Flashback Friday

This memory takes place in college maybe 1990 or so. I had to take a weights class and I was one of four girls in the entire class. You'd think that'd be cool, right. I mean good odds and all. But, no. No hot guys (in case you were wondering). And after this story you'll see why I was glad there weren't any.
The class took place on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. We each doubled up with partners to do the workouts we were required to do. We go to the bench press to do it for the very first time. The other two girls and then myself and my partner. The two girls each take their turns. It's all good. My partner takes her turn. That's good too. I go to take my turn. I lay my little self on the bench and grab hold of the bar with weight on it and push with all my might...grunt...the bar doesn't move! Not only doesn't it move...it doesn't even budge! The teacher takes off the weights. So, we're talking bar only...no weights. (I think it was 40-50 pounds.) I try again with all my might...grunt! The bar still.does.not.move! Then, the teacher says in partial disgust with a hint of snickering, "I'm sorry but you're going to have to use these special weights over here until you work up to benching the bar only." So...I got to start out benching like twenty pounds on the special bars. How humiliating! Not only was I the only person in class that couldn't bench the bar, but I was the only girl that couldn't bench the bar. I felt so stupid and weak and embarrassed. To my credit, I have always been small on top (and large on the bottom) and very, very weak. I have never had any upper body strength at all. So, this was actually no surprise. Also...I was only 19!

Another story from my weights class happened on a Tuesday when our teacher made my partner and I hold weights and do 300...oh ya you read it right...300 calf raises off a step. (Have you ever tried it? Don't.) The next day (was a Wednesday and we didn't have class) I couldn't get out of bed or stand without severe pain in my calves. I could barely walk. It was more like a hobble. The pain was like nothing I had experienced before. I had to pump the advil all day. But, I still got up and hobbled my butt all over campus and attended all my classes. On Thursday when we went back to weights class (with sore calves...still), my partner and I talked about how sore we both were. She was so sore that she didn't even go to school on Wednesday at all! She had to stay in bed all day. I'm gonna wager that the guy didn't know what he was doing. Shouldn't a weights teacher be some type of personal trainer or at least have a degree in exercise science or something like that?