Summer weather arrived a little early this year, which is both good and bad. Good because it’s an excuse to get outside and explore under the sun. Bad because I had less time to prepare for those explorations.
Like many who live here, I dedicate spring to getting ready for summer. I use the season to shed a few pounds by taking fitness classes, jogging and eating a little better. That’s how I keep up with my friends when June arrives. But with weather warming faster than usual, I’ve had to intensify this regimen – with mixed results.
While both strength and flexibility wane at my age, I’ve had a tougher time maintaining the latter. I’ve long taken a class at a gym in downtown Kalispell that involves some stretching, but I decided to add Pilates this year, hoping it would alleviate my zombie-like walk after a run or long hike. So far, the results are mostly promising, but the process is a bit humbling.
Any activity that involves balance is already more difficult for me than most. That’s due to my lack of coordination combined with my lack of focus (I’m a bit of a daydreamer). Both these habits were on display last week as I performed a series of exercises on a Pilates reformer during a class in Whitefish. A reformer is essentially a bed-like frame with a carriage that moves back and fourth and allows the user to strengthen and stretch muscles he or she often neglects. Using a reformer appears relatively easy for most people most of the time. But I’m an exception.
There were six of us in class and I struggled from the beginning, sweating profusely and pushing too much resistance in an attempt to impress the instructor. My mind was more focused on strength than technique and balance. And once I realized that I was falling backwards, it was too late.
Sitting on the carriage box, toes pointed in the air and two straps clenched in my hands, I had been directed to slowly reach for my feet. Instead, I pretended I was in front of the mirror at Gold’s Gym, flexing, straining and jerking my arms forward. Meanwhile, I watched as my legs folded over my head as I began a slow backwards somersault. And the rest of the class peered in my direction as I completed my descent to the wood floor.
Lying there, I had a few flashbacks. That time I face planted off a stage while dancing during a concert on Valentine’s Day. That time I wrapped myself around an out-of bounds rope while snowboarding at the mountain. The thing about falling a lot is you’re less embarrassed when it happens. So, I rose from the floor as if nothing substantial had happened and resumed my workout. Only after class had finished did everyone enjoy a good laugh.
It’s wrong to blame the nice April weather for this recent mishap, but I will anyway. With the liberal amount of sunny days, my Facebook and Instagram feeds are filled with smiling locals – somehow already in mid-summer form – completing 50-mile bike rides and ascending mountain peaks. I figured I would catch up with the zeal of a 20-something. But as my recent birthday reminded me, I’m no longer in my 20s.
Suffering in spring is a small price to pay to enjoy the summer in the Flathead, but I suppose it will only get worse from here. Soon, preparations will need to begin in March instead of April, eventually seep into winter and likely become a year-round training regime just to prevent pulling a muscle.
I’m already signed up for more Pilates classes. After all, summer is just around the corner.