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
No comments:
Post a Comment