Friday, October 29, 2010 Fun Times

We had a smaller group for boot camp on Friday. Maybe some people decided to sleep in. It was my first work out as a 49 year old man. Jeez, fifty is right around the corner.

I had such a good time in class today. Ryan's choice of activities were varied and they were things that generally I'm pretty good doing. We did a couple different kinds of sprints with push ups at either end. Since Ryan called attention to the fact that most of us weren't getting low enough I've really tried to focus on form and getting lower. I'm happy to say it's getting easier. Not easy, mind you, just easier. Unfortunately for me though we went from sprints to ab work on the stability ball. Made me a little dizzy when I got to the ball so not sure I did my best ab work but pretty sure my form was good. I really enjoyed doing the box jump which added a burpee each time you jumped. That, my friends, was a challenge. Later we also did a rotation where we all lined up in plank position side by side. Then the person at the head of the line ran to the end while the rest of us stayed in the plank position. I, of course, didn't know we were going to be doing this so I was at the end of the line. So I got to be in that position the longest. Oh, well, good for the abs. Ryan also decided to add push ups at the end of every station and pretty much every chance he got. It was a challenging work out but everyone's enthusiasm combined with Ryan's energy just made for a really great, entertaining class. I was so glad I got up for it Friday morning.

Have a good one!

Roger

October 27, 2010 Running Fast

It was very windy this morning. We could hear the wind when we woke up this morning but it didn't sound as bad as I thought it might. I hesitated a minute to decide whether or not to go to boot camp this morning. I wasn't sure that I wanted to put Brenna, my new driver, on the Beltline in those winds. Since it didn't sound too bad I figured we would go for it. Once the decision was made to go, Sharon really kept me moving. She definitely doesn't want to do extra push-ups.

We got there pretty early. In fact, we were the first ones there. Dustin told us that we were going to do a barbell workout today. He also told us exactly how many plates he wanted us to put on our barbell. He also had us change up partners today because my weights were going to be heavier than the ones Sharon used.

Again, I've said this before, but what starts our not feeling too bad sure does get heavy after a while. I used 40lbs worth of plates. We started with bench presses. First a set of 12, then 10, and then 8. My partner was Rod. I started without having him add any additional pressure as I lifted. I did have him add it for me for the other two sets though.

Next we split up. One partner went to the stage to do some leg and upper body work. The other stayed with the barbells. We started with what seemed like a dead lift and then snapped that up to a curl. I liked to call it the bend and snap. Boy did that barbell start to get heavy. By the last one of my second set it was all I could do to lift that sucker.

The second time we went through the barbell station we did the bend and snap but we then added an overhead deltoid press. Yikes, I was scared to death I would lose my balance on this. But I didn't. Dustin told me I could do it so I pushed myself through it. I missed one where I just could not lift the weight but I shook out my arms a bit and then did do it. We did some swimmers after.

We finished off with the treadmill. 30 seconds off and 3o seconds on. We had a 10% incline. Rod and I started off pretty well I thought. Dustin apparently didn't think so. He came over and set our speed at 7.8. We were only at a 6. Oh my goodness was this hard. At one point I accidentally shut the machine down using the emergency stop. And it really was an accident. Well, I couldn't figure out how to turn it back on so I had to call Dustin back over to restart it for us. When he did, he reset it to 8.2! Yikes! I had to grab on to the bar after about 20 seconds. Still we both did it. Luckily then it was time to go home.

One last note. Sharon is starting to do non-modified push-ups. She isn't going low enough yet (but she knows that) but she keeps working her way to the correct down position. Keep going Sharon!

Have a good one!

Roger

Monday, October 25, 2010 Packers/Vikings? I'll take the Lions

Stayed up late watching the Vikings/Packer game. I must admit I didn't really have much at stake in the outcome. I cheered mainly for the Packers for Sharon's sake. And, during the final suspense filled quarter, I kept switching back and forth to Viva Las Vegas with Elvis and Ann-Margret. I cheer for the Lions. How can one not love a team that selflessly makes fans of different teams happy every week? And this week they made their own fans happy. They had a bye. But you just wait until next year...or the next...or the next...

