I had forgotten how great it could be to workout at a really nice athletic club. Last night I went back for the second visit of my two-day free trial at Equinox to check out some of their exercise classes. While generally speaking I don’t have particularly expensive tastes (except, perhaps, for Whole Foods), I do love me some upscale health club amenities. All those little things that don’t *really* matter, like locker doors made of real wood, hair dryers by the mirrors, and anti-septic cloth dispensers on the workout floor — those are the stuff of my dreams!

Also, I enjoyed the fact that the staff were not tattooed from head to foot, and they wore smiles instead of sneers. The club members were pretty heterogeneous except for the fact that they were all very nicely dressed (both before and after the locker room). I also thought it was interesting that this was no dilettante gym — the people there were pretty fit. It was pleasant and refreshing to be surrounded by folks like that.

I decided to try an abs class and then kickboxing. The abs class was pretty interesting, and they had a few pieces of equipment that I hadn’t seen before. It was very, very hard, but the instructor was inspiring and there was only one person (aside from me) who was struggling to keep up. Even she appeared to be enjoying it. Despite all of the crunches I do on my own, whenever I take a class like that I realize just how much farther I actually could be pushing myself.

I stayed afterwards for kickboxing, and though it was a small crowd, again the instructor was inspiring (okay, possibly because he was so cute, but still…). I hadn’t taken a class of that caliber in a long time — certainly the last time I belonged to a gym with classes that good was before I went back to work in 2005. It was nice that the moves hadn’t changed, much. I’m pretty clutzy so it was a benefit to me to not have to learn any fancy punches or anything.

The most interesting thing of all was that after my 90 minute intense workout, although I was sweating and a little sore, I felt AMAZING. I felt so in touch with my body, in ways that I haven’t in a long time. Having gone through all of those exercises and stretches, it seemed I was much more aware of how each of them helped create a balanced and healthy challenge to my muscles. Running is good, but it doesn’t approach that level of intensity or provide that much stimulus to the body.

Before taking the classes I was nervous about riding my bike home afterwards, imagining I’d be too exhausted. But in the end, my bike ride home was fine (although I didn’t appreciate the cold headwind). If anything, I felt more clear-headed and energized. It was like that invigorating feeling I got in the shower just stuck with me for the rest of the evening.

It’s also worth noting that all of that activity did NOT make me hungry. If anything, it gave me a sense of physical satisfaction that almost rivalled having a full tummy! So when I got home, I didn’t feel as though I had to dive into the kitchen cabinets. This must be what Devin experiences when he plays a tennis match. The intensity and the physicality become a reward unto themselves.

Of course, that didn’t stop me from eating dinner.