4 reasons I love/hate Neal’s Athletic Conditioning class at Harris Y

Twice a week, I shift appointments, ignore my family and skip meals just so I can work out with Neal.

Neal Porter runs a killer athletic conditioning class at the Harris YMCA on Tuesdays and Sundays. Here’s 4 reasons why I love/hate him:

(1) Motivation. Earlier in the day before class, Neal sends out these psycho emails to get you revved up for what’s coming. Sometimes they scare the crap out of me:

I often count down in class when a drill is ending…..Remember as the time is concluding; use that as motivation rather than “oooo yes!! this is done, I dont need these last few reps”…. As I always hammer home… finish through the line…don’t slow down before it… Those extra few reps you knockout when you feel like you can’t is true strength…“Strength does not come from physical capacity ….It comes from indomitable will”

(2) Camaraderie. A big crowd turns out for Neal pretty regularly. Almost always at least 50, sometimes 100-plus. If you make even the slightest effort, it’s easy to get to know folks, which makes it as much social hour as it is workout.

(4) The workouts. When they’re outside on the Harris Y fields, he kills it on the running. Lots of sprints and bear crawls across soccer fields. But then when we’re inside the gym, it’s not much better, with lots of glider action that destroys the abs.

Just this week, he had us start with a timed mile run. From there, we did push-ups, sprints, weighted burpees, planks and more planks. It was awful. I always leave in a sweaty mess. But victorious.

You can catch Neal at the Harris YMCA at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and 1 p.m. on Sundays. He also does personal and small group training, specializing in higher intensity training. Reach him at nport06@gmail.com.

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 9:21 AM with the headline "4 reasons I love/hate Neal’s Athletic Conditioning class at Harris Y."