It's never boring!

Note to self: workout near Cyndi or Julie to avoid mosquito attacks.

Wow, it's really dark when we start now which makes the jog to the school along the sidewalk a little scary. It's hard to remember where the dip for the driveway is and you can't see any debris in the way.

By the time the sun comes up the mosquitoes decide it's breakfast time. I don't know why we look like such a tasty meal to them.

On Wednesday, Rita has has hopping, literally. We did a great circuit with a full agility ladder, plenty of quad and legwork, triceps, biceps.... a full workout!

One of the things I like most about boot camp is that we are never really watching the clock. We aren't usually thinking "When will this be over" (OK, maybe when we are doing the jillions and jillions of crunches). The time goes by so quickly and then we are able to start our day.

I wonder what Rita has in store for us for "Fun" Friday?

over & unders, walking lunges, wall sits...oh my....

Who would have thought we would miss the ab workout? How did Rita know I will be going skiing over Easter break in a couple of weeks. Seems like she was trying to get our quads ski worthy all in one morning workout.

I travelled to Minnesota last week and with good intention packed my work out clothes, but with the stress of long days of work, the time difference and the weather, my running shoes did not even make it out of my suitcase. Although I always took the stairs and never did the elevator, I felt very guilty and added to it with stress eating.

It felt so good to be back at a normal morning workout this morning. What fun Rita had in store for us. We wall sat for quite a while and then added some variations with one leg and then the other. Throw in some walking lunges (uphill) and the quads really start to burn.

We did one partner exercise called over and unders. One partner makes a bridge and the other crawls under. Then the partner goes into a modified push-up and the partner jumps over with two feet. I was so afraid I might accidentally stomp on Julie. She was such a good sport. We also did some "peek a boos" with the fence post. We kind of felt like cuckoo clocks.

We started in the dark due to the time change, but it was great to be outside and moving and sweating again.

Fun Friday!

Let's put on a 20 pound vest and do some Indian runs! I promise I didn't tell her Julie. Besides my daughter told me about the Indian runs they did for High School PE, where it wasn't just running to the front, but off the front and all they way around to lap the squad.

Today was a fun Friday. Lots of lunges and squats, then push ups and abs. What in the heck are Comanche's anyway.

Oh well I guess I better get in some cardio if I'm going to be in shape for the mud run.

Work is so stressful right now, but I'm never tempted to miss a workout. I need it to get my mind off of the pressures of the day. I wish it was 5 days a week again.

What happens when you knock over the cone?

10 push ups! yep.... Got to learn all the new rules.
This week I also learned there are valid excuses for missing boot camp.

1. Blisters (but I think it's only on certain parts of the body...not sure I got that one)

2. Work (Oh my she needed to be there by 10:00 a.m.)

3. Contagious illness

4. On travel for work (me next week off to Minnesota again - ugh treadmill time)

It's a fun group. Last week we did some boxing. It's fun because you think you are playing but are really getting a work out. This week we did some TRX bands. Rita had enough for everyone. The movements didn't seem difficult but by Tuesday evening we could sure feel the results on the muscle groups we had exercised.

I've signed up for the mud run in April. It works out to be a 5K but I guess with stopping for obstacles should be doable. http://www.ecomudruntour.com/

2010 - new year, new boot camp, new trainer

Ok... I guess it's time to start updating the blog again. Although I'm guessing my followers have moved on.

Our trainer, Roy, made other commitments for the 2010 year so it was time to rethink the morning workouts. I was hoping to do it with my husband since that was probably the only thing I wasn't liking about doing the boot camp. I thought I would try one through the city rec department near home for the month of January and perhaps if my husband's shoulder injury got better he could join me in the 2nd month.

The boot camp was Monday, Wednesday and Friday at a park near my home. Only problem was by the time I got home, showered, dressed and got on the road, I hit the huge traffic mess going south and really struggled to make it to my office at a decent time.

The work outs were OK but the trainer wasn't Roy. I mean who wants to do jumping jacks for two minutes straight? It also wasn't the same camaraderie. I was the oldest in the group, the only one who had children and the heaviest. I was able to keep up and it definitely helped me stay fit.

For the month of January my weight didn't go down and my body fat stayed the same but I lost over 2 inches in my waist (thanks to the ab work) and improved my mile time by 30 seconds. I think it was a bit short of a mile (.98) and at least my favorite work out partner, my daughter, Jessy helped paced me on the final test, but I was excited to be under a 10 minutes.

By February, my husband hadn't been signed off by his physical therapist. I hesitated spending the money, but he told me that spending money on boot camp is worth every penny. I joined one back in Lake Forest, even closer to work with my sister-in-law, Cyndi. On the first day as I glanced at the liability release (forgot to read the part about "you may get hurt") I did noticed I had to initial that I had the support of my family.

My new trainer isn't Roy either, but Rita is very encouraging, fit, upbeat and she even does a lot of the workout with us. There are some women in the group who have been doing it for over a year. Rita is able to adjust the workouts to the ability of the camper and is always making sure that we have good form to prevent injury and to ensure we are getting the benefit of the exercise (unless she just wants to make sure we are sore for the next workout.) We get a warm up and a cool down. She even lets us talk a little bit. Roy wasn't too keen on the talking, I'm not sure if it's because he didn't understand women could multi-task or if he really thought it bothered the other women in the class.

