My alarm went off at 4:50 am and I had no idea why.
Then I remembered.
Today was the day.
Boot Camp.
I had no idea what to expect.
I was nervous, and feeling very intimidated.
Then I remembered.
Today was the day.
Boot Camp.
I had no idea what to expect.
I was nervous, and feeling very intimidated.
In the 5:30 am darkness, I pulled up to the basketball courts at at school I’d never been to, to workout with a trainer and a group of women I’d never met, and to try to complete a workout I was woefully unprepared for.
I had 5 pound weights and a beach towel because I didn’t realize most people work out on a yoga mat.
I was a boot camp novice.
There was a pin point of light and some dark shadows on the basket ball courts, so I walked over.
The trainer, Raman, greeted me enthusiastically and asked about my fitness level.This was the funny part.
I really thought I was in pretty good shape.
I mean, I could do a 4 mile hike when I was 7 months pregnant, climb over rocks, and up steep hills with a baby on my back, and chase after kids all day.
I needed to lose weight, but I was pretty fit.
Or so I thought.
The reality of my fitness level was more like this:
I had 5 pound weights and a beach towel because I didn’t realize most people work out on a yoga mat.
I was a boot camp novice.
There was a pin point of light and some dark shadows on the basket ball courts, so I walked over.
The trainer, Raman, greeted me enthusiastically and asked about my fitness level.This was the funny part.
I really thought I was in pretty good shape.
I mean, I could do a 4 mile hike when I was 7 months pregnant, climb over rocks, and up steep hills with a baby on my back, and chase after kids all day.
I needed to lose weight, but I was pretty fit.
Or so I thought.
The reality of my fitness level was more like this:
“If I ever had to run for my life, I would probably die.”
Class began and I was winded after our short warm up run.
“I’m going to die,” I thought to myself.
Then Raman asked us to do things I had never heard of.
“What the heck is a burpee?”
And push ups?
I could hardly do 3 of them. On my knees!
I quickly lost my breath doing jumping jacks and doing bicep curls with 5 pound weights was harder than I thought it ever could be.
“I’m going to die,” I thought to myself.
Then Raman asked us to do things I had never heard of.
“What the heck is a burpee?”
And push ups?
I could hardly do 3 of them. On my knees!
I quickly lost my breath doing jumping jacks and doing bicep curls with 5 pound weights was harder than I thought it ever could be.
And we had to lay on our backs and do these things called bicycles.
They not only made my abs burn, but also made me feel like an uncoordinated buffoon because I could never get my legs and arms move in the rhythm they were supposed to.
I knew boot camp was going to be hard.
But this was way harder than I expected.
That first work out was a real wake up call for me.
I realized I had no idea what it meant to be in good shape.
But I wanted to find out.
So I stayed.
They not only made my abs burn, but also made me feel like an uncoordinated buffoon because I could never get my legs and arms move in the rhythm they were supposed to.
I knew boot camp was going to be hard.
But this was way harder than I expected.
That first work out was a real wake up call for me.
I realized I had no idea what it meant to be in good shape.
But I wanted to find out.
So I stayed.
And I went back the next day, and the next and the next.
My entire body was sore for weeks.
Even my toes and fingers hurt.
I felt like I had been in a car accident or something.
But I kept going.
5 or 6 days a week, I’d wake up at 4:50, lace up my shoes and go.
But I kept going.
5 or 6 days a week, I’d wake up at 4:50, lace up my shoes and go.
I’d come home, a hot, sweaty mess, and fall into bed next to Aaron, moaning in pain, to tell him about our workout.
“It was soooo hard!”
Before long, I was glowing when I said it.
And my Facebook statuses began to be filled with tales of runs on Signal Hill, mastering a “real” push up, and how many crunches I’d done before 6 am.
I wanted to tell everyone about it.By my third week I had become quite proud of my progress: the workouts were still really hard, but getting a little easier.
It was Friday–running day.
I didn’t want to miss out on the run, but Aaron was home with a bad case of strep throat, and a fever.
I didn’t want to leave him at home with the kids at 5:30 in the morning, delirious with fever, so I stayed home.
But all day I was itching to go run.
Who had I become?
By the afternoon he was a bit better, so I decided to leave the big kids home watching a movie, and go run Signal Hill with 1 year old Davy and our double jog stroller.
I mean, I’d been boot camping for 3 weeks, so I could totally run Signal Hill pushing a stroller, right?
When drove up and pulled the stroller out of the car, I’m sure my trainer, Sami, thought I was crazy.
I was.
I couldn’t even run up that gigantic hill alone.
Trying to push the stroller too was nearly the death of me.
I felt like my lungs and quads might explode.
Turns out I wasn’t in as good of shape yet as I thought I was.
But I already felt so different, that it was easy to believe that I was.I finished the run with Davy, walking some, running some, huffing, puffing, and sometimes feeling like I was going to puke.
But afterwards, I felt amazing.
Like I had conquered the world.
In a way, I had.
I’ve always said I wasn’t a runner.
In fact, I despised running.
Yet there I was, wanting all day to run.
And then heading out with a baby in tow, because I had to get my workout in, no matter what.
That was the day I knew some big changes were happening.
Physically I was changing, but also mentally and emotionally.
I liked the sweat, the soreness, the red face, and the
And I loved it!
It was Friday–running day.
I didn’t want to miss out on the run, but Aaron was home with a bad case of strep throat, and a fever.
I didn’t want to leave him at home with the kids at 5:30 in the morning, delirious with fever, so I stayed home.
But all day I was itching to go run.
Who had I become?
By the afternoon he was a bit better, so I decided to leave the big kids home watching a movie, and go run Signal Hill with 1 year old Davy and our double jog stroller.
I mean, I’d been boot camping for 3 weeks, so I could totally run Signal Hill pushing a stroller, right?
When drove up and pulled the stroller out of the car, I’m sure my trainer, Sami, thought I was crazy.
I was.
I couldn’t even run up that gigantic hill alone.
Trying to push the stroller too was nearly the death of me.
I felt like my lungs and quads might explode.
Turns out I wasn’t in as good of shape yet as I thought I was.
But I already felt so different, that it was easy to believe that I was.I finished the run with Davy, walking some, running some, huffing, puffing, and sometimes feeling like I was going to puke.
But afterwards, I felt amazing.
Like I had conquered the world.
In a way, I had.
I’ve always said I wasn’t a runner.
In fact, I despised running.
Yet there I was, wanting all day to run.
And then heading out with a baby in tow, because I had to get my workout in, no matter what.
That was the day I knew some big changes were happening.
Physically I was changing, but also mentally and emotionally.
I liked the sweat, the soreness, the red face, and the
And I loved it!
There’s still more to the story.
Come back next week to find out what happened when my one month membership expired and to see some before and after photos.
Thanks so much for following along with Living Fit!
Greta