Coming fresh from a capoeira performance, I hit Zilker park all decked out in my best white capoeira uniform ready to condition–at least I thought I was. There are some activities that painfully remind me that I’m 40 years old and have less stamina than I used to.
Capoeira, as my first teacher in Monterrey, Mexico explained to me, is Brazilian street fighting. Some people think of it as a dance since we train and perform to distinctive music and sing in Portugese, but dance or fight, capoeira is a highly aerobic, strength-building activity. I was 33 when I first started and I pretty much felt like a middle-aged woman with a big butt compared to the other capoeiristas. After my first class, I felt tired and sore, but I slept like a baby. From that initial experience, I continued to train, sleep well, lose weight effortlessly and grow stronger.
I confidently strode across the gorgeous lawn, joining some fellow capoeiristas who couldn’t make it to the performance earlier. We all greeted one another and talked pleasantly until contramestre showed up. We automatically formed three rows and started warming up. As much as I loved the natural setting, doing kick drills on uneven ground is surprisingly tricky. At least I didn’t add to the challenge by wearing gym shoes. Other capoeiristas discovered that regular athletic shoes added a significant amount of weight compared to being barefoot. Doing 60 kicks in a row with each leg was just the beginning.
Following the 120 kicks, we lunged about 40 times and completed an insane number of jumping jack-push up-various sit up rotations. At one point, I was actually concerned that my dazzling white uniform would get permanent grass stains. HAH! As we started “torture walking” (walking on hands and feet with straight arms and legs and asses in the air), my concern for having dazzling whites disappeared.
Around the time where we had to pick up and carry another capoeirista who was the same height and weight, I started to remember my age. The sun had finally broken through the overcast sky and there I was attempting to lift someone by squatting, wrapping my arms around her thighs and walk a few steps. Problem was (besides attempting to do such a thing in the first place!) that I lacked the coordination to lift with my legs instead of my back. I thought I was using my legs, but the blooming pain in my lower back and five people pointing out, “You’re using your back instead of your legs,” convinced me.
I switched partners and lifted a shorter woman who weighed about 15 lbs less than my original partner, which was great for me, but I felt bad for her–until she squatted, lifted my ass and practically sprinted with me on her back. I’d temporarily forgotten that she was a former Marine and a drill like that one was child’s play for her.
By the time we got to the sprints, I nearly jumped for joy. Of course I didn’t given the throbbing back. I had one of the massage therapist capoeiristas to do a little impromptu fix. She even showed me a stretch to help it out.
Although I’m a naturally fast runner, running’s not my favorite thing. However, in special times like these, running’s definitely the lesser of other conditioning exercises! After a series of sprints, we did some well-deserved cool down stretches. I actually felt proud of myself for surviving my first capoeira conditioning.
Underneath my dazzling capoeira whites was my new tankini that I’d bought for the occasion since a new tankini top can double as a sports bra until the elastic wears out. Plus, I like versatile clothing and packing light. We walked over to Barton Springs pools, which was my first visit. I didn’t appreciate how cold 68 degrees was until I stepped onto the ladder to enter the pool. I immediately called over to my friend to take my picture since, at that point, I was quite sure that I’d never swim there. So, even though I didn’t swim, I look pretty damn good with my capoeira body in my new tankini.
All in all, it was a good experience. It’s taken a day and a half to recover, which is good since Sunday should be a day of rest. Now that summer’s approaching and school’s winding down, I think I’ll attempt another conditioning next month. Once a month for a 40 year-old has to count like once a week for a 20 year-old–Teresa logic!