Dammit.
A new guy comes into my class. I meet and greet, make some fairly severe changes to his fit and advise him of his indoor cycling Miranda rights. We call it the standard disclaimer. It reads as follows:
No matter how hard we go, how long we go, at what intensity we ride or with what frequency we turn the pedals, you have the right AFTER TESTING AND MEASURING, to adjust your effort appropriately. It is traditionally at this time that I add two adjacent items to the mix, the obnoxious element and music. If at any time you must escape the protocol, you have the right to do so.
What I do not say, and because the regulars set the tone and lead by example, is that this is a no-nonsense high-performance one hundred miles an hour up-tempo focused effort at breakneck speed. We take no prisoners. We get it done. We rock and we rock hard. THERE IS NO TIME FOR IDLE CHATTER LADIES.
So at about the seventy-five minute point in the session, as I am sharing my thoughts on why so many events are won during the second third of the race, the new guy and his sponsor begin to get loud with their banter. They are laughing at something.
I don't care if Louis CK is in the room, we are here to work and if you are talking, or worse, laughing, you are not going hard enough. And you are being disrespectful. To me and to your classmates.
So I barked at 'em. Told them to stop or they could leave us to our work.
We finish the ninety minutes and warm down. After a nice shower I grab a cup of coffee and hit the road.
Where I feel horrible for allowing myself to berate a newbie for class disruption.
Does a drill sergeant getting in the face of a recruit and telling him how things are done around here feel likewise? Does a leader command and then waiver in commitment?
Maybe there is another way. A softer approach, less reactionary. BUT EQUALLY EFFECTIVE.
I haven't found it yet.
Dammit.
No comments:
Post a Comment