When my trainer told me to perform my final set of barbell hip thrusts, I questioned the efficacy of the exercise – partly in jest and partly out of defiance. Surely his response would involve a very detailed explanation, saturated with theoretical principles of human anatomy and physiology, movement terminology, and concepts of biomechanics… all laced with cool facts steeped in academia. Long enough to buy me precious extra rest time; the session being almost over, I was on the verge of collapse. Yet he remained unmoved.
     “You already know. Now get to it,” was his brief reply. And with a mischievous smirk, he said, “Tell you what. You write me an essay on the benefits of doing hip thrusts and I’ll drop the load on this one. Just this once.”
     The nerd in me eagerly accepted the challenge and when I handed him my essay at our next training session, a wave of satisfaction washed over his face as he scanned its contents.
     “Awesome, it’s all there,” he remarked, and laughing, added, “Next time you try to stall, I’ll dish out another writing assignment.”
     “No thanks,” I rejoined, “I love writing, but I’ll just stick to gym stuff when I’m at the gym.”
      He chuckled, then asked, his voice reassuring, “Why can’t you do both?”
    To which I replied, beaming, “I suppose I could.” And as I contemplated what he had just said, all the aches and pains from the previous session suddenly disappeared.
      And so Sassy Kitty was birthed.