Sharon was very tired after watching the game and then staying up to watch the press coverage. I actually fell asleep first which is very rare. This morning she told me she was glad I got up because if I had suggested we go back to sleep, she would have willingly gone back to sleep. However, once up she made she we hurried because she didn't want to be late and have to do extra push ups!

We wondered if Dustin would make it today since he was at the game last night. Had to be a late night for him. But he told us he was committed to being there and he was. It was, as usual, an excellent work out. We started with core work on the ball, leg work off the stage, and upper body work using the TRX equipment. Unfortunately I tweaked my hamstring during the leg work which hindered me a bit.

After the strength portion we did some intense cardio intervals on the tread mill. I couldn't run as fast as I should have but I had to cut myself a little slack with my stupid hamstring. Luckily, it does feel better now so I'm not sure what I did at the time.

We finished with some more core work on the ball, some strength training and some more core with the TRX straps. By the time we were done I was drenched. I love when my workouts leave me that way. Not so sure the people around me feel the same way.

Have a good one.

Roger

Friday, October 22, 2010 Smilin' Ryan

Hard getting up this morning. At about 3:15 am my son woke me up to ask me not to go to boot camp today. On the days Sharon and I go to boot camp his sister drives him to school. He likes when we do it better I guess. Later in the morning he called and I told him I did give him a kiss before I left. He said he knew. He felt it. However, it was 4:45 am, and I suppose he didn't want me to wake him up after all.

We started with a general warm up with Ryan and then switched to the card game warmup. Yikes! I couldn't believe it. Catching eye contact with a couple other members I think they agreed with me. In case you don't remember how the card game works, someone takes a card off the top of the deck. Each exercise is assigned a suit. Whatever suit comes up, you have to do that exercise. Today we did push ups with a twist, swimmers, low quad jumping jacks, and scissors. It did indeed warm us up a great deal.

For our stations it seemed like we did many exercises that affected the quads. Through the course of the workout we did sprints, one legged glute lifts on the ball, lifting the ball about 6" off the ground with our legs and holding, bent over flys, more push ups with a twist, bulgarian lunges, low walks with weights, squat jumps, one legged hops in a square plus some partner work. My legs, particularly my quads, were indeed screaming. Perfect season for it!

In all of the boot camp classes we go through many exercises. I have a love/hate relationship with them. Love them when I'm done, but hate them when I'm doing them :) I don't think I could have ever been an athlete. You read about how they love working through the pain and pushing themselves beyond that threshold. I try to push myself, but I don't love it. Again, just love it when I'm done and have that feeling of accomplisment. But, one thing for sure about boot camp, I definitely get my money's worth!

Have a good one.

Roger

Thursday, October 21 Will's Workout

Had Will for an instructor this week. This was only our second time having him. The last time we chatted with him after class about Michigan Stadium and the renovations as well as the team. When he saw us Wednesday he said, "I remember you two." So I guess he remembered our conversation.

I liked Will's workout. It was every bit as intense as Dustin and Ryan's yet it was different. We basically did the same exercises but he seemed to teach a little more like I teach my body sculpting classes. I was still a sweaty mess at the end though. He is very much like Ryan and Dustin in that he is very encouraging and pushes you to do your best. I remembered what Ryan told us about our class push ups last week so I really worked at keeping my head straight and lowering myself down closer to the ground. I certainly could feel it. Sharon did a great job keeping herself on her toes while we did rows from the plank position. She also tried to do a few push ups in the regular position, not the modified one! Woo hoo!

Well, Ryan again tomorrow. I'm tired already!

Have a good one.

Roger

Monday October 18, 2010 Day After

This morning would have been a very good morning to turn off the alarm and go back to sleep. While I was still a little sore from Ryan's Push Up Fest on Friday, I was really sore from my own body sculpt class. My legs in particular. But that was a very convenient excuse so I made myself get up and go.

