Step Sculpt - I think it is safe to say we all phoned it in (December 27, 2014)

I am a big believer that going to the gym and having a crappy workout is still better than not going to the gym at all.  It is the whole "at least I showed up" rationale.  I am particularly proud when I show up around the holidays.  By the December 27th of this year, I had spent three days eating and drinking delicious items, which makes me want to sleep much more than it makes me want to workout.

My dear friend, Ulli (she is the blond below...the blond that isn't me...I'm in the middle), and I spent Christmas and the day after Christmas together.  Ulli is German and an awesome cook.  Among other things, she made an awesome German apple cake, cheese-stuffed dates, and bread pudding.  She also introduced me to Gluhwein, which is a delicious German mulled wine.  Needless to say, after a few days filled with these treats, and some late night games with friends, I was incredibly satisfied with myself just for attending Step Sculpt.

 I arrived bright and early to Step Sculpt, beaming with pride (or from a bread pudding high) because I had made it just under the wire to accomplish my new workout for the week.  Unfortunately, my instructor did not seem nearly as impressed that I showed up. There was a lot brewing in my stomach, and my pride buzz was about to get killed.

Step Sculpt is exactly what it sounds like.  You step for the first half of class, and then you lift weights, or "sculpt," for the second half of class.  Step class, like most classes that require rhythm, is not my forte.   I do better with hitting bags or lifting things, not remembering patterns.  I am this way across the board in life.  For example, I am that bridesmaid in the wedding that is asked to lift cases of wine or set up tables at the bridal shower.  I am never assigned crafts or dainty tasks.

The instructor was not happy with the entire class.  She wasn't nasty or anything, but most instructors say things like "Great job," or "Keep it up," even when everyone is struggling with the class.  This instructor was much more honest.  She yelled super-enthusiastic things like "that is fine," and "can you please pay attention?" At one point she said,"please just watch what I am doing for 60 more seconds, and then you can go back to going through the motions."  I don't think she was speaking directly to me, but to be fair, I wasn't really paying attention to who she was talking to.  I was wandering around the step in the wrong direction while looking at everyone's sneakers.  I need to buy a new pair, and I have a bit of a thing for shoes.  I cannot help it.  There was another girl in the back row with me who was just periodically stretching and drinking water, so I think comparatively I looked extremely attentive.

I did much better during the lifting portion - back to my basic skills.  We did chest presses, push-ups, triceps dips, and lunges, among other things.

According to the internet, you can burn up to 500 calories doing Step Sculpt.  I am going to assume that I did not burn 500 due to my periodic wandering off and skipping steps, but I still burned more calories that I would have burned if I had stayed in bed sleeping and digesting Ulli's baked goods.  I am a big fan of this new craze of combination workouts.  Depending on what you choose, you may get the opportunity to go outside your comfort zone, which is step class in my case, but also do a workout that you're more comfortable with for part of the class.

Although my instructor did not understand what a personal victory it was for me to show up to class, I am still happy with myself.  You should always be happy with yourself if you exercise.  I will probably give Step Sculpt another shot, but not after a late night of Cards Against Humanity and delicious treats.

Because I have no pictures from Step Sculpt, I included this extra shot of the very weird roll of tape I noticed in my office the other day.  For the record, there is nothing about my job that would lead a person to believe they were headed for a land of sunshine.  I can only assume a hippie broke into my office and taped fortunes from fortune cookies to various office supplies.