December 20, 2010-This Week's Bootcamp. Ouch!

Wow. What a workout yesterday. Can barely move my arms today. So glad that the snow we had to shovel was so light. Dustin told us we would be doing an intense upper body workout and that we did.

There were three stations yesterday. We used the barbell, the stage, and the TRX straps. Sharon and I used the barbells first. We did barbell rows, bicep curls, up right rows and then more curls. Everything was to be done very slowly, The first time through this station wasn't too bad because we only used about 44 pounds and I usually have to do more. So felt pretty good after this one.

The second station was the stage with dumb bells (the equipment, not the people). We did tricep presses and deltoid presses. Not too bad again.

Finally, the TRX straps. Very bad. Ouch. We did pulls ups using the straps. We also did push ups. Even just holding yourself up on the straps was very hard. After we went through all 3 stations we took a water break and then did them again. Nothing was so easy this time. But I didn't feel especially tired, then.

After 2 rotations we went on to the tread mill. Yes, I hate the tread mill. An incline of 15 with 20 seconds on and 20 seconds off with the speed of 8.5 mph. By the time we were done my chest was about to burst and my throat was raw. I was so glad we were done. I did have to grab the handle a few times to make sure I didn't fall off. Dustin told me to try and not hold on, just like I was on the hill. But on the hill I probably would have been walking! In any event, we were done. Great work out but left me feeling sick. And today I'm really sore.

Last week was similar only we worked on lower body. I wasn't as sore though the next day though. We intend to go to bootcamp 2 more times this week. Hopefully we'll work just as hard but not be quite as sore.

Have a good one.
Roger

Back to It-Thursday, December 9, 2010

Well, this week I got back to boot camp after a week off due to illness. Ugh, it's hard to get back even after 1 week.

On Monday, we did the bar workout. Ouch. The bar workout is really tough. As I've said before, 60 lbs can get really heavy when you have to lift it repeatedly! At least the push ups were easier. My arms and legs were extremely weak when we were done and I felt nauseous. It was a pretty great workout!

Wednesday was a fun circuit. We had about 32 people at bootcamp that day. We were divided into 5 or 6 circuits including one using the TRX straps. Every station challenged us in a different way. We used the stability ball for core and the dumb bells for triceps, deltoids, back, glutes, and hamstrings. The TRX worked on our core, chest and balance. It was a workout that truly encompassed all areas. After the stations we found a partner and passed the stability ball around in a variety of ways. We also held the plank position on the ball while our partner tried to push us off. Sharon and I both talked about what a good yet challenging time we had doing this workout.

Have a good one.

Roger

Challenges and Obstacles-December 4, 2010

Hey guys. Haven't been to bootcamp since November 24th. Here is a blog I posted on another site about that experience.

Have a good one.

Roger

Tuesday Musings November 23, 2010

Was a very difficult morning yesterday. Hard to get up and get going after an exhausting weekend. But, get up I did. What a surprise to arrive and find that Ryan was our leader for bootcamp. As usual he gave us a very tough workout. He makes it all look so easy but it never is! We did a couple different rotations. Lots of push ups as usual. I had a hard time with the jump rope. It wasn't that it was exhausting me but I kept tripping. One jump rope was much too long and the other too short. I wound up using the short one and just kind of bending my head over so that I could keep going. The long rope just didn't work for me! We did a great deal of core and upper body work. I didn't even realize how hard we were working until we were almost done and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to finish. When we left I felt I had no strength left in my arms. It was a great workout.

Today we worked out at the Princeton Club. The gym we usually use was unfortunately double booked so we go the boot out of boot camp. Sharon and I were so disappointed that we worked out at the club and then forced ourselves to go out for breakfast. Not a great decision but it was pretty tasty.

Have a good one.

Roger

Another 2fer Sunday, November 21, 2010

Went to 2 bootcamps last week. We went out of town for a professional visitation day for me so missed on Friday. Don't like missing Ryan's classes since he is so enthusiastic and motivational. Won't see him this week either. Oh well.

We had a great couple workouts. Unfortunately just a tad under the weather this week so they seemed really hard. Did some TRX training and some tough cardio on the stair master. We also did some core work on the stability ball. Overall just some good old fashioned hard work.

Have a good one.

Roger

Thursday, Nov 11, 2010 To the Core

Yesterday was a strong core workout. We got a relief from too much arm work because so many people were still sort from the bar workout on Monday.

When we started class I noticed there was not too much equipment out so I thought, "Oh, no, the treadmill." Luckily I was in a for a nice surprise when Dustin said he wanted to take advantage of the nice weather while we had it and took us outside for some cardio. We broke off into groups of three and ran a kind of relay. We weren't racing each other but just needed to push ourselves the best we could. While you were running you were supposed to carry a 15 lb. weight over your head. Had to be careful not to drop it or carry it to low or you would get a nice little bump on your head! It was still somewhat dark outside too so also wanted to be careful not to fall. That would hurt and be kind of embarassing. After the relays we did some regular sprinting. I find that I really enjoy that as long as I'm not tackling some huge incline!

Inside we worked with partners. We did some things alone like one person doing a leg pendulum with the stability ball while the other did crunches with weights. We also did some cool partner things like one person staying in the plank position while the other did pushups off their back. Unfortunately Sharon had a really sore back yesterday so I had to do this off the stability ball. That can be pretty challenging though. I've done it as an instructor though so I was able to push myself. We also did side planks where our partner held us up by both legs and then by one leg while we had to hold the other up. That was very hard. I had to use one hand to help support though. I really wanted to be careful of Sharon's back.

