Well, which is it?

Last week I took a kickboxing class with a friend down in Columbia. Though there were periods of 'active recovery,' I was really worn out by the end. It was a full hour of high intensity work.

My friend rightly noted that classes can be much more challenging than working out to a video at home, and I agreed. The people around you bring so much energy to the room, and push you to do your best. And after all, not only are you seeing yourself in a big mirror, but lots of other people are looking at you in that mirror (and - gasp! - from behind). How can you slack?

At the end of the class, while we were all still jogging in place to cool down, the teacher - wearing one of those microphones strapped to her ear - yelled above the blaring music, "Did you give 100% today?" A roar came from the packed room, "YEAH!" She then asked, "Can you give me MORE?!" And the reply came again, "YEAH!"

"How can you give me MORE if you've already given 100%? Do the math!" she yelled.

Gotcha! That just made me laugh. I know part of the reason we said yeah was because she had mentally broken us like a drill sergeant. Throughout the class, if we weren't loud enough in counting down the remaining reps with her, or in replying to a call-out for enthusiasm, she would make us do another eight of whatever (kicks, squats, punches). So by the end we would have yelled out anything if she had asked, "Do you want to kill a puppy?!" just to keep her happy.

But our response probably would have been the same even if she hadn't been the alpha dog throughout the session. Wouldn't yours? Would you ever say in a group that you didn't fully participate? Would you ever say you wouldn't give still more? I felt chagrined, though I'm not sure why...