Reading Between The Lines

Ok, this is not a Debbie Gibson post, even though none of you know that Reading Between The Lines came from her 1988 Album Out of The Blue...but I digress...

Have you ever been told something and then thought later, "oh, did they mean ME?" Being oblivious to a lot of things these days, I think this happened to me today.

As you may be aware, I tweeted today about considering joining a cardio kickbox session this summer. 18 classes. Not for the faint-of-heart, literally. The instructor requires a doctor's note approving participation in his program if you've given birth in the past 12 months.

First off, birthing is the most kick-ass workout your body can have (rah rah, mommies!)...but all kidding aside, yes, he wants approval. Having never spoken to the instructor before besides emails, this guy likes to talk. He rambles on on how he believes in the safety of his participants and doesn't want anyone to injure themselves in the process. A verbal yes from the doctor isn't good enough, as I SUPPOSE there are people out there who, because they desire to do their body GOOD and not HARM themselves in the process (!), will actually PRETEND that their doctor said it's okay to join when in fact it would be unsafe, for whatever reasons. Um, why would I intentionally subject myself to the pain of his classes, thinking I was helping myself when in fact the opposite would be true, and waste my money in the process because I hurt myself so bad I would have to bow out and not receive any refunds? I can find plenty of ways to hurt myself (walking included) that don't cost me a dime! Okay, fella, I'll go get that doctor's note...

So my doctor's office is mailing me a note, at no charge (because EVERYTHING is starting to cost something these days). But in the last email the instructor sends me, outlining how his cardio kickboxing class is "unlike any bootcamp class out there", "extremely high-impact", involving "kicking and punching pads at full speed" (oh, so you don't say....BRING IT ON!), he continues to beat me down with his worries about injuries. Okay, I get the picture!

So, here's the kicker. In his post-script, he asks me who referred me to him, as he doesn't advertise and he likes "to screen people coming into the class to make sure they don't bring negative vibes or trouble to the class."

So, with the Mommy Brain I have, it dawns on me an hour later..."does he mean ME? I would bring negative vibes? I would bring trouble? He's screening ME?" I don't get screened...

First off, bring on your silly little martial arts class and let me kick ass. Secondly, I'm the most unobtrusive character he'll probably ever have in his class. I don't talk in large groups (though I can, but refuse to unless asked), I don't crack jokes (though I can, but I doubt anyone would find me funny), and I don't complain (though I can, but why pay him to listen? I get that at home for free!).

Am I reading between the lines, or what? Is it me or was that condescending?

Has this ever happened to you?

PS: The instructor has since emailed me back and acknowledged my misinterpretation of his email. In his lengthy email (again!) he explains his expectations to each new participant and will actually refuse people entry or ask them to leave if this is the case. He has since invited me to watch a class before committing.

Geez, it's like I'm joining The Armed Forces or something.

"Apology" accepted.

Photo Credit:

Boxing Gloves by andysteel

Body Fat Composition

I emailed my "trainer" the other day to ask when I can pick up some IsoFlex protein powder (Strawberry is yum-yum delicious -- hard to find!) and he suggested that I come in also do a body fat testing to find out how effective my workouts have been.

I call him my "trainer" because I havent technically had any personal training sessions with him, but he was my bootcamp instructor last Fall, when he kicked my butt back into shape (why I started this blog in the first place). So he'll remain my "trainer" until I pursue some one-on-one with him. [I must be in a wierd mood right now, because I found that comment quite intriguing!)

So, I went to go see him yesterday at lunchtime. After some chitchat, he proceeded to weigh me (I'm 125lbs, just like my digital scale at home says, which is down 5 lbs from the time I last weighed in on Nov 2nd, 2007). Then he printed my body fat composition reading off the Futrex machine.

Wow.....between Nov 2nd and now, I lost a whopping 0.1% body fat!

Ugh!

These past 4 weeks of going to to the gym, 6 days a week, and I ONLY get 0.1% off. That's worse than any sale you'll find at any department store! Choked, utterly choked....

But he says my result is still a good thing. Why? Considering that I'm working out on my own, with no training partner, I'm still managing to maintain what I accomplished. Many folks who go through bootcamp tend to gain some extra body fat because they're not working out at the same intensity.

Despite this, i'm still likng what I"m seeing in the mirror. I feel and look different at 26.5% today than I did at the 26.6% back in November. I look leaner, I think. My upper body is developing quite nicely (I can see my triceps finally!) and I've definitely got a "two-pack" going on. If I could only manage to learn to post a picture up here, I'd try and post something. Meanwhile, just take my word for it.

So I changed my routine this morning. According to my trainer, I've got to focus on the number of reps rather than weights if I want to focus on fat loss. Vice versa encourages more muscle gain. So instead of doing my lower body exercises at lower reps and heavier weights, I tried doing 5 sets of 20 reps at a given weight, until my muscles exhausted. For example. I could leg press 225 but used 145 lbs, 20 times for 5 sets. I could probably go 185 and try for 3 sets instead. Next time.

I was really hoping to see this Body-For-Life program through. It's worked for others, why not me? Hmm. Do I listen to a book and trust before-and-after photos, or listen to proven experience? It's still a toss up.

End of Bootcamp

It was the last day this morning. I haven't kept up with the blogging, simply because, if you've been reading my blog previously, I gave an account of what happened every single day, and, well, having done that, it doesn't make for a great blog on a continuous basis.

So I've done the 2 weeks, and T'ai's indicator for success were those nasty pushups, and I have to say that I disappointed myself. Having done 26 at the end of the last bootcamp, and having done only 16 only 2 Mondays ago, I actually did ONLY 22. Better than 16, but a bit off from 26. Shoddy, I know. I can't make excuses but if I could convince myself, I actually am coming down with something (judging from all the sneezing and watering eyes yesterday---and I hardly ever sneeze!) and that my upper arms are really sore. I did call it this morning, that I didn't think I'd do too well at the pushup challenge. I'll just have to keep on doing some pushups everyday.

So where do I go from here? Well, I've finally gotten my gym pass at work, and if I can get to work at 5:15am and work out for an hour each morning, maybe I'll achieve a level of fitness to rival that at bootcamp. I can only hope. I have good intentions, anyways. I just have to take baby steps, that all. I watched yesterday's Oprah episode, and folks who have been losing hundreds (literally!) of pounds each, so surely that can inspire me to slim down another 6 or so.