It was a very good workout. I laughed because Dustin said it probably wasn't as intense a workout as we usually do and we probably weren't as sweaty...but I was drenched and Sharon was sweatier than usual so I think it was pretty darn good!

Have a good one.

Roger

November 8, 2010 Fit Fun Boot Camp-You Are There

Hey guys. Instead of telling you about boot camp today I thought I would show you. This video was taken over a couple days using the Sony "Bloggie" which is like a Flip camera. It has very limited internal memory though. I didn't know that and ran out of memory right away on the first day. I got a memory card and added some more to it. That's why in one clip I'm all sweaty and in the next I'm dry. Anyways, I've blogged so much about it I thought I'd give you a brief look at a workout. Oh, and sorry about any Blair Witch shaking to the video quality!

Have a good one!

Roger

Wednesday, November 3 2010 2 for 1

Hey guys. Posting about my workouts on Monday, November 1 and Wednesday, November 3. Trying to keep a good record for myself of what I've done so don't want to leave any workouts out.

Monday was not my finest hour. The workout was good and challenging but I was under the weather a bit. Hadn't been feeling well all weekend but would not let myself use that as an excuse. We did a great deal of core using the stability ball, used the tread mill, worked with weights. Sharon said she could tell I wasn't myself. But I did work hard. And I got my workout.

Today was an extensive cardio workout. Dustin warned us of that in advance. We did a nice workout to get the blood flowing and the muscles warmed up and then BAM! Started on the treadmill, 30 seconds on 45 seconds off so that we could do 10 pushups in between. Dustin wanted me to have a nice sprint so he set my treadmill at 9.5. Boy does that belt move fast at 9.5! I had to walk for a couple of seconds before doing my push ups to catch my breath.

Back in the exercise studio we used the stability ball. One person did planks on it while the other person tried to knock them off with their arms the first time and their legs the second time. We also threw the ball to each other while sitting in a V and then catching it with our legs. Then we threw it pushing out at chest level while in a lunge position. Finally one partner sat in a bridge position while the other did tricep dips of their legs. That was tricky! While still in the room we also did wheelbarrows across. Dustin was my partner for this because Sharon's back is still sore. He pushed me hard so I get across the floor pretty fast.

We finished with more treadmill. 15 seconds on, 30 seconds off at a 15% incline. This time, due to the incline I guess, I only had to run at an 8.0. When we were finished today I was really whipped. Sharon was incredibly happy because she loves cardio.

That's it for today. Have a good one.

Roger

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

September 30, 2010 Lighter Than Air

Okay. I'm trying this again. I had this blog all finished and ready to publish last night and somehow it got accidentally erased. I saved the darn thing as I went along but when I tried to reopen it all I got was a picture. Hopefully I can remember some of what I wrote!

It was actually a beautiful early morning yesterday. The temperature was quite pleasant and I regretted the sweat pants I had worn. Our entire workout was at the hill. We began by walking across the field to where the hill began. Now I must admit I love horror movies. Not the grisly, gory, torture as entertainment kind of horror movies, but more the ghosts, supernatural, zombies kind of horror. And walking at the back of the group, across the field in the dark, with everyone just kind of silhouetted against the still moonlit sky, I told Sharon this looked just like a scene from Night of the Living Dead. "They're coming to get you Barbra!" Yikes!

After the warm-up we did the hill workout. We started by running up the hill for 20 seconds and then taking a minute to come back down. Then we did it again, trying to beat our distance. We did this a few times and then finished with a 25 second run. I felt really good during this. My legs felt strong and my breathing was all right. I beat my distance each time and came back down relatively quickly. My legs felt lighter than air. Just like Ramona the Pest when she ran around the playground. Also, I knew this would be the last hill workout with Dustin this outdoor boot camp season so all was good!

Once at the bottom of the hill we did an upper body workout. Some deltoid presses, bicep curls, and push-ups. We did this rotation twice, trying to do the push-ups where you explode off the ground and try to clap in between each one. I laughed though because my hands kept sticking to my mat! Made it kind of hard to get my hands off to clap and you come down really quickly.

We returned to the hill for our second go round. We ran up the hill for 10 seconds and then walked back down for 10 seconds. We would do this until we reached the fence at the top. As we got closer to the top, that 10 second walk certainly became much slower. At one point the people at the lower end of the group didn't have to walk back down while those at the higher end continued to walk down. Well, that was good and bad. The good was that I was in the group that had to continue walking. The bad was that I was in the group that continued walking!
After that we walked almost, but not quite, to the bottom of the hill. Now we ran for 5 seconds. Stopped. Then ran for another 5 seconds. Stopped. And on and on until we reached the top. I had a hard time just stopping. I had to shake my legs out or walk in place. It was hard for me to just stand still. Again, when we were done, I felt great. My legs still felt strong.

We continued our upper body workout with partners. We worked the deltoids more and did some partner pushups. At one point Sharon seemed to be applying more pressure on my wrists while I was doing deltoid work. I told her I was really starting to feel it and she said I would probably feel it still more since Dustin was helping her put the pressure on. Ouch!

