MUSH!

I met with M. the Reasonable today, as usual. I hadn't seen him since last Wednesday, so I was looking forward to a good butt-kicking. M. never lets me down.

My Turkish Get-Ups are getting very good (they are such a fantastic workout), and even my kettlebell swings were looking great today--I've been struggling with those but M. was very pleased and excited to tell me how great they looked. I was sweating, swigging water between sets, and feeling very, very good. Then M. said, "Let's go get the sled."

The what, now?

We went to the trainer desk area, and before long, it all became clear. The gym has a new toy. It looks sort of like the sleds in the picture below, except that it has a place for someone--say, a trainer who acts all reasonable and nice but has a slight sadistic streak--to sit.

It isn't heavy, but it took both of us to carry it and maneuver it through the various cardio machines to the aerobics room. It comes complete with a harness. As we set it on the floor I muttered, "I think I should probably start feeling frightened now." M. just smiled at me.

Then he sat down. "You're going to push me across the room and back."

It wasn't that hard. M. isn't a heavy guy, and while it took some effort, I managed to get him across the room. As we neared the opposite side I said, "If you say, 'MUSH!' so help me God..."

Laughter. "I wouldn't do that!" He got up to turn the sled around and said, "But maybe I should stand on it, facing backwards, yelling in your face: "GO! GO! PUSH HARDER! FASTER! GO!!!"

"I'd have to hit you."

"I'd be mad at you if you didn't!"

I gamely pushed him back across the room.

For the rest of the session, I alternated between pushing and pulling the sled in various ways. I put the harness around my waist and pulled it with about 80 pounds piled on it. It's a great tool for working out, even if there is some indignity in feeling like a sled dog.