Yup, I weighed myself this morning, even after the tall nonfat vanilla latte that T'ai treated us to this morning, and I weighed in at 126lbs. Since the beginning of Oct, I've lost (according to my own digital scale at home), about 12 lbs in under 2 months. Throw in a week-long cruise vacation, and I guess that's pretty good. I actually don't care if I lose any more weight, as long as I tone up a bit more. I can still see some room for improvement, around the middle, and, well, my butt could use still a bit more of a lift. I'm not there yet, maybe I won't ever be, but I'm started to feel more comfortable with my body looking almost like it used to 4 years ago.

And with body, comes the mind and spirit. Going to acupuncture and massage therapy once a week has seemed to relax me a bit, and I'm starting to take care of the whole package. After attending a Stress Management hour session at work this week, I really do need to continue not compromising myself too much. I need to attend to my needs too, even though I want to please everyone. Again, it's a work in progress. Hopefully I'm doing a good enough job along the way.

Yet Another Boot Camp...With a Twist!

This next two weeks of boot camp is going to be challenging for me. Not only do I need to attend another 10 days of grueling (but fun!) exercise each morning but I have to restrict myself to a very particular meal plan. I guess it's a "diet", per se, but I think, socially, that word has been given a poor rap. Last night I had to prepare today's 5 meals, and then some, and there's so much to eat! I think people at my work will think I'm crazy, eating all the time!

Today's menu:

7:00 am - bowl of slow-cooked oatmeal, protein drink, Udo's oil
10:00 am - egg white omelette, 1-1/2 red bell pepper, hefty handful of peas, Udo's oil
1:00 pm - tuna, 1-2 slices of bread (healthy kind), totally obscene amount of salad, Udo's oil
4:00 pm - 1/4 zucchini, 1/2 c. rice, 1/2 chicken breast, Udo's oil
7:00 pm - protein drink, bit of broccoli, some acorn sqush, Udo's oil

You see the trend with the Udo's oil, huh? At high levels of intake, Essential fatty acids help increase the metabolism and facilitate weight loss. It's a fat that's not used for energy, but rather for rebuilding at the cellular level (hormonal, structurally and electrical -- ie. our brain and CNS -- functions). Two teaspoons at each meal. Gotta love it!

Preparation for the all those foods is crazy! I was cooking up a storm, prepping and storing, and cooking some more. You should see my fridge! I should take a photo one day and post it. I had to go buy more storage containers!

Hopefully I'll only have to prepare really big like this at the beginning of the week, then do little things over the course of the week. I couldn't do that each night!

And preparing ahead for my meals will ensure my success. Eating is no problem....but it's when you don't have the right kinds of foods in front of you that cause you to lose focus and binge-eat. I just have to convince myself I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.

I met my fellow bootcampers this morning, about 18 of us, 4 were absolutely new. Some were returning. We did laps around the gym, and did some "army maneouvres" like knee lifts through ladders, "tires" (ie hula hoops) and hurdles. Running with weights and doing walking lunges back and forth. I met Jacqueline, who's on her 4th bootcamp but her last one was 2 years ago. We did our pushup challenge and I only did 16, and not like the 26 at the last challenge. Oh well. Let's hope I improve.

Here goes Day 1...

Back to Reality: where do I go from here?

The Caribbean vacation was so much fun, I'm finding it hard to believe that I have to come back to Vancouver and re-experience the mundane I have always known...life without palm trees, tank tops, flip flops, and buffets.

Eating was a challenge on the ship, but I didn't go too overboard (pardon the pun!). I hesitated to weigh myself after the trip but did anyway, at Danny's urging. He, apparently, lost 2 pounds, whereas I have gained 3. I attribute this not to gaining fat, but losing some muscle, as I was only able to hit the gym once at the beginning of the trip. I did some pushups this morning to gauge my upper body stregth....only 17. I think I could've done more, but I didn't press it (another pun....so punny!)

I returned from the trip on Sunday evening, and with the Remembrance Day stat. holiday Monday, I also had yesterday and today off from work. Back to the grind tomorrow.

You may notice that my title for this blog has changed. I originally started this blog as a Boot Camp journal. Now that I've finished boot camp, I find that I am actually on a journey to better health and wellness, and it doesn't stop at Day 20 of boot camp. I have realized that my physical health is one of utmost importance, for we only have one body, and we must take care of what was given to us. But most importantly is the balance between physical and mental health. I've come to realize that my emotional well-being is one that needs the most help, and like yin and yang, it was tied in with my physical health. I'm the first to tell you that I eat when I'm bored; I don't eat to be full. I also eat to serve my self-pitying phase I go through each day. It's my guilty pleasure for all the guilty things I did or plan to do. My sin, if you will. So in addressing my physical, I address my emotional. This is where my Boot Camp blog ends and my Journal of Life blog begins.

So, I will continue to express my worries, my complaints, my victories, my successes and my failures, in all I do. I invite you to sit and listen for a while, if possible. Many of you have enjoyed reading my little boot camp escapades, and it's given me much joy in sharing a bit of my life. I like to think that I may have been a writer in a former life, and blogging seems to give some purpose to this current existence.

You may come to the conclusion that I'm actually nuts, after listening to me for a while, or worse, STILL think I'm nuttier than you already thought. So be it. I'm all about being honest to one person only.....and that's me. And isn't that what it all boils down to?

I'll keep the image of those blue jeans above as the emblem to my blog. It'll serve as a reminder for the Start Line of this marathon I've started.

Boot Camp: Day 20 & Post-Camp Evaluation

The last day!!!

I was nervous when I woke up, thinking of all the things I hoped to accomplish. I was nervous about finding out whether I'd actually be able to beat my 1-Mile track time and whether I'd actually do more than 4 pushups during my Strength Test. I was nervous about getting nervous.

When I woke up, I was glad that it wasn't raining. We were going outside to the track whether it was or not. I had gotten up earlier than I had on other days, about 4:35. I got sidetracked writing an email to that acpuncturist about gettting that free consultation, since FREE was while I was attending bootcamp, and, well, when I came home afterwards, I would technically no longer be part of bootcamp anymore. I shot off the email and realized that it was already 5:15!!! I jumped out of my seat and into the car before I knew it.