For our last run up the hill, we had to carry our weights while we ran. That took the wind out of my sails. That was 40 lbs of extra weight I had to carry. I tried to run, even slowly, but I only made it about a third of the way up. I kept moving the weights around trying to find the position I could run best with but that would have been the position of weights on the ground so that wouldn't work. I walked for about the next third and then Dustin came over and encouraged me to run for 15 seconds. He counted it for me while I ran (if you could call it a run but I tried!) and I kept that pace back up to the fence. At one point I thought of just dropping one weight but I knew that I couldn't drop 20 lbs of weight that quickly in reality so I made myself continue to hold onto both. I asked myself what a 48 year old man, only 4 weeks away from being a 49 year old man was trying to prove. Nothing I told myself. I'm not proving anything. I'm just trying to stay in shape for my health, my kids, my life. Good enough reasons to keep on pushing.
However, when we finished my legs certainly didn't feel lighter than air or strong. They were beat!

Our last section was core work. It was getting increasingly foggy now. The mist was surrounding us. Who knows what could be in the mist. Could be unknown creatures or cursed pirates. I wasn't in possession of ill gotten gold so I knew i had nothing to worry about. Except for the core work. Managed to get through it though. The swimmers were the toughest for me for some reason. Oh well.

Now. One more outdoor boot camp this season and then we move indoors. From Dustin's description it should be fun and challenging. Very much looking forward to it!

Have a good one.

Roger

September 27, 2010 Double Duty

This morning was cold. Really cold! I decided to wear sweat pants as well as my hoodie to boot camp. Got off to a rough start though. After locking the door I couldn't find my keys. We finally had to leave with me keyless. I was not a happy camper. We had to leave so we wouldn't be late. We did not want to do extra push-ups this morning for tardiness. Luckily, when we got to camp I found my keys. They had dropped into my lunch bag.

We did a parking lot workout today so we could exercise where it was lit. There seemed to be a lot of people this morning. People were lined up along the curb and the line seemed to go on a ways. We put our mats down at one end of the parking lot but had to move them so that we were all closer together.

After our warm up Dustin told us we would break into 2 groups. One group would do core work with mild strength training while the other did chariots. Chariots! I didn't mind but Sharon said "We just did these on Friday!" Sharon is not a fan of chariot races. Our group got to do core first and then we would do the chariots. I noticed someone pull into the lot late and thought, "Uh-oh, extra push-ups for someone." Well, someone got a little something extra all right but little did I know it would be me. While we started our core, Dustin discovered that someone had indeed arrived late. He had already divided the group evenly so everyone had a partner and now he had one extra. While I was doing my sit-ups with a dumb bell press across the body, Dustin told me that I would be doing 2 people. Yikes. Extra cardio I thought. 2 trips down and back. First with Sharon and then the other person. I thought that was kind of odd since there were 3 of us I thought maybe we could just do a rotation but I figured I'd just do what he wanted. Well, when it came time for us to do our chariot racing I learned I had figured it all wrong! I put the tubing around 2 different people while they ran across. Then on the way back they both held the tubing while I ran across! That was quite the challenge for me. But, yay, I did it. However when we went back to the core work I found it to be extremely difficult now. Then we had to do the tubing again, but backwards. We finished with a run across backward, and then came back forward. I was almost done, turned to Sharon and said, "At least we won't have to do the hill now."

"When you are done, take a water break, and then sprint across the field and up to the top of the hill," Dustin said. I literally almost stopped in my tracks! After the tubing I didn't know if I could walk, let alone run to the top of the hill. My sprint became a walk across the field and then I tried to run when I got there. I made it about 1/3 of the way and then had to walk the next 1/3. When I was almost to where Dustin was standing I started to sprint. He encouraged me and even ran with me so I kept pushing. The people at the top were also calling to me and encouraging me so I did make it finally. I didn't care that I was second to the last. I just wanted to get there. We walked back down and slowly sprinted across the field and back to the shelter. We were finished.

I found that on our way to the Princeton Club to shower my legs were shaking. They did this all the way down the stairs and to the locker room. I also felt like I had no strength in my arms. The shower helped a great deal and I'm feeling pretty good now.

That was quite the workout for me but I liked the challenge. I was disappointed that I walked a third of the hill but my legs wouldn't listen to me. Got so much more to work on I guess. Always a work in progress.

Have a good one.

Roger

September 26, 2010 The Blustery Day

Had to get up extra early on Friday and really move. Didn't get my stuff ready the night before plus had to get Elijah's stuff ready too. Moved so fast we wound up leaving earlier than usual and arriving at boot camp really early.

The wind was really howling that morning. I couldn't believe how windy it was. Ryan had us work out in the bigger, lit shelter. We did warm up in the parking lot. Glad I had on my hoodie because that wind made it a little chilly. For our workout we did several stations. Jumping rope was hard but I wasn't sure if it was because I did it outside of the shelter and the wind made it a little more difficult or I'm just clumsy at it. We also spelled our names with the medicine ball held in extended arms, deltoid work, and jumps. Later we did chariot runs. Sharon was my partner and she held on for dear life. We only did one band and I really pulled her across the grass. We also did tricep presses and pyramid push ups. That was quite the challenge. We finished with core.

Our last week of outside boot camp is coming up. The mornings should be cold and the grass wet. We will be so happy to throw away those old shoes on Friday.

Have a good one.

Roger

September 23, 2010 The Results Are In...

Yesterday's boot camp was a retest day and a hill workout day. Both went pretty well.

I was very happy with my results. I improved in all areas. I increased my push-ups, going from 32 to 50. When I count my push ups I have to count in groups of 10. Just seems easier if I'm only doing ten rather than thinking I'm on number 49. I can tell today that I did 50 push-ups. My chest is sore.