I have to admit that my body made my work out very difficult today. When we were doing squat jumps in the warm up I knew, "Ok. This is going to be a challenge!" I didn't completely meet the challenge but I know I did the best I could. Push ups were a challenge. The first one we did I found I couldn't do. I couldn't bring myself up. But I did the second and went from there. I tried to do as many as I could on my toes. Now and then I'd go down on the knees and stretch and then get back up and try again.

The other stations weren't so bad. Anything involving the quads and keeping low were hard. We did many things for the legs in my class yesterday so working those again today...ouch! We also did side leg lifts which we did yesterday with bands so I was really paying for that today. Serves me right as I love having my class do those. Luckily we didn't do anything that had the inner thigh as the primary focus because the inner thighs are truly one of the weak spots.

In any event, glad I came and worked out and pushed myself through my soreness to get a good workout. I thought maybe the soreness would lessen as I became more warmed up but no such luck. So now a little rest, no weight training tomorrow, and back to it on Wednesday!

Have a good one.

Roger

Sunday October 17, 2010 Push Up Exhaustion

It is now Sunday and my chest still has not recovered from all the push ups we did in boot camp on Friday. All told Ryan said we did over 200 push ups by the end of class.

Friday was a high energy, intense workout as Ryan's always seem to be. I was tired before we even finished the warm up. We did many different stations that involved front and side planks, box jumps, sprints, deltoid presses, dead lifts using the plates, lifts across the body, and walking lunges. We also did push ups with a fly lift. Then we did more push ups. Then we had to start doing 10 push ups at the end of every station. It started to seem like endless push ups. We also had to do the card game. There is a pile of cards and each suit represents an exercise. You either did 5 burpees, 10 push ups (of course), 20 V-sit ups or 15 of something else. I'm still so exhausted I can't remember what the 15 things were. Also, if you pulled a joker you had to run in place for 30 seconds with high knees. After class, my arms were shaking. It must have been 9 am before I felt like I had any strength back in them. It was a great workout. Loved it!

I taught body sculpt today. We did some exercises for the chest but I didn't do push ups. Still, my chest is now more sore than ever. We don't do our exercises at the same rate that we do in boot camp since we are not looking at the cardio component but I do try to incorporate some of the same exercises into my classes. Hopefully I gave my class a workout that left them feeling as great as I did after mine on Friday.

Have a good one.

Roger

Wednesday, October 13, 2010 Balancing Act

Today's boot camp had a lot of core work that helped us with balance. Maybe not the best day for it.

Sharon and I got up at the usual time and drove to the health club. It was unusual in that I drove. I'm usually pretty tired in the morning but I've been worse after school so I had to drive. We arrived on time (no extra push-ups) and went in. Sharon, unfortunately, tripped on a step leading to the exercise room and fell down. Ouch! Sore knee to start class.

We broke into two groups for strength training and core work. The strength training was good, even though I had to keep adjusting so I would jump from the floor to the stage with both feet instead of leading with one. The core work was hard. We did push ups on the ball with our toes resting on the top, side planks with our feet resting on the ball and our body on the floor, more push ups, and then more side planks with our body on the ball. I did okay. The push ups were especially difficult, trying to remain on my toes while I tried to balance and do a push up. The side planks were not easy either and I know I had to get back on the ball a couple times. I did notice that Sharon was having an even harder time and finally just did the exercises on the floor.

Later we played catch with the stability balls. We would V-sit and toss the ball to the other person who would then try to catch it with their feet. This was a bit tricky. Once I tossed the ball to Sharon and she missed it. It kept bouncing and went and bounced on someone's head! Other times after I caught the ball I would fall back.

Next we stayed in the V-sit but rotated our torsos and threw the ball to our partner. This time Dustin was bouncing a ball to someone and it bounced on Sharon's head! Finally we did the wall sit, standing back to back with the ball in between us. I'm not sure what Sharon was doing but she kept adjusting her legs of something so she kept falling down. At least 3 times. I kept managing to catch myself. Dustin was supposed to throw a stability ball at the one supporting us and try to knock it out but, we either ran out of time or he felt sorry for us because he never did do us. We also did something where one person did the plank on the ball while the other did swimmers while trying to knock the person off. Sharon is still having a harder time with balance so Dustin told me not to hit the ball too hard.

