(song: Back In Baby's Arms/artist: Patsy Cline)
OUCH!!! I can barely type this post because I'm already so so sore from... LEANDRO'S CLASS! Oh yes, I reunited with The Master of my Bum Bum for his brutally awesome 90-minute class at Equinox. Because I am not a member of this fancy schamncy gym, I have to walk in with Leandro, so I arrived early - and ridiculously excited. I nearly leaped off the couch when I saw him walk in! I haven't seen him since July, when I took his swim class. We hugged, I kissed his toned cheek (on his face, you perve), he pointed me to the locker room and told me to get ready for a great class. It would be a total lie if I said I haven't been looking forward to this all week. Seriously, I've been working out extra hard just because I knew I was going to see Leandro today. I mean, this guy changed my life, my body, my whole perspective. (Plus I was super nervous that he'd check out my ass and be disappointed that it's the same or slightly worse than the last day of the test group. He made no such assessments. At least, not out loud...)
In the locker room I encounter Gloria, Leandro's assistant, who became a kind-of a mom to me during the extension month of the test-group. Gloria was in a test-group a few years ago, and then started working for Leandro. She's such a kind soul and getting to know her during the extension was very meaningful to me. During one of my last workouts at Leandro's studio, she randomly said (while I doing a perfect split-squat), "You're going to be a great trainer." I had never said anything about becoming a trainer and her statement scared the hell out of me. I couldn't even accept the fact that the test-group was going to be over in a week, much less think about what the future held for me. Gloria knew, long before I was ready to admit it, that I had found my calling. When I saw her in the locker room, I immediately embraced her and told her how happy I was to see her. I also gave her a book called Run Like a Girl. A series of interviews with women from all walks of life that illustrate "how the confidence women build by participating in sports...can transform our lives in profound ways". I hope she likes it!
So I get into the studio and it's packed with gals from every end of the fitness spectrum. I also noticed a few faces from the first test-group, which was about four years ago. They are all still very fit, which makes me think, "I can totally do this!" And guess who else is taking the class...SANDRA ALVIM! Yep, the taught 60-year-old Brazilian bombshell that I had to workout next to on my second day of the test-group, is there in the front row. Her tiny round booty looks better than ever. I want to be this woman when I'm 60! Okay, I want to be this woman when I'm 40...
Leandro mics up and greets the class. He ask for a show-of-hands of first-timers. There are quite a few. I remember what it was like to be seconds away from my first workout with Leandro. These girls have the same look of panic-stricken excitement that I had. I, of course, have the doofy look of a child that just found her long-lost blankie. I'm so freaking excited to get started! Leandro cranks the Brazilian dance music and we are off and running. Woo hoo! It's 30-minutes of cardio, featuring old favorites like, side-lunge-knee-ups, alternating side-squats, burpees and my all-time favorite (really) the curtsy lunge! During the "shake your booty and beat the drums" move, Leandro comes over to me. I shook my money maker, relieved I decided to double-up my Lululemon tights today. I still really don't love cardio, but I'm so much better at it now, and I am so happy to be in this class that I don't even care that the sweat pouring down my face is really burning the skin on my freshly waxed upper-lip. (I couldn't let The Butt Master see my momstache...)
The next 30-minute-segment was upper-body toning. We grab mats and dumbells and return to our spots for shoulders, bi-ceps, tri-ceps, chest...rinse and repeat. I really feel the burn! I don't use heavy weights now that I'm deep into my Tracy Anderson "ballet arm" obsession, so even though I'm only using 8 and 10-pound weights, it really friggin' hurts. But I kept right on going. Though I did have to borrow Gloria's 5-pounders during the lateral raise series. (Thanks G!) My arms had their own pulse when we finished.
The final 30-minutes was all about abs. Holy crapoly! There was so much moaning...from me. All familiar moves. All just as hard as I remember. I have to give a hand to the first-timers for making it through the class. Nothing about it was easy. My whole body felt (and still feels) like Jello. It was so GREAT! Oh I miss doing this every day!
After class, I thanked Leandro for inviting me to class. We hugged and kissed and he says, "Any time. I want to see you a lot." It's a date Butt Master! It's a date...
Obrigado por tudo Leandro!
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| Reunited, and it feels so good! (Me, Leandro & Gloria.) |