I did better in my wall sit as well. This was the first time I used any weight while I sat. I held a 20 lb weight. I improved a minute and a half. The last time I sat only a minute but this time I got through 2:45. To help me this time I used my ipod shuffle. I do much better if I take the concentration away from my legs and sing along in my mind to the music. It worked.

Finally the burpees. Went from 19 to 22. I was cruising but around 16 I started to tucker out. Must have been the push-ups because my arms felt really tired as I lowered myself down and got back up. Still, improvement is improvement. We still have to do our cardio test. Sharon and I are planning on doing that on Sunday. I want to try and improve by 12 seconds so that I do it in under 4 minutes but we'll see.

For most of the rest of the time we did a hill workout. It really is getting easier. Except for running backwards. I ran on the path but it was slippery and my foot slid off a little bit. Avoided a fall. Sharon wasn't so lucky and over she went. I told her she was just really trying to become one with the hill, and was trying to merge into it. She told me she also fell after the wall sit. Poor Sharon. Sometimes physical grace is not one of her strong points. But I love her anyways!

Off to bed now for early boot camp again tomorrow.
Have a good one.

Roger

September 20, 2010 Playground Fun

The outdoor workouts are quickly coming to an end and we will soon be moving inside. Today we did one of my favorites, the playground workout.

There were quite a few people at boot camp today. Dustin has a special 14 day plan going and it looks as if many people are taking him up on the offer (I think we are going to try the food plan that goes with this but we will wait until October when pay day finally comes). Since there were so many people we had a lot of stations to cover. Each station lasted 45 seconds. My favorites today were the medicine ball, the body row (I'm getting so much better on this), the pull ups (I still am really bad here but I'll eventually get it), and the knee tuck for the abs. All the exercises were effective but those ones I particularly like. When we finished one full rotation of the stations we had to run a lap around the parking lot. This is actually getting much easier so my endurance must be getting better. We did a second rotation but each station was only 30 seconds. Then we sprinted again and I still did pretty well. My motivation was that the faster I went, the faster I could be finished and get some water. We finished with some exercises to start bringing our heart rate down. We did some burpees (which we will be tested on this coming up Wednesday) and mine still were not great. Dustin told us to aim for 12 and I did 14 so that wasn't too bad.

I'm looking forward to moving indoors. I'm very curious as to what kind of workouts we will do there. This whole boot camp has been quite the adventure and I can't wait to see what the journey holds next.

Have a good one.

Roger

Friday, September 17, 2010 A New Discovery!

Late night last night. Stayed up late trying to finish laundry, reburn some CD's, and do some dishes. Then Elijah woke me up at 2:30 am! Everything got accomplished but paying the price for it this morning.

Morning did come way too early and almost skipped my workout. I have a long drive tonight and really didn't want to be too tired but Sharon had a conference this morning that she couldn't be late for so we decided to just go to camp. I was so out of it that when we got there I was a little confused. The shelter we usually use for rain was lit up. I thought it was our regular one so when Sharon moved to park I couldn't figure out why she was parking so far away. Finally I figured it out.

Smilin' Ryan was our instuctor today. He had us take our weights with us on our warm ups. We did some lunge walks and then ran some. We then used the weights and rotated them over our heads and then touched down bt the opposiet leg. This was the exercise we were doing when Sharon hurt her back last time. She was very careful this time and all was should. We also did some squats "under the rope" and jumps "over the rope", some push ups, and some side steps. All these really got the heart rate going and warmed up the muscles.

We went back to the shelter for our stations. We did an agility drill using the picnic table benches, some 180 degree jump turns, medicine ball work against the wall and then some deltoid presses. We had a break and then did it all again. When we finished the second time we didn't get a break. We had to go into tricep dips, slow count pushups, and more tricep dips. Then a water break.

The rest of the workout took place outdoors. Core work. We started with planks, then moved to swimmers. We then turned over and did penguins where we shifted side to side trying to touch our feet. Then we did side planks with a twist. Finally we performed russian twists and then V-sits. But we had to keep doing this. Russian twists, switch to V-sits, russian twists, v-sits, russian twists, v-steps! I didn't think this would ever end!

We finished with some cardio. Again we used the medicine ball. We didn't actually thow it but we quickly took the ball out and in (keeping it at chest level). We also used the jump ropes and ran through the ladder, lifting one knee high and then switching to the other. Yay. The End.

My new discovery for myself, which was very encouraging, is that I find I am now trying to get those extra reps at the end of a count. In the past, when the instructor would start counting down I would slow way down so I wasn't quitting but I wasn't doing as many. Now, when they start counting down I try to push myself harder so that I can fit in a few more before we change.
Another example was today when we were doing penguins. For a penguin we just lie on our backs with our legs in the air. Then we shift at the waist bringing down our arms towards our feet. Ryan told us to try and touch the sides of our foot as we did this. I could do it but I thought, "Maybe I should just bring my knees in a bit. My feet would be closer and this would be easier!" Tempting thought but I didn't do it. So, to me, all this is progress. I am becoming more willing to exert a little more pressure to myself in order to improve my fitness level.

Have a good one and Go Blue!

Have a good day.

Roger

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 The Hills Are Alive...

I woke up not feeling particularly well today. Only into the third week of school and may have caught a little bug already. Oh well, I figured this bit of queasiness and sore throat certainly would not keep me from attending the Michigan game on Saturday so I would not let it keep me from boot camp either.

