Manchored to the floor of a five-foot deep pool by the 35-pound dumbbells clutched in my white-knuckled fists. My mission is not for the faint of heart: crawl the length of the pool (75 feet) underwater, dragging the dumbbells with me.
I’m halfway there, too, when I see the rest of my ten-person class head to the surface for air. I join them, releasing the weights and flailing to the surface, ears ringing, lungs burning.
Before this drill, I was told that the gut-wrenching feeling of needing to breathe wasn’t death’s doormat. I could fight past any initial discomfort in my chest and stay underwater for at least a few seconds, according to the trainers. So I lingered under the chop in the indoor swimming pool at Chelsea Piers Fitness in Manhattan to test that theory. Sure, I came up for air before completing my mission, but I felt a sense of accomplishment — and that burning in my lungs.
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