I DIDN’T ENTERTAINthe idea of sport as a child – not because I
hated sport, but because I hated the heat. I’m an indoor person,
always have been. You want to know why? Because that’s where the
air conditioning is: indoors. I hate the heat more than I hate tornadoes,
and I’m deathly afraid of tornadoes. Growing up in Tornado Alley in
the US state of Arkansas was less than ideal – if there was ever a hint of
a dark cloud in a blue sky, I would freak out and refuse to leave the
house. But the heat? That’s another level of hate.
My first and only ever series of exercise classes took place when
I was four years old. In the ’80s, my mom and Aunt Janey used to go
to the local leisure centre for aerobics classes and I would tag along
in my burgundy and pink hand-me-down leotard. I would go for it,
harder than everyone else in the class. I would try to follow what theBETH DIT TO
ON BEING
FAT, F I T
AND NOT
AFRAID
OF THE GYM
ANSWERING
ONLY TO
MYSELF