning, I'm really not sure what that means.
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2 comments:
Forgive my chuckling, but I could TOTALLY relate to your gym class flash backs! To some degree I also can relate to your new endeavors in the gym and not knowing the language. I had a similar issue when I went to a hot yoga class with my wife's daughter. The y were speaking English but I had no idea what the names of the positions looked like. I watched others tie themselves in sweaty knots and marveled at their "other than human" flexibility. But, that is another story...
So glad that you are getting back out and about after being so sick. Take care!
Cheers,
Well, your PE teachers didn't do a very good job of teaching PE if you have nothing but anxious memories! They should have taught you it was more than sports...it's about learning how to be healthy, how to make healthy life style and eating choices, and understanding your body...and you can do all of that without being athletic. I hope that is what my students too from my PE and Health classes.
Glad you are feeling better...and getting into the gym!
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