So, I made that last "tick" beside my name for attendance. 20 ticks in a row. Some didn't have as many ticks.

We lightly stretched and went down to the track to run a couple of times around for warm up.

Then the endurance begins.

Four times around the track. I called out to Tai each time I lapped: 2:29, 5:04, 7:39....I ear-to-pocket-ed the last 1/8th mile around that track, catching up to Pia, who I was closely chasing for most of the run, except for the last bit when she got a little farther than I'd liked. I almost caught up to her, by 1 second.....9:59. I crossed the finish line in under 10 minutes! I'd have been happy with 10:13, which would have improved my last run by 1 whole minute but I managed to still make it under 10! The euphoria was amazing!! From 11:13 down to 9:59.

We walked back to our mats on the other side of the school and I partnered up with Cathy, who I've been wanting to meet all camp. [Very funny lady, probably in her 40s]. Pushup time. Her best at the beginning of camp was 15....I encouraged her and she did 19. I managed to push out 26 pushups! Compared to 4, Victoria said I should win best improved! Everyone was laughing because there was such a difference! I've done pushups before but never that well. Sorry about the self-praising, but I was so happy!

We did out stretches and concluded the bootcamp, with some of us meeting at Starbucks, on Tai (how sweet!). I may have rethought adding the vanilla I usually have with my latte, but I think I deserved a little sweetness right now!

We all talked about camp, and what we did for a living, just plain chatting about anything, since we never have a real chance to chat during camp. Pia and her friend are going to do the springtime camp, in Mar or April. A few are doing the mini-camp starting the Nov 19. I haven't decided yet. Cathy is doing the Jan 28 camp. I'd like to do both: November because I'll be on the cruise, and in January, because of the Holiday Eating.

Right afterwards at 8am, I went to see Tai at the office to get my post-camp evaluation. I was excited to see what kind of results I got, since I can tell how my clothes are fitting.

Get this: I lost 12% body fat! I was 38% and now I'm 26%! I am now 130lbs from 135. I was 83.2 lbs of lean and now I'm 95 lbs lean! I gained 10lbs of muscle but lost 5 lbs overall. My metabolism has increased drastically. I can consume over 2100 without gaining weight, whereas before it was 1800. Tai said he was impressed with the results, though I thought he should've hit the roof! This was amazing!

So, I was thinking then and there if I should take the next camp. It's limited to only 30 and it fills up fast. I asked him about the meal planning and what he does for me. He said that it would be a 1.5 hr session, assessing the foods I eat and picking out the foods I like. It would cost $300. Suzanne told me at Starbucks she did the meal planning with Tai in the summer and it really worked, she just didn't stick with it this time, but would during the mini-camp in a couple of weeks. I him to sign me up! I figured, rather than spend $175 on a 2 week camp, I would put it towards the meal planning with Tai and see if I can actually push myself to workout on my own....I can't be taking bootcamp forever!!! Though it would be nice, it's not financially feasible.

So, this is my paradise. It's actually not Friday anymore, but Sunday, and I'm sitting here at 10:30 am at an almost empty internet cafe in San Juan, Puerto Rico, relishing my coffee and the crazy crazy weather outside. It's probably 28 degrees right now, at least....highest humidity ever too. I have to check out of the hotel room (scummy place....tell more another time) and head to the cruise ship terminal by 11am. I packed clothes that I couldn't fit in a couple years. I even tried on a dress I wore 7 years ago to Hawaii and I have it with me because it fit. I cried when I told Danny on Friday how well I did at my evaluation. I can't let this feeling go. It's the most amazing feeling in the world, to accomplish something like this. I so highly recommend this to anyone even remotely thinking about losing weight. It's not even about losing weight, so much as feeling good about yourself and feeling the difference and also seeing it in the mirror. And I did it not by starving myself, like I've done on so many occasions. I'm in paradise right now, and I never plan to leave.

Boot Camp: Day 19

Almost the last day!

We brought our stability ball today and did a bunch of exercises for triceps and our abs. We didn't break a sweat; it was so cold. Well, more windy, so there was wind chill anyways. I was sure it was going to rain on us today, but when I pulled into the parking lot and finally had a chance to look at the sky, away from all the street lamps, I could see hundreds of stars above coming into focus, and only whispy clouds blowing eastward. I literally shivered; the night/morning really was serene and beautiful when it's early like this.

We didn't warm up with a run, which is why I was cold most of the time. We warmed up using the ball, lifting it in the air and squating, and warmed up enough that I thought I should remove my fleece. One exercise with a partner was to hold the ball and trace Figure 8's in the air with the ball while the other person would tap/pound the ball in random spots, to throw the other off, in turn working out the arms and the abs. We did several shoulder and upper back exercises too. The ones we did at the wall I found very useful. If you stand with the ball on the wall, holding it with your palm only and move the ball up and down and side to side, with the shoulder kinda popped out of the socket, it helps the rotator cuff in the shoulder. Another one, hard to explain it, but if you lean your right shoulder/arm against the ball, which is up on the wall (you're facing left), and you move your bent right arm forward, without losing pressure on the ball, you feel something real strange in the shoulder too. They weren't difficult exercises but you do them long enough and the muscles start to burn.

There was one advanced move that he only shows to one-on-one clients, and it's when you're belly down, ball under your ankles and with hand weights, you do a pushup, then do a row with one arm, then a row with the other arm, all while keeping your balance on your ball.

Only one more day left, and it's a big day. Tomorrow, we run our 1-Mile again, 4 laps around the track, rain or shine. I think it would be a disadvantage, and a shame, if it were to rain. I really would like to get my Timex fixed today, so that I push myself a little harder to make sure I beat my 11:13 time I had at the beginning of camp. I hope I do well with my strength test and improve my dismal pushup count. Remember I did only 4 at the beginning of camp? I have been occasionally dropping down and doing pushups at the oddest moments, and manage to do 11-14 with not much convincing to do more. So, hopefully tomorrow, when I have to really motivate myself, I'll manage to do more than 14.

I hope it goes well, and I'm not too disappointed in myself. In any case, it's been all a learning experience, right?

Boot Camp: Day 18

It's Friend Day!

I finally got about 5 hours sleep again, which is not as good as the 7 I was getting at the start of bootcamp but way better than the 4 I had the other night. I did, however, snooze real late, until 4:57am, and shot out of bed after the
3rd snooze, afraid I'd be late.

