Groaning Glutes

My glutes are groaning! My hamstrings are humming and my abs are abominable right now, because Janice took over for a sick Billie in Balls and Weights class on Friday, so I had four Janice classes in a row this week, which means every class was doubly difficult. That translates to lots of sore muscles and aching body parts, even though I modified many of the exercises to the best of my ability.
Though I've taken two hot baths and downed several naprosyn (Aleve) so that I can bend over and do housework, or sit on those sore butt muscles, I am still feeling like a 100 year old woman who was asked to march the length of the Sahara every day with an 8-year-old strapped to her back.
I know, whine, whine...but other than last summers boot camp, I've not had to deal with muscle soreness or aches and pains during my regular work outs, because I've been careful to choose exercises that are low impact and gentle on the joints. I'm NOT a believer in the "no pain, no gain" school of muscle building. That's for young fools or people with very limber and resilient joints, not for 40-somethings with padded bellies and tubby torsos or flubbed knees.
I was so glad to see Suzanne yesterday morning for "Saturday Surprise" class that I hugged her like she'd been gone for years! I was just beginning to wonder, and I know this sounds paranoid, if Janice was following me and watching me in each class I was taking. She said, during the first part of Balls and Weights, before Billie left, "Now that I'm here I can watch you and make sure you don't cheat." I nearly choked. Why would she think I've been cheating in B&W class? Just because I enjoy bouncing on the ball and have a good time because Billie is such a fun and uplifting instructor does NOT mean that I'm cheating or not getting the full benefit of a work out. In fact, the opposite is true...I feel like I get a better work out in Billies class, and time seems to go by faster, because I'm not gasping like a fish and trying not to pass out or barf all over the gym floor. I work hard, but I don't kill myself, and I don't think I should have to kill myself to get good cardio exercise and build muscle while losing fat.
I even asked Carol, the co-owner of the gym, if perhaps something was amiss, and Janice was taking over everyones classes because they couldn't pay the instructors, or, heaven forbid, they were closing their doors!
Carol, being the darling gal she is, told me not to worry, that because she doesn't have any boot camps going for the next few months, Janice feels the need to go to all the gym classes and update the instructors while finding out which classes are popular and soforth. Carol is busy writing up the information needed for their entry as one of the top 20 small businesses in America! GO WORK IT OUT! No one is more deserving of the best small business of the year award than Carol and Janice, who have managed to build a gym that is a haven for women trying to change their bodies and become healthy.
Anyway, wish me luck as I crawl to classes this week and hope that my glutes don't just give up and fall off my body!