So I'm off to a new year with a new group of campers continuing on my journey to get fit.

Brrr.... how do they do it here?

It's 9 degrees outside and there is snow everywhere. I just wish I had my crampons from our Alaska glacier hiking trip last summer. Not only is it hard to make good choices when going out to eat every meal, it's hard to get motivated when you don't have your boot camp buddies. Add the time change and it is really tough.

I'm in Minnesota traveling for work and the Hotel I am staying at does have a small gym. But the treadmill is so boring and when I'm running on it, it's hard to read. I did bring my resistance band and have been doing triceps, bicep curls and a few other strength exercises that Roy has shown us. I also tried to do some cardio on the stationery bike. But I really really want to be outside, but it is way to cold. I seem to tense every time I'm outside and my feet get sooo cold.

Oh well just a few more days and it's back to sunny warm so cal.

It's good to be fit!

Today, my sister-in-law, Cyndi, my dear husband, Steve, my daughter, Jessy and Daytona bagged an Orange County Peak -- Bedford Peak. The first 2 miles had over 2000 foot of elevation gain. Cyndi led the way as she has been training by fitness walking on dirt trails with Jessy and Daytona not far behind. It was easy for me to keep an even pace for the 2000 climb.

Then we hiked the last half mile to the peak with a little gentler grade. At the top we could see the Lake Elsinore and city below. Although it was a little chilly on the top we had a great morning and headed back down the rocky steep grade. Daytona was in her element with what seemed like a permanent smile on her face. I could tell my recent workouts made a big difference in my speed and endurance. (Thanks Roy!).

Afterwards a nice lunch at Wahoos.

http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/CNFSilveradoMotorway_4472.asp

A good way to get in shape...

What do you do when your enlistment date for the Marine Corp is coming up and you still need some conditioning to meet the physical requirements? You join a fitness boot camp. Our new friend in boot camp is doing just that. I don't think any of us started boot camp with already being able to do full military style push ups and she can run the full parking lot!

She said when she started basic training right out of high school that she hadn't been on any school sports teams or much athletic training.

Well she is cute and tine with long dark hair and looks very much in shape to me. She said she would love to go to basic training again just to loose 20 pounds. I wonder how Roy compares to her DI. I don't' think he has made anyone cry yet!

It's great to see results!

Since I started boot camp in February:
down 22 pounds
loss of 30 3/4 inches overall

It doesn't matter how much you work out, if the calories going in are not less than the calories you are expending the weight will not come off. I was getting stronger and slowly losing. I was definitely eating healthier, but I need to really keep track of calorie intake if I wanted to see better results.

I went back to the weight watchers method of counting points which is really tracking calories, but it takes into account fat and fiber content and all vegetables are zero points. As our weight watcher leader says, they never knew anyone getting fat on eating carrots. Pat and our friend, Lou, attend a meeting each week close to work during our lunch hour.

This past week I went to see Sam to get an updated assessment and the numbers really showed the difference. I plan to keep losing - 28 pounds to go to make 50.

Sam wanted to know if I bought any new clothes. I actually was able to pull out some jeans I was holding onto and can easily fit into. I wore my other pants for a while even after losing 15 to 20 pounds as I had tried on the jeans at various stages, but in the past two weeks I pulled them out and they slid easily up and over my hips and snapped like they were a custom fit. Now I have to actually donate my larger jeans to someone else.
I'm a bit concerned that the weight could come back on, but I'm encouraged that if I lose it slowly and continue to stay active and exercise that I can maintain a healthy weight.

Now we will have a week off of Boot Camp. Steve and I will do our 15 mile fast ride in the morning be fore work. On Friday I was excited to think about not having to wake up at 4:45 a.m. But on Saturday while I was folding my newly washed work out clothes and putting them in the drawer I was kind of sad to think I wouldn't be getting my daily workout with the girls and Roy. I may miss it a little bit.

Lindsey Loves Abs!

Roy decided to take a 1 1/2 week trip to Hawaii in the middle of our boot camp. He left us in the very capable hands or a great trainer, Lindsey. Lindsey is very knowledgeable and was always well prepared. We were all on our best behavior because we didn't want her to give any bad reports to Roy when he got back.

She is a little quiet, (not at all sarcastic or crazy like Roy) and she really loves to work out the abs. It was great road laying to prepare us for the killer work outs that Roy moved us right into when he returned.

I was back at morning boot camp the Monday after my century ride. I felt fine for Tuesday and Wednesday but a little more tired than normal. By Thursday, I just couldn't face the early morning on the hill and I skipped a work out! I felt bad because only two women showed up that day for Lindsey. I thought maybe it was my age, but then I realized in all the century rides I had done in the past I didn't work out the whole week after. I guess the body really does need some recovery time.

Lindsey was good at always making sure we were warmed up and cooled down. She even taught us the name of a new muscle for stretching at the end of the session. The Piriformis muscle.

The piriformis (from Latin piriformis = "pear shaped") is a muscle in the gluteal region of the lower limb.