I figured today would be a fun day, with some folks planning on bringing some friends. I apparently don't have any....at least any real ones who would sacrifice some workout time together! It was an ongoing joke at bootcamp, when asked if we had any friends coming, and who found out they didn't have any true friends and this was just a test. We all laughed. I don't blame anyone for not coming. It's tough work, and well, I guess it's not for everyone and everyone's schedules and I guess I'm pretty proud of myself for doing this on my own gumption. This morning, there were a couple who's friends had last minute excuses for not getting up at 4:30. It was pretty funny listening to the excuses they came up with.

So there were 4 Friends that came. Two were invited by T'ai, and they were returning bootcampers. One has done 5 bootcamps and the other had done 9 bootcamps and currently holds the bootcamp record of 41 regular pushups. Amazing. I should have kept an eye on her form today....I wanted to see if she still had it in her!

We arrived at the outdoor location today, greeted by Drill Sargeant T'ai, all decked out in fatigues! It was pretty funny, but he looked pretty intimidating despite knowing that he really wasn't that way at all. And for you ladies out there, a uniform on a guy, and in this case, fatigues, makes for great eye candy. :) I should stop, before I get myself in trouble here! (Love you, Dan!)

We did four fartlek laps around the soccer field. I can't believe he asked for 4! At least it was around the soccer field and not the track.....that would be more brutal! Our medium fast group was not too big and we went at a good pace.

We returned to grab out hand weights and brought them to the tennis courts. Standing at one sideline, we would squat, place our weights down, run across the court, face the other way, do a pushup, run back to our weights, picking them up as we squat, then run it over to the other side, squat, place them down, and run back to the other side and do another pushup, repeating this several times, probably 8 times.

We went back and did some skipping with some ropes. We stood in a line, sorta facing each other, and pulled each others arms so that we were all supporting each other doing squats. We did some "moguls" and pulsed to Michael Jackson's Thriller (Happy Halloween!) since there were some skiiers in the group.

We went back and did a lap around the soccer field and returned to do duck squats and regular squats across the tennis courts. We took our mats and weights out again and did some tricep extensions, bicycles, crunches while holding our weights high above us, and some others I can't quite remember right now. Oh, yeah, we started out mat work with the dreaded 8-Count Body Builders.

Our last exercise before stretching was The Plank for one minute. I'm happy to say that I last the whole minute without breaking a sweat....though I was darn close to collapsing. Snap's "The Power" was pounding away, and I guess I reminiscing back to highschool to carry me the exercise. I've got the power...it's getting, getting, it's getting kinda hectic...

Today was good. I guess T'ai had to show us off by making us work a good all-around 1 hour workout today, and everything feels good. My quads are killer!

I weighed myself this morning, after my workout, but before breakfast (my "dry weight"). I try not to, since it's really body composition (fat%) that will really tell me the truth, but I couldn't help myself this morning. I'm 129! I don't know how accurate a picture that is, but that sure beats the 138 I weighed at the beginning of bootcamp! We'll see on Friday what my body has really accomplished, when I sit down with T'ai and go over my post-camp evaluation.

Two more days until Puerto Rico!!!

Boot Camp: Day 17

Small group today. We were a bit chatty this morning, with a bit of friendly debate between T'ai and Paula on why marine-derived sources of EFA's (essential fatty acids, ie. omega-3's, -6's) are not as good as plant-derived. It was getting pretty heated, and one person even commented jokingly that she would really to exercise sometime soon. I would've liked to hear more, but I guess we did pay to exercise.

Warm up was 3 times around the soccer field. Because there were 7 of us today, and not the expected 5 people, T'ai modified the rest of our exercises. He didn't bring enough elastic exercise bands (the ones with the handles) for each of us, so we split into 2 groups, with one group using the bands to do squats and rows while the other group did something like Star Reachers (bend down in a squat and then come up, arms out at the side and up in a circle, reaching for the sky, and standing on your tip toes for calf raises, then reverse the movement to arrive at a tight squat again). We switched over a couple of times.

We did a few more band exercises. We linked two sets of bands together, with one person at either end. We challenged each other with some resistance training, pulling and tugging at the bands, trying to fool the other person and perhaps throw them off balance as they, too, are pulling tugging at their bands, trying to fool you. I was paired up with Lucy, but it wasn't very challenging because she seemed to want to follow where I was going, thus reducing tension in the band. Oh well.

We did some mat exercises, like crunches and bicycles and leg lifts and hip raises. A couple of us stood up suddenly (including me!) when T'ai mentioned, oh there's a mouse, as we watched it scurry away among the pile of leaves nearby. Eww, nasty!

Before we knew it is was over. It wasn't a terribly difficult day, but I was ok with that. I warmed up, not expecting I would since I was sooooo cold (but it really wasn't even a cold morning). I only had 4 hours of sleep the night before and I didn't know how I was going to wake up this morning. I did, obviously, and made it through another day.

Boot Camp: Day 16

My last week!

It was raining real hard this morning so we headed to the gym. We did a bit of running today, but I heard it's not as hard as doing it outside, as there are greater distances to conquer (ie. the track!).

For today's exercise, we were split up into 3 groups: Red, Blue, Yellow. We then were to run 3 times around the gym and when done, we would grab a coloured cone/pylon in our designated colour and head back to our mat and weights, where one person in the group would teach the exercise taped to the bottom of the cone. We would start and finish each exercise as a group, leaving no one behind, and count the reps together, or the reps don't count. Then we would run 3 more times around the gym, where another person in our 5-6 person group would pick up another cone for the next exercise.

Each group had its Achilles Heel, from what I could foresee; I was it for mine! We had quick-sprinting Judy on our team, and also feisty Victoria (for you filipinos out there, you know what I'm talking about if I say she looks like a female Dolphy! Just saying...no offence!). So I tried my best to keep up with the group, and I did rather well. Victoria, during some sets, was just not counting with the group, and is always a count or two ahead of the group; she finishes her reps much faster than us. [Aside: she's the one I drive behind when going home after bootcamp....she drives like she exercises: quick and full of energy....very unnatural, if you ask me...no one should have THAT much pep]. We did 8-Count Body Builders, bicep curls, lunges, all in all about 8 different exercises. I think the running did me in more than the mat work.

