Yottsuuuu (4 more), mittsuuuu (3 more), lastooo two more (2 more), lastooo one more (last one)....
Mr. Muscles looks me right in the eye. He winks and his mouth opens into a colossal smile. At that precise moment the light pings off his incisor (‘pingggg’). At the top of his lungs he belts out: Leeeeeet’s SHINGLE! Ohhh, it’s great being back at the gym. I’ve missed the Engrish gym lingo. I’ve missed the muscles, the training, the discipline, and, did I mention the muscles...
Now that I’m back on a regular schedule after two years of living life at an accelerated speed as I maneuvered my way through grad school, taught more than my share of university classes each week and traveled around the world, I’m able to start doing the ‘normal’ things I’ve taken for granted and greatly missed, like sleeping, like working out, like reading fiction novels just ‘cause I feel like it, like cooking both lunch and dinner (ok, so that’s a new one for me). Over the past few months I’ve also taken some time off from deadlines, my pc (and yes, that means I’m a little behind on my emails – sorry!), and anything (everything?) stressful, and it’s been working wonders: I can say it feels really good to be back to me old self!
A few weeks ago I joined Konami Sports club (http://www.konamisportsclub.jp/), a fitness center just 4 minutes from my house. They have all the Body classes I know and love: Body Pump, Body Combat, Body Attack, Body Feeling (i.e., Body Flow: yoga/pilates/taichi) and... Zumba!
The Konami enthusiasts have their own gym culture, which is quite different from the Gold’s Gym lifters and the Cospa uppercrust. The Konami people, both instructors and participants, are really quite comical. It may just be my neighborhood, but the folks here are so relaxed, easy going, and really, really funny. They like to joke around, laugh and cheer each other on. Take Mr. Muscle’s Wednesday Body Combat class (9:20-10:20pm). There’s a group of about 15 people dressed in baggy Japanese construction worker pants, shirts with cut-off shirts and black bandanas on their heads. They cheer each other on with each punch and kick, and in a 60-minute class there’s a lot of punching and kicking going on.
Even I can now punch a little harder and kick a little higher, not because I’ve got some resemblance of triceps forming (even when in a resting position), but because I can see and don’t have to worry about my glasses flying off my face and across the room (which has happened on more than one occasion), which brings me to April’s update...