We got to Elver Park a few minutes before Dustin so we waited in the car. I wasn't sure where we should park because if it was going to be a parking lot workout we would have to move the car. Dustin pulled in and drove into the park and over to the hill. Oh no. I knew this meant a hill workout. I also knew this meant it would be really tough. I resigned myself to this fact when I realized Sharon was ecstatic. She really loves the hill workouts. I half expected her to run up the hill, belting out the words to "The Sound of Music." Only the hills would soon be alive with the sound of huffing and puffing, mainly mine. However, the hill was one of the main reasons we chose to go to the Elver Park boot camps to begin with. We both wanted to conquer it. We have taken different approaches though. Sharon has embraced the hill. It is her friend. She looks forward to the hill workouts and today was no exception. As for me, well, as my son once remarked to me as we passed the park, "That hill is your arch enemy isn't it Dad?" Dang straight. But maybe I need to take the other approach. Maybe I need to become one with the hill. Maybe I just need to go sit or lie on the hill, breathe in its scents, roll around and feel the texture. Can't really enjoy the view because it's too dark. Ah, maybe not. It's too wet in the morning.

But I digress. We went carefully over to the hill as it was still pretty dark. When we got there, carrying our mats, weights, and water with us, Dustin told us we needed to break into 2 groups. A faster group and a slower group. Sharon told me I had to go with the quicker group. I wasn't sure but all the other times we've done this I've had to go with the quicker group so I did again. We were going to do a 15 minute challenging hill workout. Challenging was a nice word for it.

The first time we ran all the way up the hill to the fence and then came back down. I made it up okay, not last so I guess I was in the right group, but coming down was slow. I don't know why but I continue to come down slowly for fear of falling. Especially in the dark. Unfortunately Dustin already gave the direction before I made it all the way down. We were to pick up a medicine ball and carry it up the hill all the way back to the fence. I missed the part where he said if we were one of the last ones we probably should go up without the ball! Darn it! By the time I got all the way down and picked up a ball, everyone else was already on their way up. This made it extra hard because now I was running by myself. Also, it was so dark, I didn't even know who was in my group! Still, Dustin was encouraging and kept me going. All the way to the fence. Even though everyone was on the way down, he told me to go all the way to the fence. So I did. And then came all the way down. Next, we went up the hill again, this time going sideways, switching sides, then moving backwards, and forwards. Again, I was behind but I do better with the side movements. Dustin looked over to tell me to try and catch up but then saw that I was. Going backwards was tougher though. It is hard on the quads but the real problem here is I don't want to fall. I'm not sure what the big deal about falling is since the hill can't be too hard but I don't want to do it. Maybe it's the Carrie Ingalls thing. You know, at the beginning of Little House on the Prairie when the girls are running down the hill and Carrie falls down. She pops back up though. I'll have to remember that if I fall down. Again, I digress. Finally we did the last part on the hill. We sprinted for 10 seconds, walked back down for 10, sprinted for 10, walked back for 10. I was really winded here but I did do it. Yay! Finally it was time to come down and switch.

It was time for the next group to go on the hill and we were going to do our strength training. Sharon probably had a hard time restraining herself as she was so eager to do the hill. She probably should have just been in the hill group both times. Stanley really worked us in the strength training. We did 4 kinds of push ups, tricep extensions, back lunges with bicep curls, deltoid lifts, squats with deltoid presses and then more deltoid work using palm presses. We finished with the medicine ball, lifting it over our heads, then reaching down across our body and touching the ground on the other side. We did this while standing on one leg. As usual I was last going over to get a medicine ball so that there weren't any more when I got there. I started to go back to my mat and was going to use my dumbbells when Stanley said, "Wait. We found one more." "Dang," I said out loud without realizing it. I only realized I said it when Stanley and others in my group started laughing. This exercise was a killer balance workout and I really need to work on my balance more. The people on the hill finished and came back to join us. Sharon said, "We didn't have to do that one, " meaning that last exercise. Hey! I want to join the slower group next time. When we break into these fast/slow groups we always seem to have to do something extra!

We finished with core exercises. Planks, side planks, russian twists, swimmers, and upper body squirms. Overall it was just an extremely challenging workout. It was a cool morning and I was again drenched. And as soon as just a little light started to come out so did those pesky mosquitoes!

Sharon said this was probably her favorite workout of the whole summer. See, so Maria Von Trapp-like. She probably put this workout right on her list with raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. I was exhausted but it really is such an exhilirating exhaustion. Makes all the huffing and puffing worth it.

Have a good one.

Roger

Monday, September 13, 2010 Chariot Races

Today was the workout Sharon said she had been dreading. With good reason too. It was really hard!
Even the warm up was hard.

We did our workout on the tennis court today. We started with slow sprints across the tennis courts that rapidly became faster sprints. We ran forward, did karaokes (the exercise, not the singing), and side shuffles. When we were finished we did the chariot workout.

We broke into two groups, partnered up and then took two sets of tubing. One person wrapped the tubing around their waist while the other pulled back as hard as they could, providing as much resistance as possible. The lead person then ran across the tennis court. Once there we switched and ran back and repeated. Not as easy as it sounds believe me! We also had to do this while doing frog hops, side shuffles, and running backwards. We also had a great deal of leg work built into our stations while the other group was taking their turn. We did quick squats, lunges with bicep curls, backward lunges with deltoid presses and one legged dead lifts . We also did push ups while our partner provided resistance, regular push-ups, russian twists with a chest press, swimmers, and held a crunch position while the bottom half did squirms. It was a great workout but it was a workout!

