12 Days of Christmas

No holding back this morning! Even though our regular instructor was out of town today, we still worked our butts off. I was introduced to the 12 Days of Christmas.
1 jog/walk/run around the playground
2 dozen mountain climbers per leg (48 total)
3 inch worms w/ push up
4 Burpees
5 squats w/bicep curl w/ dumb bell
6 lateral raises w/ dumb bell
7 push ups
8 plie squats w/ dumb bells
9 skater squats
10 standing crunches per side (20 total)
11 squats
12 ???? I apparently can't remember this because I only did this one once.

Anyway, basically you start with number one...then you come back and do 2, then 1...then 3, 2, 1...and so on till you get through the whole 12 days of Christmas.
And I am happy to say that I cam the only one in my camp this morning to finish it all for the first time doing it! I was empowered by hearing that no one in the 5:30am class finished it! It was tough, but I sort of got more power as I went...pushing myself more and more. And from what I hear I missed a grueling day yesterday...so I hope to push myself into some hard work this Saturday on my day off. I got a new Video from Jillian Michaels I may try out tomorrow...I'll let you know how it goes.

So this was an awesome end to my second week of Boot Camp!
I just want to thank all that keep encouraging me, it really does help keep me going. Thank you!

To your Health!

Hungry Mother!

This is my first day that I couldn't be at boot camp...and I truly was sad about it! But, I did conquer the Lake Trail at Hungry Mother State Park in Marion, VA this morning. A 5.7 mile wooded hiking trail around the lake! It was beautiful and perfect weather for being outside and walking. So I don't feel so bad about missing boot camp one day since I did walk pretty hard on this trail. It took me just under 2 hours to walk it, and tried to keep my pace up to 4-5 miles per hour so as to keep my heart rate up. The hills slowed me down a bit, but I just picked my pace back up after. I did learn something this morning about my pedometer though...it says I walked 12.2 miles...HAHAHAHAHAHA...yeah definitely got to get that pedometer reset to the correct stride length! So maybe I burned 500-650 calories on that trail...not sure since my pedometer was screwy. I am looking into getting a heart monitor that tracks my heart rate and calories, then I feel like I can keep up with calories burned better.

I have been keeping track of the food intake for the past week and a half as well...which makes you aware of how many calories you are really eating...and what you are missing from your diet. Learning lots this week!

I also have been meaning to post something that I have noticed about myself lately. I am aware that I am standing and sitting straighter than normal. My posture seems to be more erect and correct. I am excited about this, since this is something I remember so well about my Grandfather Rooz. He would always tell us to sit up straight...and I think my Aunt Bori had some help in that too...always telling us to sit like there was a string being pulled from the top of our heads upwards. Anyway, I am excited about my posture, because I felt like I was not taking care of my posture lately. Also, something else I have noticed about changing...I think I see definition in my thighs...HELLO...this is exciting and empowering. I definitely give credit to my boot camp instructor Cheri for that...as she busts our butts every morning to keep moving.

So, Marion, VA has proven to be a good place to find exercise if you happen through here anytime. Be sure to check out Hungry Mother State Park. It has lots of things to do...canoeing, paddle boats, swimming, hiking, biking, and camping, of course. And it is absolutely beautiful this time of year...perfect weather these two days and breezy!

I hope you all have a great day today and hope you learn something inspiring about yourself today like I have this week!

To your Health!

2nd Metabolic Workout down!

I did it again! The Metabolic Workout was today...again. We warmed up with an Indian run! 12 exercises as fast as you can for 45 seconds each, then do it again for 30 seconds each, then the final was 20 seconds each. Can we say sweat from head to toe?!?!? Light headed is an understatement...but that's the point, to work yourself as much as you can, pushing yourself as much as you can to improve yourself all around...and HELLO we are getting in shape! We did some serious butt crunches today that were killer! Then, of course we were not done, we did some ab workouts.

I learned last week that this workout kicks my metabolism into overdrive. I was so hungry last Wednesday! I will be sure to eat more protein today to curb that hunger!

I hope you all have a good day!

To your Health!

Burning those legs up!

This morning was tough to get up! We burned up our legs today. Jogging, step ups, squats, walking lunges, mountain climbers, and then to top it off we came back under the shelter and burned up some more with some weights! Needless to say I was definitely breathing hard today...you never realize how much weigh is in those thighs until you start burning them up! I feel good about it, but I will not lie, it burns during the process!

Hope you all are moving a little bit here and there...a little can go a long way!

To your health!

2nd week of Boot Camp!

This morning was awesome. The light was getting brighter as I rolled into the park for Boot Camp! The kitty was still wandering around, and all 6 women that started last Monday were there again this Monday. Not a bad start to a Monday!

So we started with our Indian Run...where you all start running/jogging/or walking...I jogged the whole time...and then when you get the the finish you turn around and go to the last person. You do this till the last person is at the finish. We then a few sprint splits with partners, shuffles back and forth with a partner, and resistance running with the bands. All enough to make my shin splints burn. We then went back up to the shelter to do more resistance work with the bands...working those shoulders and making out shoulder caps defined! Finishing off with some duck walking, pole sitting, and jacks.

It was a good Monday morning burn! A great start to the week.

To you Health!

Feeling good and I am proud of myself!

Well, I did it! I made it through my first week of boot camp. I did my first timed mile since high school this morning and finished at 14:30. I plan to improve on that by the end of the four weeks. I also did 10 Male push-ups and 20 Female push-ups for the push-up test. After that we did some resistance band walking. We did 20 Mountain Climbers, 20 bench dips, and then 20 jumping jack splits for a few minutes as well. Overall I felt like it was a great end to the week.

I don't know if I am more excited about accomplishing the workouts for the week or the fact that I get up and stay up that early in the morning. I have got so much done after workout and before I have to go to work this week than I have in the last few months!

I picked up a log journal this week too tat will keep track of my exercises and food for me, so that I can ensure that I am not eating more calories than I am burning. No serious weight loss yet, but the toning is definitely happening. I am starting to truly feel my abs under this layer of flab that hides them. I think that if I am feeling mentally better I should focus on that right now instead of the numbers. I know this is a process and nothing happens immediately!

I also have been thinking that it is time to join the gym. I feel more energetic than I have in a while and I think I need to be doing one more hour of workout, for a total of 2 hours a day.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

To your Health!

Strength and balance...we all need this in more ways than one!

Today we worked a lot on strength and balance. Some tough moves that burned and burned. I felt stronger at the end and not as exhausted as yesterday. I am working on removing the the flying wings on my triceps and toning that bum up nice and firm!
I am so excited that I have pushed myself every morning for the last 4 days to get up and go! It was raining the last two mornings, but we have continued to workout under our shelter at the park. So NO EXCUSES!!!

We were greeted by a little tiny guest today at the shelter too...little grey kitty that reminded me of Smokey, The Scott Family cat, so of course I named the kitty Smokey 2. He/She watched us work out all morning and then us softies went to get it food and milk. It didn't come home in my car...yet!

I hope you all have a great Thursday!

To your Health!