On the Ropes

It was an especially nice day, Boot Camp was held in the parking lot; the intensity was high, everyone broke a good sweat in spite of a temperature of 72 degrees and a nice cool fall breeze.
We finished with Abs, now time to train; today Biceps and Triceps.
The routine seemed straight forward, bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, small weight, large weights, each time to muscle failure.
Sparta even threw in a different exercise that caused the triceps to really burn.
I looked at the clock and saw we had a few minutes left and I thought quietly, “Wonder what is next because I don’t have a “farthing” (a very small amount) of energy or strength left in my arms".
“Maybe I am going to get off a easy today and finish the last 6 or 7 minutes in animated conversation", some befuddled part of my brain postulated.
Trying to think of where it might go, I suddenly heard “On the Ropes” and I thought, “Yeah even Sparta sees that I am finished”.
But she went on, “Go set the seat height on the Preachers Bench while I set up the equipment”.
Like a lightning bolt out of a clear sky, it hit, I was headed into hell once again; the resistive training method or as I wrote in my Jan. 2010 Blog, Torturous Varying Tension Method.
This is a set of 21 up and down curls against resistance, supplied by the trainer.
Sparta can adjust the tension as she sees fit by judging the level of effort. She also continues to exhort if she doesn’t feel you are trying.
I couldn’t believe that I had to endure this after spending everything in the lift session. I even commented on this and was told, the best time for the exercise, when you are used up.
The idea that best describes this; you are climbing a rock face, you have climbed 278 feet you are cold and hungry, your fingers ache, your legs are lead, you have 21 feet to go. If you fail, you fatigue falling to your death, if you gut it out, you finish the climb.
It wasn’t pretty, I didn’t whimper, I didn’t fall to my death.
My arms say it wasn't trainer compassion but they could be lying.