Dustin asked me if we went to the Michigan game this weekend. I said no be we watched it. He thought I said we lost. Boy did Sharon jump in quick to correct him on that. The other people in the class laughed and also corrected him, telling him I said I watched it!

Today was a real example of why I like boot camp. It was challenging but everyone was so enthusiastic and happy. So much effort and pushing each other and it was 5:30 in the morning! I hope it is as fun when we move inside.

Have a good one!

Roger

Sunday, September 12, 2010 Anniversary Workout

Wednesday was my wedding anniversary. To start off the day on a positive we went to boot camp! Way to start!

Boy does it seem to be darker each morning we go. It is so dark that you have to be careful just walking to the shelter before starting. When Sharon and I were walking I noticed we couldn't even see the hill. "Look out," I said, "the hill has eyes!" Of course, we did a hill workout that day. It wasn't too bad actually. If you were on the hill, in the first rotation, you ran up for 30 seconds and then had 15 seconds to walk down. You did this four times. The second time you ran up 30 and came down in 60. Only 3 times this time. I was happy that I still had some left after so that was good. The weights were a combination of core and upper body. We also did some things for our legs. The fun part was the wheelbarrow. Sharon couldn't do this with me because of her back so Dustin was my partner. He really wanted to push me so he made me go very fast! I kept going as fast as I could and I'm sure it must have been very comical. The next time we did it we had to move sideways. Again I had to go pretty fast. It was funny to watch the other people around me doing this. We looked like a pretty uncoordinated bunch.

Today I taught body sculpt. It was the first time I had taught in a month. Why is this important? Because it was the first time I got a good look at myself in a month. Boot camp has really helped me tone. My legs have actually filled out a bit around the calves. Arms look decent too. Just more toned in the forearms. So that made me pretty happy. I incorporated some of the boot camp exercises and then, after class, made sure to remind the class to challenge themselves and not just stay where they were comfortable. It was a good class too.

Finally, good start to the football season. Wolverines beat Notre Dame and, as expected, Lions lost. Hate to see the Lions continue to lose but if only one could win I was glad it was my college team!

Have a good week!

Roger

September 9, 2010

September 6, 2010 3-On-1 Workout

Woke up to thunder and lightning again. I didn't believe Sharon when she said it was thundering outside. "Wishful thinking," I told her. Then I heard it too. We checked the boot camp website but there was no cancellation so we got dressed and off we went.

When we arrived Dustin was the only one in the parking lot. And he wasn't near the shelter either. It appeared as if the storm had passed so we were going to work out in the lot. Before we started a third person showed up, Mandy. But that was it. Looked like a day for alot of personal attention from Dustin.

We did alot of upper body work. Some of it was done with weights in the parking lot and then we moved to the playground for pull ups. Man these are hard. We actually kind of jumped up and then were supposed to hold ourselves up for 8-10 seconds. I tried to hold myself up but sometimes the rest of my body tried to pull me back down. Overall though I did okay. Poor Sharon had a harder time. She could get up but she couldn't hold herself up there. Dustin finally held her up. She has some upper body strength building to do.

Next we moved over to the parallel bars where we were supposed to do tricep dips. The bars were a little thicker and kind of slippery. I did what I could but then I heard Dustin kind of laughingly tell Sharon that she had to do something! I wasn't sure what happened. I guess poor Sharon couldn't really bend her elbows, dip herself, and then bring herself back up. So she had to kind of do the movement while standing on her toes. Then we went around the bars and did body rows. I did pretty well. At one point Dustin suspended me in the air while I lifted myself up. Yikes! Definitely made it harder.

For the last section we moved into the shelter because it was beginning to rain. We used the picnic tables for more tricep dips but this time we put our feet on the bench. Then we did push ups with the feet on the bench. We also did step ups and wall sits for the legs. The wall sits were my undoing again. I tried to use just one weight but Dustin busted me and told me I could use two.

This was a great workout today. With such a tiny group I felt like I gave much more effort because any sloughing off would be easily seen. This made me mad at myself because it made me question if I've been holding back at all. Hopefully not. I'll really make myself more accountable next time just in case.

Have a good one.

Roger

September 3, 2010 Star Jump

Very tough waking up this morning. I had a difficult time sleeping even though I was exhausted. Not sure what that was about as I didn't really have any thing pressing on my mind. Finally fell asleep but getting up at 4:35 was not easy.

It was terribly dark at boot camp this morning. When we took off for our warm up Ryan told us to just follow his voice. He had stations set out but with the darkness he had us do something else. We did the usual warm up and then began doing different exercises. One exercise was called something like the skateboarder. We would squat down and then jump up and turn around and then repeat. We would do that for 15 seconds and then pushups for 15 seconds. We also did the star jump where we jumped up and spread the legs and arms. It looks pretty funny. We did a lot of leg work it seemed. Hoppers which really burn the quads after about 5 seconds, walking lunges, ran the hill (first time this week so not too bad) and jumping jacks. We did lots of core too. Burpees, planks front and side, russian twists (slow and the fast), more push ups, big circles in front of our bodies using weights while trying not to move the torso. All in all, a really hard legs and core workout. Ryan remained positive and happy throughout.

First football game this weekend. Don't know what to expect. Either way it is a little quiet time for Sharon and I so that's always a plus.

Have a good, safe holiday weekend.