Then we gathered in the middle of the gym, and did a whole bunch of ab exercises. I managed to do The Plank for what I thought was almost 2 minutes, but when T'ai mentioned "40 seconds left", I collapsed: I was so sure I was close to the 2 minute mark! I regrouped at the "30-seconds left" mark, and managed to make it until the end. I'm getting better at it, but I guess my lower back needs strenthening since that's what hurts most, not my abs.

We did a bunch of hip raises, bicycles, crunches (and holding them before releasing). When he called for stretches, I actually wanted to do more abs because it hurt so good. But I guess the hour went by fast.

Now, when would I have ever said that I want to do more crunches? Not ever....until now.

Boot Camp: Day 15 - End of Week 3

Super cold and frosty this morning! I hope everyone had a chance to see the full moon last night because it was gorgeous this morning, shining bright above us.

I was counting the numbers today, and there were only 16 of us...I know of a few who weren't there, but it seems still to be a rather small group.

So we split ourselves in 3 running groups for fartlek training. I selected the Medium Fast group again and not the Fastest group. There were about 5 of them there, and as I looked at the group, yup, each one of them are much faster than I am. In the slowest group, there were 3 -- the two oldest ladies and Lucy with her shin splints -- but I skipped that group because I wanted to challenge myself. Everyone was else was in the middle group, too many if you ask me. This only means that while fartlek training, you have that many more people to sprint past to get to the front of the group.

When asked by T'ai, how many laps are we doing today, someone yelled out, 3! Ooh, he says, good work, I guess because he wasn't expecting that answer. I thought, hey, we did 3 laps of the soccer field last time, I guess I could do that again. Then he says to head down to the track. Huh? Um, the track is waaay bigger than the soccer field. Crap!

So we all jog down to the track and we quickly formed our lines we arrived. Naturally, I ended up at the end of the pack, but that's a good thing, since I'm the first sprinter from the-back-to-the-front and I won't be huffing and puffing as much yet. I don't know how I managed to keep up with everyone, but each time I managed to find the energy to sprint past the line to grab that baton. There was one girl, Jenn, who when sprinting past us, sprinted so far past the front of the line, we had to play catchup with her! Whoa, slow down, Speedy! And Judy shouldn't have joined this group again....her sprinting made me just cower. I mean, her posture is PERFECT! You see me sprinting, and I'm like Tazmanian Devil, legs flailing, arms pumping wildly, head bopping frantically and my tongue practically hanging out, hoping I get from A to B miraculously!

As we approached the finish line, I did wish I had my Timex with me. I would have liked to time ourselves to see if I was on target to beat my 1-Mile Run from Day 1. I'm sure we were faster, and although I don't know if I could've sustained the same energy during the last lap, it would've been a valiant effort.

After our run, we did jumping jacks to continue warming up. We were pretty warm already but we were still waiting for a few of the slower runners to come in. Then we took our place by the benches and did some Tricep Dips.

We ran back to where we placed our mats and took our hand weights with us. We did non-stop mat exercises for the remaining of the hour. The first one was a a combination pushup/row. Hold your weights in your hand while in a position to do a pushup. Do a pushup and when done, lift one elbow straight up, carrying your weight with you. Repeat, using other arm alternatively. We did a whole bunch of other exercises that just blew our back and shoulders out to exhaustion. We did that combo pushup/row again afterwards, when we could do anymore pushups. I ended up doing modified pushups instead of standard ones, because I wasn't able to go down far enough; I figure, half the weight, go twice as far? Before we all knew it, it was over.

Today was a good end to a good week. My back/shoulders weren't too sore when I woke up since I finally got Danny to reciprocate a massage at the exact muscle in my back that was tortoring me the past of couple of days.

One more week to go!

Boot Camp: Day 14

It really is amazing, honestly, that I'm able to move my right shoulder at all. I woke up at 5am this morning, super stiff and absolutely sure that I would not be able to exercise at all. I tell you, I have a new found respect for boxers out there, punching away at an opponent or at the bag, because they really do work out every single miniscule muscle in their back. I'm sure Tuesday's pain will subside by the end of the weekend, but it's only Thursday. Lucky for the protein drinks every few hours...recooperating would definitely be a lot slower.

There were only 4 of us today, our smallest Tuesday/Thursday group ever. We brought our stability balls and used them to warm up, ie. no running! I kinda wished we did end up running (who'da thunk?) since it was so friggen' cold this morning! Very, very crisp morning! I wished I had gloves!

We ended up carrying the ball over our heads and doing squats, and then alternating reaching high towards the right and squating and twisting to the left, then vice versa. After doing some squats and calf raises at the wall, I felt warm enough to shed my fleece jacket. We had our mats and did a number of exercises with the ball on the mat, our head and shoulders on the ball, lifting and lowering our hips, or straightening our legs, or some version of. It's amazing what you can really do with the ball. I mean, you could work out your body just as well without using the ball, but it's amazing what using the ball will do.

I won't bore you with the details of the exercises we did; they were pretty routine, I think. We didn't work up a sweat at all....I think my sweat glands were frozen. I don't feel like I've worked out today...and not because it was too fun to notice, because it wasn't really fun. Maybe my hamstrings are a little oiled up since almost every exercise was to strengthen them, but they don't feel exhausted. Maybe my shoulders are still bearing the majority of my pain for me to notice.

Oh, and I did fall off my ball. Well, not so much fell, but slipped off and landed on my butt while catching my footing. My mat, with the cold dew forming on the vinyl, started sliding on the concrete while I was coming off the ball, so T'ai said. Yeah, that's it....the slippery mat....I'm not clumsy at all. But didn't I call it?

Boot Camp: Day 13

aka ... The Aftermath.

My upper back and shoulders are killing me! If I've complained before, this time I'm not crying wolf: this really is sore!

How sore? Try this: rolling on deodorant is an unusual ow-but-feels-oh-so-good massage.

I don't think today's workout helped much either. It was Wild Card Wednesday. Fourteen cards left to go, and we have to finish the cards today, because next week is Friend Day. Oh, here's my invite:


Friend Day

When: Wednesday, October 31, 5:30 am sharp! Arrive 15 minutes early to register.
Where: Vancouver, Oak & 37th area. Raining, indoors....not raining, outdoors.
Email me for details! Maybe we can carpool!
Who: Any of my friends or family (females only, though, sorry!) who want to try a free bootcamp.
What: By participating in this free class, you get a chance to experience the euphoria and andrenaline of doing your body right in a fun atmosphere of young and young-at-heart ladies like yourself.

