Lithe Passport. 61 days. 40 classes. My trip has already begun.
Cinch
What you need: Just yourself. No gloves necessary.
Props: Cinch Belly Band or Waist Cincher
Clothing Considerations: Whatever you’re comfortable in.
Sweat Factor: Medium Sweat. You could hang out in public after this one if you needed to.
As a kid, I watched an unhealthy amount of television. Both of my parents worked, so I would walk home from school, let myself in (remember the term latchkey kid?) and plop down in front of the TV, and stay there for hours.
I would laugh at the crazy antics of Buddy Lembeck on Charles in Charge and swoon over mischievous Mike Seaver on Growing Pains (who knew he’d grow up to terrify people about being Left Behind for a living.) Although my parents spent most of their time discouraging me from watching so much TV--claiming it would rot my brain--I couldn’t be happier that I chose to wile away the hours of my childhood in front of a glowing box. As a result, I’m amazing when it comes to pop culture references in quizzo. (I will KILL it, if there’s a speed round asking for the lyrics of 80s television shows.)
One of my absolute FAVORITES was Small Wonder. Remember that one? It was about your typical American family next door: 2 parents, 2 kids--a girl and a boy--except for one zany detail: the daughter was a robot. What?? I watched this show. I sang the song, and thought it was hilarious that this family had a robot for a kid? So much for critical thinking! Why the hell did this family have a robot?? And if this show was so good, why did A.I. and Bicentennial Man SUCK so badly? (If you’ve never heard of these movies, consider yourself lucky. Don’t even bother looking them up.)
And now, it’s all I can think about when I take Cinch. The class is anything but easy, as it’s name might indicate. It’s all about the waist. Most of the class is spent on your feet doing standing waist work. You rotate through the top of half of your body, while often keeping your legs planted and square--resulting in robot like moves. At one point, your arms even frame your ears and you literally do the robot. Rotating to the side and back to the front. I can’t look at anyone while I do this move. If I do, then I begin imagining everyone in Vicki’s red and white outfit (was she also the maid??) and begin to break down and lose my form.
This class works your waist (and the rest of your body) in a completely different way than the rest of the middle focused classes. I was sore all through my sides for days afterwards. It’s an incredible workout and when I take a few in a row, I can definitely see definition in my waist. So although you may feel a tad awkward doing some of the series, just imagine that you have a hilarious secret you’re hiding from a nosy, red-haired neighbor and that you hope no one forgot to close the panel to your circuitry which is conveniently located in your back. That’s what I do, and it gets me through!
Sculpt
What you need: Just yourself. No gloves necessary.
Props: 3 or 5lb weights
Clothing Considerations: Whatever you’re comfortable in.
Sweat Factor: This class is interesting. Sometimes I’m pouring sweat. Sometimes I’m barely glistening. It’s up to you how much you push yourself.
Doing two things at once has never been easy for me. For example, when zoning out in front of the TV watching my aforementioned shows as a kid, no one could get me to speak. My mother would ask questions, my sister would wine loudly that she was bored and want someone to play with, and I couldn’t hear a thing.
This has translated into something similar as an adult. When I’m at work on my computer, and someone stops by my cube to ask me something, they basically have to whirl my chair around for me to extract myself from the task at hand. I’m also one of those super annoying people who can’t text or look at my phone and keep up with the thread of a conversation I’m having. I hear it buzz, I tell myself: don’t look. don’t look. this conversation is important. But alas, I can’t help myself and when I try to reenter the chatter discreetly, I’m clearly behind and confused, and everyone wants to kill me.
This is why Sculpt is a challenge for me. The class is a feat in coordination. And although you would think that after all my Nintendo-playing as a child, that hand-eye coordination would be my thing, it’s totally not.
Sculpt is classic in that the first half of the class is spent on the mat, doing ab-prep work, arms and back, and moves to the barre for the second half of class. The only catch is that instead of using both arms to steady you, as you normally would, you take one of your weights with you and each set of 30 (lunges, curtsies, sumos, etc.) are broken down into sets of 10 that incorporate a different arm movement. So for your first 10 lunges, you’ll do a bicep curl, then you’ll work your shoulders with some lateral lifts for the next, and triceps for the last 10.
This adds an extra level of difficulty to everything you do. Here’s a tip: take it slow! It’s tough to do all the leg stuff at the pace you’re used to while holding a weight. Instructors will encourage to slow down to keep your form. Listen! It helps!
Sculpt, is a staple class, in my opinion. It’s rare that it’s not in my repertoire at least once a week. So if you’re an incredible multi-tasker, you’ll take to this one like a duck to water. If you’re like me and you struggle to walk and chew gum, don’t worry. You’ll get the hang of it eventually!
10 stops down...only 26 to go. Next up? Thigh High and Pom!
See you in class!
Image of Lithe Instructors in Sculpt and Instructor, Anne Falasco in Cinch wearing Lithe's Waist Cincher, Performance Bra & Lace Insert Leggings via Dom
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