Roger

September 1, 2010 Rainy Days and Wednesdays

The first day of school with kids today. And I smilingly greeted them...with a very tired and sore core.

It was raining pretty heavily when we woke up this morning. Since it had been storming during the night we were sure to check Dustin's website before driving across town. Since there was no storm, boot camp was on.

Upon arrival Dustin had us set up our mats and weights in one place today. For the most part we would be just staying in place for our stations. Since people had felt we had been neglecting our core, today we would be doing a workout that consisted of about 80% core to 20% strength training. We did variations on planks, V-sit up, russian twists, swimmers, squirms, and other things. And all I can say is...Ouch! It was a work out! The abs did recover pretty quickly after each, but we kept pushing them. I think my worst performance was on an oblique sit-up while bringing our knees in toward my chest. I could not do it. I could do the oblique part but could not bring in the legs. I kind of laughed and Dustin came over to help by trying to push them in, but those legs did not want to cooperate! Even he laughed. Then he looked around at all the other participants struggling and said it looked like this was something we would need to work more on.

I also laughed when I misunderstood something else he meant. We were doing push downs. I laid on my back with my legs straight (sort of) up in the air. Sharon stood behind me and would push my legs down hard and I would try and control and stop them before they went all the way down to the ground. She could push them down the center or so they went down to the side. I put my hands underneath my back to support it so it wouldn't hurt. Dustin came over and told me I should grab the ankles. I thought for a minute and just kind of gave him a look of confusion. Then I tried to reach up and grab my ankles. He laughed (and Sharon did too) and said "No, grab Sharon's ankles!" I laughed then too because I was wondering how Sharon was going to push my legs down while I was hanging onto my ankles. All I could accomplish there was a kind of rocking motion. It was much easier his way.

The strength training was a lot of leg work. In one exercise we sat on top of a picnic table with our foot of the bench. Then we were supposed to stand on one foot and then sit down. The right leg was not too difficult but the left leg, forget it! Again Dustin came over to help. He told me to use my arms to help propel me. I got at least 1 good one. Most of the time I got some good exercise for my arms but barely got off my butt! I could do it if I sat on the bench and put my foot on the ground and sat up and down that way. I thought it was probably better for me to do it the other way though since it was much more challenging.

So in addition to the core workout Dustin gave us, I also got one for all the laughing I kept doing. I was very, very glad to see those 6:15 am campers arrive. Again, just like Monday, I was shaking some as I went to the Princeton Club to shower for school. Later, even though I was moving around, my core muscles were really sore. Dustin said we would be sore tomorrow, I was sore within a couple of hours. When I got home from school, I took some Ibuprofen for the soreness. Still it was a great "first day of school with the kids" workout!

Might be attending boot camp Thursday instead of Friday this week as it fits into my schedule better but might be too exhausted from the first day to get up at 4:45 am.

Have a good one!

Roger

August 30, 2010 Back to School

Well summertime is over and back to school. This was the first time that I would have to go to work after morning boot camp. How appropriate that we did the playground workout today.

It was a humid morning. Very humid and, once again, buggy. Sharon and I arrived fairly early and brought over our weights and mats. Since we were so early we placed them for all to use during our different stations. No Stanley today so Dustin did our warmup. It was the standard warmup except that at one point we made a circle around Dustin. He would tell us what to do and we would work our way in towards him and then back out. It had to be a pretty scary sight to see all these people heading in toward you at 5:30 in the morning.

I really tried to push myself during the stations. One of the first stations for us (we were in groups of 3) was jumping over these little upside down U like shapes. One was higher than the other two and I got that one. I laughed because there was no way these short legs was going to make it over those very easily. I tried but it was extremely difficult to keep both legs together and jump over. It turned out Sharon couldn't do this one because of her back so I got to move to a lower one. I could handle this one pretty well so now I have to work my way back up to the higher stake.

At the pull up station I could still only do one so I worked really hard at holding myself up and lowering myself back down as slowly as I could. It was tough. Boy do I have a long way to go!
The first rotation wasn't so bad overall.

For cardio we went to the tennis courts. Using our birth dates as a guide one group did a wall sit while the other groups sprinted across the tennis court twice. I went all out on the sprint and made a pretty good showing for myself. Uh-oh. We had to do it again. Not so great on the sprint on the second try. Gotta work on that endurance. But I did go all out again, just didn't have that much left to give! But, on the plus side, no hill today!

This really showed in the next rotation around the playground. It was much harder this time. My legs were tired which made balancing on one foot difficult. My upper body was also tired. However, I kept telling myself to keep going. If I let myself rest for a second I told myself to get going again. Sharon said that was good. It showed my determination. I don't know about that but I want to keep improving.

After our workout we went to the Princeton Club to shower before school. I was glad to see that I worked so hard that my arms were still shaking while I was showering. Sharon said hers were too. So, we either worked out really hard or we're just old.

I did manage to stay awake all through school. Our in-service wasn't too bad and the afternoon was very entertaining and enlightening. Luckily I still had energy when I got home because Elijah (my 13 year old) wanted me to play the basketball game HORSE with him. Then we played a couple games where we each of us took 10 free throws to see who could hit the most, next we played 5 games of UNO, then I ushered him into the shower, and finally we watched the second half of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I also went on a drive with Brenna, my newly licensed daughter, to make sure she knew which route to take when she drove to school. We also drove to Stoughton (about 1/2 hour away) so that Kristan, my niece, could make me look not so old. Finally I came home and watched Dance Your Ass Off (yay, LaToya won!).