I encourage anyone to come out, of any ability.
Push your body and mind to new limits!
Let me know as soon as you can (hopefully by next Monday?) so I can let the instructor know how many to expect.

Today's pop quiz gave us each a little chinese take-out box of aromatherapy bath salts and perfume stick customized by smellthis.ca . What a great gift for a pick-me-up.

For warmup, we ran several times around the gym (it was threatening rain, so T'ai made an executive decision). We also did several running/sprinting exercises like we did previously, like Butt Kicks, Duck Waddling, Skipping. We took our sprinting from 50% to 80% a couple of times each.

The remaining wild cards in the deck were a mix of workouts. We did wide leg squats, forward lunges, backward lunges, side plank, crunches, "superman" -- incredibly simple yet difficult to sustain (on your belly, one arm at your side, the other pointing forward, and pulse) --- "swimming --- similar to Superman pose but two hands forward and also pulsing your legs. We did the 8-Count Body Builder again, which was brutal still, with the shoulders and all.

Tomorrow, the 5-Dayers have to bring a Stability Ball. I hope I don't fall off it, or worse, I hope it doesn't burst on me.

Boot Camp: Day 12

Our hour didn't start off very promising, but ended with a POW!

Boxing class!

Our small class stood around for way too long, handing out recipes given by Winnie and Jenn (the "punishment" for 3-Dayers intruding on Tuedays and Thursdays reserved for us 5-Dayers) and listened to T'ai explain the benefit of doing so (nutritionally, more variety and less boredom). After, six of us partnered up and ran one -- only one! what? -- lap around the soccer field.

I never wear a watch, but when I go for my runs I usually do. However, my dependable purple Timex had stopped working on me sometime between my last run in, say, 2004 and now, and I have not replaced that battery yet. But I'm kinda glad I didn't have it with me today, because I didn't want to see how much time had gone by, wasted by chit chat....c'mon, let's get moving: I came here to sweat!

So, like I said, it turns out to be a boxing class. We learned how to properly stand so that our balance is stable when pushed. Yeah, he literally pushed us around to see if we would fall. We learned to jab, punch, hook, cross-punch, pivoting, hips lowering, keeping our hands by our nose and temple. Honestly, though, I didn't really learn anything new, since I had taken a whole bunch of kickboxing classes before and even several Boxer Fit classes while at Fitness World. He never once had to correct me, so I'm gonna take it that my form was fine. The only thing I found real difficult was shuffling left and right and then quickly throwing a jab, punch, jab, cross, jab, hook. My feet weren't cooperating before I needed to swing....I was still kinda shuffling before my arms where swinging away.

While we were in that circle, shuffling and swinging back and forth, we had a chance to spar one-on-one with T'ai, with boxing gloves. Jab, punch, jab, punch. He urged me to go harder because, he says, he knows I've got it in me. Ok. Then faster, he says. Ok. Next, jab and cross. Harder jab! Keep it going! Now, faster, for 10...9...8....omg! My bangs were soaking with sweat and strewn across my forehead and over my eyes, blocking my vision. I must have looked real attractive, up close and personal! I wailed on him with increasing power. My arms were weighted heavy. T'ai is taller than I am (duh!) so I was essentially pounding him from below. Finally, the rush was over. Water, water! Where's my towel?

Then out of nowhere comes this aching, excruciatingly tight pain radiating down my neck....ow, what's going on? I figure all that punching above me locked my neck in a paralyzed position of stiffness that, now as I move around, refused to release. I shook off the pain shortly after, as I resumed throwing jab after jab with the others in that Circle of Shuffling.

I must say, at this time, shuffling just does not do me any good. Really. After yesterday's shuffling around those barbells, my arches are just killing me! I don't think it's plantar fasciitis because I CAN still walk on it, but it sure damn hurts when I massage it. No more shuffling, T'ai!

He mentions to me privately after class that I should see an RMT (Registered Massage Therapist) and a Chiropractor and even consider making a call to the Acupuncturist he mentioned in class yesterday. [Oh, yeah....yesterday's pop quiz gave us a certificate to see someone who specializes in TCM - Traditional Chinese Medicine]. They work wonders with aches and pains, especially something resembling plantar. The RMT he recommended will also honour a free session, as one of T'ai's bootcampers....hmmm, when will be getting THAT quiz for the THAT prize? Apparently we only have a month after bootcamp to redeem our free sessions. Hook me up!

So, what started not-so-promising, ended up a real POW! I feel a lot more shoulder and back muscles activated, all on top of the shoulder and back pain I felt from yesterday's pushups. I should have a wonderful day at work!

Boot Camp: Day 11

Was today exercise? Didn't feel like it!

It was raining as I drove out this morning, so I headed to the gymnasium. Thank goodness it rained when it did: I didn't want a downpour in the middle of training.

We did 4 easy laps around the gym. I'm pretty sure I wasn't at the end of the pack, but I was somehow the last person running: when I arrived back to my water bottle on the side lines, I expected others to encroach behind me, but no one was there. Maybe I ran 5 laps? Ha....I'd like to think maybe I'm that fast (never mind that Tammy, The Fast One, did actually lap me. Oh well!)

Our first task was a frisbee game. No, not Ultimate, though maybe it would've been more challenging. The objective was to run/jog/whatever around the gym and someone would throw a frisbee to you (there were about 4-5 going at any given time). If you fumbled it then you would have to throw it back out to someone else, then get down and do 5 pushups! There were a show of hands of who and who cannot throw a frisbee. A majority of us couldn't. Apparently I was one who could (who knew?) I got to throw a frisbee probably about a dozen times or so, maybe more, and not once did the other person fumble it (this could also be due to them being an awesome catcher, but again, I like to think I had some skill - !) I did try not to throw it from a great distance, for surely some of my throws would have hit the ground. And neither did I fumble the frisbees that were thrown to me (thank goodness!). I didn't want anyone to avoid receiving a throw from me simply because I suck! I think we were running around for almost 10 minutes, or so it seemed like, before the whistle blew. I wonder if anyone else was lucky enough to not do any pushups.

