On My Soap Box: Exercise Class Etiquette

I have a lot to be thankful for. And I am truly blessed in many ways.

However......

I also have some stuff to complain about as well. Hence a new series of posts is being born right here on my lil' old blog here today. "On My Soap Box" is my place to moan and groan about all the little ( and some times not so little things) that irritate me or plain old piss me off. Don't worry, I will try to make it as painless as possible. Enjoy!

For my first grip session, I am going to discuss a matter of great importance.....Exercise Etiquette. I know, Earth shattering.

Over the past 6 months I have fallen in love with a great exercise class....Zumba. It is based in Latin Dancing and has changed my total view on exercise classes. I don't watch the clock while I am in the class, my abs are stronger than ever (despite the 2 inches of fat that are still sitting on top of them) and I get to fulfill my secret desire to shake my groove thing. I take it three times a week and am looking into purchasing the DVD's so I can bring the ZUMBA love home.

And because I am a woman with good taste in everything I do, it is not a surprise that lots of other women (and even some men) like the classes as well. I see lots of the same faces class after class. Which leads me to my complaint.

I have this problem in Zumba class where I like to be able to see the teacher. Kinda helps me. Not sure if other people have this problem, but I do. So, I am very proactive about this issue and get my hiney to class extra early so I can get my spot and have a good clear visual line of the teacher.

Did this exact thing yesterday and was waiting patiently for class to start. The music starts up and an Enrique Iglessius soundalike comes through the speaker. And then she arrives. This chicks steps into my line of sight. Not the worse part. She is no more than 1.5 feet away from me. As we go through the warm up I keep thinking that she will see me and realize that I could lick her she is so close. No luck.

Won't bore you with a song by song breakdown. She stays there the WHOLE class and I spend more of my time trying not kick her derriere in between my salsa and cha cha steps. She sees me numerous times and seems to be quite comfortable staying where she is.

To answer a couple of your questions that I am sure you are asking at this exact moment.
1) No, I didn't say anything. I was in shock and wasn't sure how to approach the situation.
2) Yes, there was plenty of other space for her to shake her own groove thing.
3) No, I don't think she had a beef with me.

And then I realized what was wrong. She had never seen the quintessential movie that would have taught her she was doing something wrong......Dirty Dancing. Because anyone who has seen that movie knows the cardinal rule....This is your dance space, this is my dance space.

We might need to do a viewing during the next class.......