Joanna and Naomi do Bootcamp

Today was stair day. We lunged and side squatted up a massive hill. More than once. I have nothing more to say about today.

I had a moment this morning at 6:30 while I was lying on my waterlogged, mud-stained mat with heavy rain falling on my face, while at the same time lifting uncomfortably heavy weights above my head with fatigued arms, that I thought “This is a little unpleasant.”

Clearly water resistant clothing is not meant to repel water in any way whatsoever, which is a marketing ploy that I feel is just plain rude. However, I have to say after I embraced the fact that I was going to be uncomfortably wet and dirty for the remainder of the session, I began to take pride in the fact that I was so at one with the world of bootcamp. There was a small moment when I felt like Goldie Hawn in the movie “Private Benjamin” (which is such an inspiring bootcamp tale that it once made a dear friend of mine wnt to join the reserves – seriously crazy). However this vision may have only been delusion as my core muscles were engaged to the point where I was forgetting to breathe. Hmmm.
Tomorrow is the unpleasantness that is stairs in the rain. Will it be awe inspiring or hellishly slippery and dangerous? Only time will tell.

I was so proud of myself yesterday. I got sick over the weekend and said screw it, I am still going to bootcamp. With my runny nose, flemmy throat, and slight feeling of nausea I went out and slammed a 1.25 hour workout. Awesome. Powerful. Succesful.

Today wasn’t so good. I woke up and almost drowned in the flem in my throat. That is when I decided this bootcamp relationship was not going to work today. So I took one day off and am trying to push the guilt away. Tomorrow, no matter how drippy I am, it is on again.

Who knew that you could ache on the side of your body next to your rib cage. Who knew?? I certainly didn’t until today..which has been filled with unsuccessful attempts to raise my arms above my head. Do you know how many times I have to raise my arms above my head a day in my job. A lot. Seriously.

*So this was supposed to be posted on Monday…whoops

Today was the “assessment” day at bootcamp. It was supposed to be easy and relaxing, however I am now having difficulty reaching my hands over my head to put my guitar strap on. Hella lame.

The group is much larger than the “15 new participants” advertised on the website – in fact, the group is almost double that. I guess that means that less attention can be paid to the form of my 9 zillionth squat – which is actually alright with me. The assessment was not so bad; it consisted of 5 key elements:

1. How many push-ups can you do in 60 seconds = 15

2. How many crunches can you do in 60 seconds = 37

3. How long can you hold a plank position = 55 seconds

4. How long can you hold a 90degree squat = 1:24 minutes (with some serious shaking)

5. How fast can you run 1.1km = 6:29 minutes (which was my 5km pace only last year…sigh)

They promise that if we come to classes and lay off the sugar we will see considerable improvement by the last class. Only time will tell.

The worst part for both Joanna and I was the stupid plank hold. It seriously hurt our lower backs…I suppose that is because our abs aren’t strong enough to support the weight of our backs. Damn.

We also had to take measurements of the largest parts of our body. For obvious reasons I don’t feel like I need to tell the on-line world the exact measurement of my right thigh, however I will happily report how many inches disappear at the end.

The attitude of the bootcamp is of course non-competitive, they say that you are only competing against yourself. Yeah right. There’s no way I’m going to let myself be the first one to fall from the squat position, even though my thighs are shaking like a freaking earthquake. I think bootcamp will bring my competitive nature to exercise, which in my case will be a good thing.

Anyhow, enough of this…I am happy to report that I actually enjoyed the morning and it did not feel ridiculously early. Of course, it’s only lunch time as I write this…we’ll see how happy I am when I finish my day at 8:00pm tonight.

Well, here we go…tomorrow Joanna and I embark on 30 days of intense bootcamp workouts. The Survivor Bootcamp promises that if we follow their program we will: get motivated/health/strong; increase energy/endurance; gain muscle/confidence; and lose inches/weight. This looked somewhat attractive two weeks ago when we signed up, seeing as our usual exercise outings (such as spin class or the ever attractive deep water workout) are almost always followed by some carbohydrate loaded breakfast, or by a sweet, rich caramel latte. Or, as sometimes is the case, we skip the whole exercise component all together and go our to a cafe for a latte and a chat. Bridget Jones anyone?

Sitting here writing this I’m not really sure what to expect when I arrive tomorrow morning, and for the next 6 weeks. Whatever the outcome, I believe that the journey should at very least be full of hilarious stories and probably a lot of complaining (except while at bootcamp). Joanna and I have decided that there is only one rule regarding bootcamp (besides that we have to be there..otherwise we will have flushed $400 bucks straight down the toilet) and that is no complaining during bootcamp. Seriously, we don’t want to look weak or anything. Of course, complaining will resume as soon as bootcamp is finished and we are away from the group and instructor. And likely it will continue on this blog.

So here we go…let’s see what the next 6 weeks have to offer us as Joanna and Naomi do Bootcamp.