Then we had our hand weights out, and five people donated their mats. We formed a large circle, placing our hand weights crossed and at our feet. While we were doing jumping jacks, T'ai lined the 5 mats in the middle of the circle, and randomly grabbed several of our weights and placed them aside. Our next exercise: Musical Barbells (the best-suited title I can think of). Essentially, we would run clockwise or counterclockwise around the circle and when the whistle blew, we would have to stand in front of a set of weights on the floor. The lucky 5 without barbells would do "special" exercises in the middle. So while the outside folks were doing a combination of lunges, squats, bicep curls, the inside folks were doing The Plank, crunches, Bicycles, pushups....basically ab exercises.

I lucked out for most of the game until luck ran out. Of course the toughest exercise yet was mine to tackle: the 8-Count Body Builder. While standing at the foot of the mat, count with me:

One - clasp your hands together.
Two - squat to the floor and crawl forward with your hands
Three & Four - do a pushup (down, then up)
Five - Spread legs out
Six - Spread legs in
Seven - Crawl back to standing
Eight - Jumping Jack

Repeat.

OMG!

I guess that made up for the lack of pushups during the frisbee exercise! I would have pushed myself even more, had it not been for the break I took to wipe my face because I didn't want to drip on Liz' mat I was using. That wouldn't have been very pretty.

To top it all off, I actually ended up losing the next round too and ended up doing eccentric pushups: Up for one count, down for 5 counts, repeat. Despite my tiredness, my form wasn't too bad.

Today was fun. My ankles are a little sore from the side to side movement while running in a circle, but otherwise I still count my blessings for an injury-free camp!

Boot Camp: Day 10 - End of Week 2

He worked our asses today. Literally.

Ugly rain this morning when I looked out at 4:45am. We're indoors today! I learned torture actually can occur off the beaten track and into the indoors.

Our wamup today was a game of Line Tag. Running around the gym only on the lines provided on the gym floor. Someone is "IT" and tries to tag people. Gradually there are more people IT simultaneously, so the game gets harder. I was IT once but found it hard to tag someone: either they had longer arms and tagged me first or I tagged someone who was already IT. Nice, relatively easy jaunt...just trying to change direction quickly to avoid people was probably the most difficult.

There were jump ropes at one end of the gym. We skipped for a couple of minutes. We would skip several times during the hour, but it got difficult as the hour progressed, because our other exercises were wearing me, ahem, us thin.

We lunged ourselves to near death. I was going to puke. Seriously. I absolutely hate lunges. There's something about them that really, really makes me gag. Yes, gag. I have this lump in my throat when I do them and I feel like hurling. Just thinking about that now makes me want to gag.

I guess that's why I don't have a nice butt. You know, the butts you just kill for? They may not be the smallest butts, but they look just grabbable. C'mon, you've seen then, I know you have. We live in Lululemon town, home of the Yoga-loving Bikrams: there are some nice butts out there. They curve out, curve right back in where they chop your leg and you can actually see where your butt ends and your leg begins. That's a butt. I don't have that. I want that, but I don't have that.

There are actually some girls in camp that do have great butts (yeah, I'm looking, so what?), and they do great lunges. I guess I'll have to work on that if I want what they've got. I got to thinking today, though, maybe, just maybe, they just lucked out, maybe it's genetics or something, and not lunges that got them looking like they do. I thought about asking someone, but thought, how would I pose that question? Hi, you have a nice ass, why is that? I'd probably not be looked at so fondly.

So, back to the lunges. Across the gym, we waddled like a duck, nice and low, keeping our legs bent. We lunged and pulsed for two beats. We did leg extensions, then landed in a lunge. We did regular lunges too. We sprinted fast. We ran doing butt kicks. We ran with our knees up high. We shuffled back and forth, left and right. We power skipped across the gym. There were so many, I've lost track in my delusion.

When we finally lay down to use our mats, we did more glute and ab exercises that almost made me puke too. (Oh, BTW, I had mentioned to T'ai during one of our sets of lunges that I feel like puking. He offered to bring me a bucket, and he was sure that there'd be someone here to hold my hair back. Gee, thanks!) This is a brutal exercise: lie on your back, arms at your side, right leg up in the air, left leg bent, left heel on the ground, left foot toes off the ground, and lift your hips. After all those lunges, these just killed something horrible in my glutes. Great exercise, but couldn't hold it continously. We worked our abs: bicycles, crunches, leg raises and twisting, the plank.

I think this may have been the toughest day yet! Of course, it's Friday, so I'll feel the pain for the next two days.

Wow, halfway through this whole camp! My clothes are fitting better, even though my scale said 132 this morning. I know I'm getting stronger too. I'm hurting everywhere, but it's a good hurt. I hope I don't feel the bad hurt tomorrow.

Boot Camp: Day 9

I'm sore.

My shoulders are sore, my biceps are sore, my pecs are sore, my hamstrings, my calves, my abs, oh my!

It was raining horribly yesterday, so when I woke up at 4:45 I quickly (ok, not so quickly) went to my kitchen window to check the weather out. The parking lot behind the house was still, and I couldn't see any puddles. I peered again, convinced it was raining, and I just couldn't make it out. Nope, it isn't raining. I went back in the room to start changing, and went back to the window later, just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Nope, it's not raining. Damn, another chilly day outside.

I told T'ai I'm cold, but he assured me that I'd be warmed up soon. I raised my eyebrows and nodded in agreement.

We partnered up and ran two laps of the soccer field with Lucy. I figured, she runs pretty easy, and I could use just a light warmup. Turns out she has shin splints, and it takes a toll on her during the running. Ok, I've got to sympathize with that.....shin splints suck, especially if you're told to run through it everyday!

I had helped T'ai bring in some neon hula hoops....when we came back he had them set up on the floor, as if they were tires..hmm, like the Knee Taps we were doing yesterday. Alternating stepping in and out of the hoops on the ground, with our knees high. The other (obstacle) course he set up was a wierd looking set of hurdles. They were low to the ground, and we were going to hurdle over them sideways, clearing the hurdle by lifting our feet high enough.