So a lot of balance work today. We both need it. I can do the stablity ball stuff ok but still have a difficult time doing things on one leg. The stability ball was tough for Sharon. She fell over so many times people probably thought she was drunk. Just kidding. Well, now we have something extra to work on.

Have a good one.

Roger

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 Monday Morning

I was exhausted Monday morning. It was a long but fun weekend. Still, we managed to get up and get to boot camp as that is a great emotional outlet for us.

We had three different stations on Monday. We had one TRX station, one strength training station and one core station. Before we did any of them we had to go out on the exercise floor for some cardio. Sharon and I were too slow to get a treadmill so we had to use a stair master. 20 seconds on, 20 seconds off. While one person was using the stair master the other was supposed to apply pressure to their shoulders to make the exercise more difficult. Sharon said I applied too much and she couldn't do the work. When Dustin came by he told Sharon that she wasn't putting enough pressure on me so he showed her how to do it. It was much more difficult!

We had a great workout. Sharon worked very hard on the TRX suspension training, particularly on the side lunge exercises we did. She is still really sore today! Her inner thighs and glutes got quite the workout!

Really tired tonight but wanted to get this out. I've blogged every boot camp session as a way to keep myself accountable. Thanks to those of you who've read these and helped me keep myself going!

Have a good one.

Roger

October 6,2010 Trying TRX

Went back to boot camp today incredibly sore. We were supposed to discuss what body part was sore but for me it was the whole upper body! My abs, in particular, are still crying out from the barbell ordeal.

So, my body asks, what ordeal shall we go through today. Aha, the TRX ordeal, that's what! I had never actually seen the TRX straps in person before, let alone use them but 3 of our stations today involved them. The first was the body row which was pretty much what we did on the playground workout. I wasn't sure which straps to grab on this. The was a firm flat strap and a loose hanging strap. The first time we went this station I used the loose one. It was really hard. I wasn't quite able to pull myself up as high as I should. The second go round I used the firm strap which worked much better. I was able to get the necessary height. Not sure which was the right way but definitey liked the second way better.

The second station was for the hamstrings. We put our heels into the straps and then brought our legs in. I had my feet positioned correctly the first time but my body wasn't in the right place. Dustin grabbed me below the shoulders while I was lying down and pulled me to the correct position. It reminded me of being a kid and someone pulls you along and you yell, "Whee!" Like the little piggy in the Geico commercial. Some people hate that commercial but I love it. I think it is hilarious. Anyways, it became much tougher once I was moved.

The third station we held on to the firm straps, feet on the ground and did push-ups using the straps. Very hard. Just trying to hold myself in place had my upper body shaking. "This is tricky," I told Sharon. I wanted to make sure my feet weren't in too far either. I didn't want to make it easier on myself. I didn't. It was hard.

Another new station for me was the Bosu ball station. We attempted to balance ourselves while throwing the medicine ball back and forth to a partner. Sharon wasn't able to balance the 1st timed so she just threw it to me while she was on the floor. The second time she balanced very well but I didn't. Every time I caught the ball I fell off the Bosu! Every time!

We did many different stations today and also ran in the parking lot for a little cardio. My heart rate gets up plenty just doing the different stations. It was an excellent workout and my arms were shaking after class from the TRX push ups. They don't seem to have a whole lot of strength to them now. Glad I have a day to recover before Ryan or Dustin on Friday.

Have a good one.

Roger

October 4, 2010 Dustin on my Mind

My wife Sharon once told Dustin about a boot camp dream she had. He told her he was starting to get into her mind. Guess what? He does that. He gets in your mind and pushes you to really give what you can.

