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“Okay, everyone!” Hobbs shouted. “Grab a PVC!”
The class dutifully went to the bin of long plastic piping and snagged one for the overhead squat warm-up.
And now, Hobbs thought,let the fun begin.
It took Tabitha until the end of the workout, with Thaddeus on the floor, staring at the ceiling, eyes open in an odd, nonblinking stare, like he’d been blindsided, to figure out what had just gone down. She knew that Hobbs had changed the workout, because what was written on the whiteboard was not what had been listed in the gym’s app on her phone. On paper, it appeared that Hobbs had done Thaddeus a welcoming favor by giving him a workout in his wheelhouse—five rounds of four-hundred-meter runs. But Tabitha had been at Semper Fit long enough to know that the workouts here were designed to keep the body guessing on a daily basis. If your body got thrown a dose of something it wasn’t expecting, or was not acclimated to, it would have to adapt to overcome. These adaptations were the reason change was made, growth occurred and the athlete got fitter and faster and better at everything, while specializing in nothing.
Thus was the beauty of “Nancy.” A runner would understandably be delighted with five rounds of four hundred meters. The distance was a short burst, and only added up to just over a mile total. But then came the overhead squats—the great equalizer. As Tabitha had heard more than once from her Semper Fit coaches, if you had a weakness, the overhead squat would find it. Weak core? Poor mobility in any of your joints, including shoulders, hips, ankles? Poor balance? Weak stability?
Cue the overhead squat, peerless in developing athletic movement, to come in and cut you at the knees.
That was exactly how it went for Thaddeus, who flew through his first four hundred meters as if his shoes had been fitted with wings. Nobody had been able to catch him, including Rhett, who had longer legs than anyone in the gym. But by the time Tabitha made it back inside from her own run, she’d found Rhett already done with his overhead squats and back out the door, while Thaddeus was struggling to get his hips below parallel with nothing more than the PVC pipe. On top of having never done the exercise, Thaddeus had classic tight runner’s hips.
He’d struggled all hour long with caving knees, weak glutes, chest falling forward and Hobbs’s enthusiastic but firm guidance through the movement.
For once, Tabitha had not been last in finishing the workout. Despite the fact that she’d used the Rx weight for her own squats and had endured Hobbs yelling at her tobe more aggressiveseveral times, it gave her no joy to look down at Thaddeus, his expression wounded like a little boy who was used to getting his way but most certainly hadn’t today. “You okay?” Tabitha held her hand up for a high five.
Thaddeus ignored the gesture. His eyes closed. “I’m fine,” he muttered.
“Hey.” Hobbs, making the rounds through the class, stopped over Thaddeus’s sweaty, bemused form. “Great work, dude.” He didn’t offer his fist for a bump, perhaps having seen Thaddeus reject Tabitha’s attempt. “How about them overhead squats? Kept you safe, though. Couldn’t risk putting any weight over your head with those tight hips and ankles.”
Thaddeus shot him a glare. “I’m not sure of their purpose in real life. You’ve had your fun, though, I suppose.”
“Purpose?” Hobbs’s eyebrows went up. “Overhead squats increase flexibility, mobility and strength.” He ticked off each benefit with a swipe of his finger over his palm. “Builds your core. Helps identify weaknesses in your overall fitness, which will reduce the chance of injury in everyday movements or in those you enjoy most, such as running. That’s what you were worried about most, right? Avoiding injury at my superdangerous gym?”
Thaddeus rose to his feet and scrubbed some sweat from his brow with the heel of his hand. “So you did me a favor today?” He offered a grin devoid of warmth. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“We provided you with a free workout that introduced you to a new movement in a safe environment.” Hobbs shrugged. “So, yeah. Seems like a favor to me. And bonus—you got to work out next to a beautiful young lady.” He nodded at Tabitha.
Thaddeus’s grin closed into a tight-lipped stare.
“And you—” Hobbs turned to her, his usual jovial demeanor in full force “—did excellent. Your first Rx Nancy!” He held up his hand for a high five. “How does that feel?”
Tabitha grinned, despite the tension in the room. She couldn’t help herself. Not only was she proud, she could now check off her first accomplishment on the Badass List. She went to return the high five and Hobbs surprised her by catching her hand, lifting her up against his chest and spinning her around.
When Tabitha shrieked, Trinity came running over and jumped up against her leg.
“Whoa, girl.” Hobbs settled Tabitha to her feet. “It’s all good.”
“Off, Trinity,” Tabitha said, still laughing, glowing in her accomplishment, and a little bit from being in Hobbs’s arms, too.
Trinity dropped but landed against Thaddeus’s legs. “Jeez,” he muttered. He stepped back and Trinity spilled over. “I just don’t see the point in bringing this dog everywhere. She’s like your purse or something.”
Everyone around them went quiet. Red had just appeared, standing behind Thaddeus, probably prepared to ask him what he thought of the workout. Her smile fell. “What did you just say?”
Thaddeus regarded the sudden quiet, along with Red’s hard stare. “Hey, I was only joking.” He reached down and patted Trinity on the head. Trinity flinched.
“It wasn’t funny.” Hobbs had a hard expression that Tabitha had never seen on him.
“Oh, I get it.” Thaddeus straightened up. “You’re the funny man around here, right? Nobody else gets to make jokes.”
“At least my jokes are actually funny.”
“He’s right,” Red said. “You’re out of line.” She cast a glance at Tabitha.
Tabitha swallowed down the acrid taste in her throat, all of her joy gone. She thought back to this morning, when Thaddeus had texted her, short and sweet, that he had some time in his schedule and would love to take “her gym friend” up on his offer to try out Semper Fit. He could pick her up at six, if she was agreeable.
Tabitha had almost passed, but Auntie El had read the text over her shoulder and said, “Oh, how nice. See? Thaddeus is such a good young man. He’s even willing to indulge you and try out that gym of yours. Go ahead, T. Say yes.”
