Why cheating occasionally can be quite nice

‘I thought you did ballet?’ It’s seven in the morning and I’m meeting a friend of a friend at Marco, also known as the Magnet of Haarlem. All the women gather there to hit the beach without chicken fillets and orange peels or to wear that low-cut dress during the Christmas dinner. I also love Marco. In fifty minutes, he pulls you through the funnel with, well, background background, the best playlist imaginable, making it feel, even at seven in the morning, a bit like going out.

I nod to the friend of the friend. I do ballet too. With Olga. On Saturdays. But Sunday is for Marco. And Monday is for Richard, a whole different ball game. That’s strength training and chatting on the menu. If I manage, I’ll lean against Amber during her barre training on Wednesdays and a few more weeks until Wieger waits for me. He will gently prep us to get through the ski holiday without too much hassle.

Cheating is okay. A must, I would almost say, when it comes to sports. I love that nowadays you can create your own menu from the large buffet of sports options. You look at what you need when. No strings attached, freedom happiness. Much better than when you used to be a member of a gym and saw the same faces every time. I think this is fantastic. And I’m not the only one.

Recently, a trainer friend who mainly does strength training went to the physio due to a somewhat painful back. ‘You need to book a hot yoga class,’ the physio advised. Then his muscles would become supple and not painful. So it happened. Sunday afternoon at two it would be. Him in shorts and a T-shirt, the rest of the group, only attractive young women, in very short shorts and crop tops. It got warmer, the clothing items came off. They stroked his back because wow so muscular (‘they probably thought I was gay’) and oh my, it was warm. At the end of the class, there were hugs. Everyone briefly checked each other out. My friend had landed in heaven and suddenly decided to stay loyal to this gym. ‘I immediately booked twenty classes in advance and let the whole Ajax app group know that we’re spending Sunday afternoons here.’ In some cases, serial loyalty is of course a very good idea.