I have found that boot camp has increased my energy and I guess that's showing today. We'll see how things go once the students are actually here.

Have a good one!

Roger

Friday, August 27, 2010 The Stanley Workout

For the last 5:30 am workout before starting back to work (rats!) we had a beautiful morning. It was nice and cool, with just a little breeze. It was so perfect I decided to forgo my OFF for the morning and just take my chances with the pesky mosquitoes. Oh, yeah, that was a smart move. NOT!

Stanley was our coach today. It was the first time he was our instructor for the entire session and not just for our warm up. He is another really positive guy, always giving encouragement while continuing to push us so I figured it would be a pretty good workout.

After our warm-up Stanley had us take our weights, mats, and water bottles over to the tennis court. That was nice because that would keep us off the grass for a while longer. However I did get a mosquito bite on the way. We were to pair up with another person that we didn't really know or hadn't worked with before. I was going to do that but Sharon insisted I stay with her. I figured since she had missed a little boot camp recently and had only started using the weights again today, it was kind of like working with a stranger so I agreed. Besides, since we've been going to boot camp we've met more of the people and there are very few we don't kind of know, even if we can't remember their names.

One person in the group was going to start with cardio and the other person was to start with strength training. Sharon really wanted to go on cardio first. I was dying to go also but she looked so sad (and almost knocked me down rushing to the starting line) that I agreed to let her have her way again. Man I'm a nice guy! Stanley described the cardio and said he would stay and instruct those of us doing weights.

We began our strength work with push ups combined with a row. I'm happy to say this is nowhere near as difficult as it was at the beginning of the summer. I try to go as quickly as I can but I also try to make sure everything is very controlled so I do not have an injury. I did the exercise until time was up so that was great as well. Then we did some upright rows. I switched from the 20 lb weights to the 10 lb weights because my physical therapist didn't really want me doing upright rows anymore. So I compromised by doing them with a lighter weight. We also did some deltoid presses, going from a squat to a jump (I just went up on my toes) which I did with the 20 lbs and then back to lateral raises and front raises, again using the 10 lb weights. We were ready to switch. But before that we did some line jumping. We did 45 seconds of front jumps over the line and then 45 seconds doing side jumps. You would not believe how long 45 seconds can take (other than at the end of a basketball or football game).

Now it was my turn to do cardio. We started with an all out sprint back and forth across the tennis court. That went pretty well although I'm still slow out of the gate. Maybe I'll just sing that Chariots of Fire song while I'm running so that even though I'm going slow, it'll be like I'm going fast, just in slow motion. The second time across the tennis court we had to run backwards. Now this is not like running up the hill backwards. This I can actually do! So I ran across and back. I kept looking behind me so that I wouldn't fall down or bump into someone when I realized I wasn't so far behind anymore. The next time across and back we did side shuffles. Woo hoo! One of my better events. I really was able to pick up some speed here. But I was also starting to breathe pretty heavy. This was getting harder but I knew it was much better than I did at the beginning of the summer. Next we bunny hopped to the second court line and back. Again, another good event for me. I'm a good hopper! I can change my music here from Vangelis to Bill Conti and the Theme from Rocky. Uh-oh. The last thing was bear crawls. I'm weak here but it was only to the first court line and back. It was nice to discover that this is easier on the court than on the hill. I moved pretty fast but I did have to keep stopping to take a couple extra breaths. Finally I could see the finish line. Blast that Rocky music! I should have jumped and down and pumped my fists in the air but instead I chose to walk, putting my hands down on my knees and taking some really deep breaths while looking for my water bottle. On a more shallow note, I did notice I finished first. It really helped that all our really fast people were in the first group. Oh, well, you take these small victories when you can get them.

Next we did wall/fence runs. Stanley was really giving us an intense cardio workout. We did this 3 times and he kept encouraging us to bring our knees up and move our feet faster. I tried and did manage to run the whole amount of time.

Now, time for the hill. I really would not be disappointed if our coaches decided to leave out the hill once in a while. I really wouldn't mind at all. But, not the case today. We first sprinted up 30 seconds and then came back down. Just once. Michelle, another participant, really rocked the hill today. She really got up there quick. Then we ran up backwards and came back down. Just once. Then we side shuffled up, switched sides, and came back down. Wait! Did I hear that right? We were done with the hill. Awesome! I was even able to sprint back to the tennis court. Good thing because those darn mosquitoes seemed to be chasing me all the way back, catching me and getting my elbow.

We finished with core work. Bicycles, swimmers, planks with opposite leg/arm lift, v-sits with a weighted lift, russian twists, and an exercise where we started with our legs in a six inch lift and then did whatever ab work Stanley told us to do. By this time my abs were saying "Can't you go back to the hill?" Those stupid mosquitoes also liked us in this position. As Emilie said, "I think they all followed us back from the hill!" Finally we were done. It was a great workout and Stanley encouraged us to stay, cool down and stretch. Sharon and I had some nice conversation with some other members. We talked with Michelle and complimented her on her performance on the hill. We also talked about how awesome these workouts that Dustin and company have given us this summer. They've really helped shape our bodies. I've lost about 10 pounds now, but have lost fat and become leaner. I feel really good too! I've got a ways to go but if I just keep working hard I'm sure the results will come.

Now comes the really hard part. Can I go back to work and get up for these 5:30 am workouts. Time will tell I guess.

Have a good one.

Roger