Roped In

During another intense workout session with my trainer, Eric, he took me back to my childhood briefly. He pulled out a yellow rope that reminded me of the ones we climbed in elementary school during gym class. Actually, I'd watch my classmates do it because I could never lift my own body weight. Anyway, Eric's rope turned out to be far more sinister than it appeared at first glance. It weighed a whopping 40 pounds (20 lbs in each hand), but I was expected to ignore that little detail. “Alright girl, squat and make waves with the rope for as long as you can so that the waves reach the end of the rope,” Eric instructed. Easy, I thought. But as I squatted and made the waves, I thought my arms were going to break off; it's still too painful to talk about what my legs were going through. I had to go to that special place in my mind when it was time for me to play double dutch with this cruel, yellow torture device. I tightened my core, used my arms, and forcefully squatted for balance (otherwise I would have hit the floor). I kept repeating to myself, "keep going, keep going."

Before I knew it I was genuinely having fun! Best of all, I accomplished something I never thought I'd be able to do. If only those elementary school classmates could see me now.

Do you know of any workouts that are effective and fun at the same time? Please share! I’ll try it at home!