Power Sculpting

My leg muscles visibly shook as I sat down in to a squat, held and pulsed for a set of eight with a body bar across my shoulders. I have always loved feeling the burn in my muscles because then I can tell the exercise I’m doing is actually working. Power sculpt does just this. Burn.

“Pulse. Pulse. Pulse,” Claire, my power sculpt instructor, said.

My quadriceps threatened to seize up after I sunk down again 90 degrees and pushed my heels into the ground. The various forms of squats that Claire has us do are some of my favorite exercises. Paired with dumbbells and a step, squats can be a killer; as can that four-minute, non-stop warm up of jumping jacks.

Four minutes of jumping jacks, sounds easy, right? False. The calf muscles start to tighten up about half way through and sometimes may go numb.

This will be the seventh week of my Fun Fit Forever adventure and I am proud to say that I have gone at least four times a week to the various classes offered- power sculpt being the one I have attended the most. As a journalist, I try to not have a bias and to treat all the courses fairly, but if I had to pick a favorite Claire’s power sculpt class would be it.

I feel as though I can attribute the fact that I have regained my muscle tone and my endurance level has increased to power sculpt’s rigorous workouts. Many times I have rolled out of bed on a Friday morning only to stretch and feel that familiar and welcomed tightness in my muscles. All from a 45 minute anaerobic workout that utilizes various combos of cardio, weights, exercise balls, plyometrics, Pilates and more.

Claire’s spunky personality, expertise, charisma and inspiring attitude are what draw so many to her class.  She has the ability to make her course fun and challenging. Many times she has said something to the effect of, “Squeeze your butt like you’re holding a million bucks and you don’t want to let it go” while we do back planks.

Near the end of class, I often catch myself glancing at my neighbors to see if they are pushing through the last set of planks. If they’re not giving up on the 60 seconds of pain in abs, neither can I. There is this unspoken bond after sweating through a difficult workout amongst those who participate in Fun Fit Forever.

It’s a positive peer pressure. We use each other as motivators so we do not surrender to the temptation of quitting and flopping down onto that yoga mat with an exasperated sigh as our muscles shudder with fatigue.