First, we went to the tennis courts and for the width of the court, we did a drill I recall from basketball training in highschool. We shimmied sideways across the court with our hands up, like a guard on defence. We did that several times. Several more times, T'ai said, now on your toes. Um, yeah, like I was on my toes all those previous times!! That's how you do the drill! So, I did more, on my toes again. Then we did fast grapevines back and forth and until I almost thought I'd trip over my own feet. My feet and calves felt the pain.

Then we split in 2 groups of 3 (small group on Thursdays). Three people were going through the hoops, and the other three doing hurdles. Then we switched.

Afterwards, we did the hoops, but with our hand weights, and then running out about 40 feet and back and repeat. We only did this three time but doing it, your shoulders start to burn halfway through, carrying those weights. I didn't lift knees up as high as the first time we went through it.

Then without our hand weights, we split into two groups again and repeated our hoops and hurdles circuit.

Apparently, T'ai hasn't worked much on our biceps yet this camp (um, then why am I sore?), so we did several different bicep exercises with our weights. Full bicep curls with a rotation/twist at the top. Partial curls from the relaxed stance to halfway up, with rotation. And starting at half-curl, going to full-curl, no rotation.

We did extra stretching today because of extra soreness. Stretched out our pecs, shoulders, and calves. I think I should be stretching my quads too...I don't think we did that today! I'll be sore at work today. Ok, I'm sore at work everyday, but I think I feel it more.

Is it Friday yet?

Boot Camp: Day 8

Wild Card Wednesday! I called it Cardio Wednesday last week, I think, but it's not all cardio. Wild Card is the correct name.

We did 3 laps around the soccer field for warmup (practicing my ear-to-pocket T2 sprinting at the very end) and then did a series of matwork exercises. I guess today was mainly Pushup Day, because all the cards pulled out of the deck today were variations of pushups. We did regular pushups, Staggered Pushups (one hand higher, other hand lower), wide pushups, Spades (hands real close together). We did variations on counting: up for one, down for two, three, four, five, six seconds, then repeat; and as many as possible in one minute, just to name a few. We also did The Plank, but this time on our hands like starting a pushup, instead of our elbows. We mixed in some squats with our hand weights, some Side Lifts (on your side, leg crossed over, leg that's under is pulsed up and down to kill your inner thigh), Fire Hydrants (the peeing-dog leg lifts). Sometime in the middle of all this we went for a 1/4 mile run around the track.

It was threatening rain all morning, and was spitting ever, ever so lightly during our hour. While stretching, the rain fell harder on my face while we were on our backs. I threw my towel over my face and listened to my breathing..."hold your breath in gratitute and thinking of what your grateful for", and exhaled into the morning. I'm tired, refreshed, yet in pain.....I'm alive!

Boot Camp: Day 7

Today, wasn't so bad. But my arms are just killing me!

Small group today; it's Tuesday. Eight of us. We partnered up and for warmup, we "skipped" around the soccer field together for one lap, then jogged the next lap. Then we assembled together and learned to sprint. We ran about 30 metres, maybe, at 40, 50, 60% full-sprint, several times at each percentage. We learned about "ear-to-pocket" running. Picture the melted mercury guy from Terminator 2....you know how he runs? Yeah, like that. Something about pumping your arms will open up the hips so that they want to swing forward with each pump, allowing for more efficient movement. Thumbs in the palm, fingers straight. Right hand to your ear, left hand by your pocket, left leg up, right leg propelling forward. Looks kinda dorky, but I could see how it works.

I don't think I really did 40%, 50% 60% of my full sprinting ability....I was anticipating going up to 100%, and since we were doing several sprints at each percentage, I didn't think I'd have any energy left! I guess I'll work on it when we doing our laps in the next few weeks.

Then we used our hand weights. Again, 5lbs in each hand, we did Straight Leg Dead Lifts. Weight in each hand, palms down, and while lowing the weights down past your knees, keep your back straight to feel the stretch in the hamstrings. Keep the weights always 1 inch away from your body at all times, and keep those knees stationary. And return to standing. We did Plie Lunges: weights in each hand, bring right leg back and behind the left leg (looks like you've crossed your left leg over the right leg, now), feeling the burn in the left quad and doing a bicep curl. We also did Calf Raises again by the wall. Walking Lunges across the width of the tennis courts (and jogging back -- ouch!).

That's it!

I was so shocked at how fast the hour went, I actually said out loud, "That's it?" I was expecting torture today! But despite not doing as much as I thought, my arms are soooo sore. Especially my left bicep (what gives?). My hamstrings, quads and glutes don't hurt much, even though I thought we worked those more today. Maybe yesterday's workout is just catching up to me now.

Boot Camp: Day 6

The huge group was divided in 2 groups today. Our group was to run to the front of the school, and at the benches, do 50 Tricep Dips, then run back to the rear of the school, where we would work out with our weights. We did a circuit like this for the remaining of the hour, and not only did Tricep Dips twice, but also 50 Bench Pushups twice.

Those pushups weren't as polished as they should have been. When doing 50 pushups, your form is not going to be great. I don't know about the rest of them, but mine sucked. They were simply "bends". And most of the others were so fast! They must have not been doing perfect ones either. Funny, we had two ladies in the group, the older ladies I may have mentioned earlier. They were always the last to arrive at the benches and a couple of times they made us crack up and laugh because they'd come to the benches and start counting "one, two, forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty!". You can't do dips and pushups when laughing, I learned, especially if your body is to the point of exhaustion!

On our mini-runs back and forth between exercises, I befriended one girl, let's call her Jasmine. I think it may be her first bootcamp too, but she's doing a 3 day week. She has a couple of kids I think, but looks great! I think her youngest is actually older than Gabe, since she said that when her kid was 2 years old, she also felt it was a good time to start exercising more. She wasn't as fast as the rest of the group was, so it was a nice fit to be running next to someone who shared the same speed. I really liked her black pants with the small reflective strips at the side....her husband bought it. Ah, I wish!

I forgot about some of the weight exercises we did when we were at the rear of the school (I'm writing this 2 days later, and my memory is a little short!). I've now made the commitment to make sure I'm writing a new post before I leave for work, so that I can at least remember! Anything beyond 24 hours definitely gets pushed out of my mind! I do remember that we were doing quite a bit of arm work, since people were still apparently sore from Friday's workout. I just recovered that morning from Friday's workout, so working out the arms were fine with me anyways.

What will tomorrow bring?