Four short weeks ago (although it seems so very long ago in some ways....), I started adventure boot camp.
5:30am, 5 days a week. I'm pretty darn proud of myself because I have
only missed one day out of the 20 days and that was because we had my
sister-in-law and brother-in-law in town (and were up late partying
with them in the hot tub! A totally valid excuse, IMHO). A short list
of life boot camp lessons from our trainer, Brett, follows:
1. Brett's Rule Number One: DON'T FALL DOWN. Yes, this seems simple,
but it is not as easy as it sounds sometimes. We all make mistakes
sometimes - just try not to embarass injure yourself.
2. Laughter Strengthens the Abdominals - Brett certainly makes up
chuckle quite a bit in boot camp. It is a very fun workout, while also
being very tough. This makes the workouts go by fast (thank God!)....I
really don't know what I would do if our trainer was boring. He takes
the boot camp thing pretty seriously and it cracks me up - dressing in camo pants and combat boots, and saying thing like (while we're
doing bent over rows or tricep kickbacks) "Get your butt out and back
flat. I want to eat my breakfast on your back. Don't spill my coffee!"
He makes us pay with pushups if we don't follow the rules (or are
late), but at the same time he is really a nice guy and makes it all a
lot of fun. I think a lot of the time he is laughing at himself too.
3. Safety First - and it comes before fitness. For instance, on Hike Day, when we are running up the Los Gatos dam in the morning darkness, we have to stay with a buddy, even if it slows us down so much that it wrecks our whole workout.
Wow, what a change in my life. There have been many, many benefits. My husband says I am a different person - I am much less stressed and he says I just seem "strong." That's right, baby, STRONG. I now actually have time to myself in the morning, rather than leaping out of bed in the morning in Mom-mode when the kid alarm clock goes off ("Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"). I get home at 6:35 and am consistently able to shower, have a cup of coffee, and read some news and a few of my favorite blogs BEFORE the kids wake up. This is amazing to me.
And, yes, I have lost a couple of pounds, but the main thing I is that I have gained a bunch of muscle, strength, endurance, and fitness. I will find out my body comp and measurement changes in a few weeks, but so far I know I've improved my 1 mile run test from 9:23 to 8:41 and I can do 32 (sissy) pushups, over 25 from the first week. I am not sore all over my body like I was on Day 3, but I do still feel it every day. It is a good sore these days. And, get this - I can even skip rope and do jumping jacks without (sorry, if a bit TMI) peeing my pants! This is quite amazing to me and improved in just a couple of weeks, since I really never did those annoying kegels much after the birth of my kids. Thank you, planks, even though I hate you.
The sleep part can be tough, but I am sucking it up. I never really got to "sleep in" anyway (which I would define as 8am or later) due to the kids. I am pretty happy to get into bed at 9:30pm, read my book and set my alarm. I find it to be a bit of a cummulative effect - by Thursday I am pretty tired during the day. And, tonight? Tonight I am exhausted and we are having our traditional Friday "snack/appetizers from Trader Joe's" dinner. I suck at cooking anyway. TGIF!
I will be continuing boot camp. I signed up for the 3 week mini-camp which starts on Monday and have built it into my ongoing budget for the year. "Hello, my name is Linsey, and I am addicted to Adventure Boot Camp."