Sunday was sunny and a little cold. Sharon and I decided to go ahead and do our cardio test. Elijah timed for us. When I started off I told myself Dustin says only to go about 70-80% of my maximum here. Then I really tried to push myself on the hill. Dang that Ryan for his leg busters. I could really feel it on the legs. Still I kept pushing. I tried to remember what Dustin said about leaning into the hill, use my arms, and don't walk. That last part didn't work, and much to my surprise, I walked. Not long though. I was just about where the hill flattened out. Dang those leg busters! Then there's Dustin telling me, Don't walk. Keep moving. So I started moving again. I got to the fence and started down. Scary but I said, "Don't hold back. Keep going." Then I reached the flat end and really tried to kick it. I kept going, pushing myself as fast as I could. I beat my last time by 32 seconds. If only I hadn't walked!

Today was our first indoor boot camp. It was held at Supreme Health and Fitness. We did a barbell heavy workout. When we set up we were told to put either 2 or 3 weights on each end of the barbell. I was only going to put on two. Then I said to myself, "Dustin will never let you get away with that." So I added the third. Later, as part of a rotation, we had to jump up onto a step lifted on risers. I picked a medium height. I didn't go for the lowest, or the highest because it seemed to me my legs were too short. Again, Dustin didn't let me get away with that. He told me that was too easy and moved me over to the highest one. I really didn't think I could hop up there but I did. The second part of that rotation was sitting on the step and moving to a standing position using only one leg. I was ready to start and Dustin moved me again. This time I had to go to the lower step because the higher step was too easy! I guess whatever Dustin challenges us with I might as well try the hardest level because he's going to probably move me there anyways! Except I cannot do a plank on the ball with one leg up in the air. My balance isn't there yet. I also will continue to be careful with weight because I know you should never sacrifice form to increase weight.

Our first indoor workout was really challenging. I know I'll be sore tomorrow because of those barbell roll outs we did for our abs. I've done those before and it always leaves me sore.

On my non-boot camp workout days I'm going to try and keep Dustin's challenges on my mind so I continue to push myself to get better. At the end of October I'm going to be 49 even though I know I look nowhere near that :) And you know the saying, "You're not getting older, you're getting better."

Have a good one.

Roger

October 3, 2010 Chariots of Fire-The Season Finale

On Friday, October 1, 2010 Sharon and I attended our last outdoor boot camp for the season. Ryan was our instructor. I really wanted to turn over and go back to sleep but I got up at 4:30 and away we went.

It was cold Friday morning but not nearly as cold as it had been recently. I wore my sweats over my workout shorts just in case. Our warm up took place in the parking lot. It was short and sweet. Then we gathered outside the shelter for what Ryan called his “leg busters”. We did a couple rotations of wall sits, star jumps, and hopping on one foot. Then we went inside and did these skiiers, tube pulls across the body, deltoid lifts and then some squat pulses with medicine ball throws.

After a couple of rotations with these we did some one legged squats with some goofy jumping jacks. They did indeed look really silly but they did work you out.

Finally we went outside for chariots or, as Ryan calls them, “Chariots of Fire”.

We went into groups of 3. The first person in line ran, the second pulled, and the third did burpees. Then we would switch. I had to check with the person I was holding to make sure I didn't pull too hard. Sharon was the partner that had to hold on when I ran. Unfortunately, she said I was too strong for her and she couldn't pull me back enough to challenge me. So, just to be helpful, she called Ryan over and he became the person that pulled me back. He didn't pull as hard as he could so I was still able to run somewhat.

To finish our workout we did 5 tricep presses followed by 5 push ups. We did as many as we could within the given time frame. Sharon said it was a really good workout, and it was, but my legs felt really good after.

Fast forward to today. Ouch, I could still really feel the leg busters. My hamstrings were especially sore but quads hurt too. Unfortunately we also had to do our final cardio test today. Lessons learned from that: running with a group definitely helps, the hill looks much harder to run in the midst of morning, definitely warm up before starting and when Ryan says leg busters, he's serious.

Sharon and I did run the hill and we both improved. Sharon improved by 35 seconds and I improved by 32. That means I finished in under 4 minutes. That was my goal so good for me!

Well, tomorrow we start indoor boot camp. Excited to see what new challenges has in store for us.

Have a good one.

Roger