"Functional" Training

Thought I would start the weekend off right with an early morning yoga class followed by a run. Being another rainy yucky day it would have been a perfect day to get back into spinning but I booked myself a beauty treatment at 9:45 am so my favourite 9-10 class was out of the question. Anyway, I showed up to class a few minutes before 8 and the instructor (a middle-aged woman I'd never seen before) told me that this was not the yoga class I was likely expecting but rather a combo pilates-functional training class. Well, I figured pilates was close enough to yoga that I'd give it a shot. The functional training part though made me a little skeptical. I asked her what that meant and she said; "oh, its a lot of great core work using the ball and free weights".

"High-reps?" I questioned back to her. She looked at me a little confusedly so I clarified by telling her that I'd need to know how many reps our sets would be so I know which size weights to choose.
"Ahh, you are a smart thinker!" she goes. "We'll be doing about 12 reps per set so pick something that makes you struggle by the twelfth rep." The fact that this seemed to be an unusual discussion for her didn't make me feel too good about the skill level of the attendees but I convinced myself to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Let me just remind you all that I used to be an avid group fitness class attendee. I did a variety of classes pretty much every day and even got certified to instruct classes myself before I realized I wasn't getting the results I wanted anymore and needed to pursue other forms of training. Oh, and teaching is just plain old not fun and stressful! But that's another story... anyway, the class began on time and we began with a series of standing side-bends holding weights straight above our heads. After about 20 reps (yes, I said 20 not 12 like she had formerly indicated), we switch sides and I start to get annoyed. Having done classes for so long I am extremely picky when it comes to teaching techniques. First of all, the background music was some random instrumental number, slightly African sounding, but with no actual beat to coordinate your moves to and not remotely motivating. Secondly, she wasn't counting reps at all. I like structure in my classes. I want to know exactly what's expected so I can exert myself accordingly. I don't want to have to take random breaks because we've already done 30 of the same move and I have no idea whether we'll be done in 2 more or if there's 30 more to go! Lastly, she wasn't actually doing the work herself. Now, I know this is common for some instructors but quite frankly if the instructor isn't working just as hard as I am then I am less inclined to listen to them telling me what to do! After our first move was done with (which by the way I felt nothing from!) I looked around wondering if this was just a warm-up or a sample of what the next hour would be like. Perhaps I accidentally walked into a senior's fitness class? Maybe I should just walk out now before I'm really stuck? Hoping it would get better, I decided to stay. Wrong decision. The next hour was basically a variety of different moves with a primary focus on core work. Kind of like a circuit but staying in one place. I know this doesn't sound bad but the problem was that you could basically do the entire class in your sleep. Yes, there were times that I felt tired and in need of a break or drink but this was all because of the ridiculous amount of reps we were doing per set rather than doing anything with the slightest amount of difficulty. All in all a waste of a precious weekend hour! Then suddenly at the end of class she turned the lights off and had us all get into seated crossed-legs prayer position with our eyes closed on our mats. Ummm hello lady, are you now confusing this with yoga class? Urghhh I am here to workout not to take a nap!

Gathering my things quickly I bolted out of class precisely at 9 and headed to a treadmill to crank out a quick mile run and finally break a sweat which the class had not succeeded in doing. My run was actually quite good and the random selection of music that came off my shuffled iTunes music selection was quite good. Nothing like a good Metallica song to get the legs moving!

Off I went to my appointment at about 25 past the hour feeling much better about my workout. I suppose it can't hurt to try something new, especially since I do pay for unlimited classes anyway, but I'm not quite sure what was so functional about that class. I think I'll feel more of a burn in a few minutes when I head outside to wash my car. Now that's a functional workout!