I mentioned earlier this month that I was thinking of doing some sort of March Fitness challenge to get me out of my rut. Well, that Friday at the gym I noticed a private group working out with a trainer in one of the rooms and decided to ask about it.
I ended up speaking to the trainer, Walter, and found out that the class I saw was a private lesson called Elite Warrior Boot Camp. I could sign up for 6 weeks (for a fee, of course) and either do just Friday nights, or the three-day-a-week option of Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights.
I walked away from that meeting thinking I’d sign up for the one-day-a-week option. However, I thought about it over the weekend and was apparently feeling quite energetic… because I decided to just invest the money, and time, and pain into the three-day-a-week training group.
Yeah, that snowballed quickly.
Now, let me make this very clear. Although I try to get to the gym 2-3 days each week, I’m not very fit. I can knock out a bunch of cardio, lift some light weights and have tried out a class or two. However, I am NOT what you would consider an athletic (or graceful) person. When it comes to deciding that I could do an ELITE WARRIOR boot camp, it really is all about my misplaced confidence that I can pretty much do anything I want to. Like when I run a 10k with no preparation. It’s not recommended, but I’m stubborn and I do what I want.
Day 1: Monday 11th
I went to the gym ready to get my butt handed to me. There were about 8 people at today’s session and everyone had been working out with Walter for a pretty long time – some for 1 year, a couple for 2 years and one couple for 4 years! I’m hoping there is some sort of pricing break if you renew after the 6 weeks…
Anyways, we started with doing a circuit of 8 different exercises. Each person would do their exercise for one minute and then we’d switch to the next exercise. The first circuit included: running on a weird kind of treadmill, waving around some ropes like some sort of superhero, crunches on a ball, doing a sit/squat thing against a wall, dumbbell stuff on the bench, kettlebell swings while thrusting like a porn star, push-ups on a bar, and stepping up on a box. These are obviously the technical terms.
From there, we went to another room and did a circuit on machines. This circuit was a little different where we would first do the machine, then do something like jumping jacks or crunches, then a plank, then back to the machine, then all over again, then switch to the next machine.
By the end of the workout my arms felt like limp spaghetti and I was seriously concerned about whether I’d be able to get out of bed the next morning.
Day 2: Wednesday 13th
I was still sore from Monday, mostly my poor non-existent abs. There were only 4 people in the Wednesday class, so there was lots of extra attention from the trainer. I really liked that we did entirely different exercises than the first day. However, I did make a BIG mistake. I was really hungry during the first class, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a yogurt before the Wednesday session.
This was WRONG. This was a TERRIBLE IDEA. We started with doing all sorts of stuff on a step, like push-ups, kicking around like a crazy person, step ups, squats and more flailing around. I honestly thought I might hurl and I may have even turned a little green.
Towards the end of the session, Walter had us go onto a group of treadmills to do some sprints. Basically we would walk for 30 seconds and then run flat out as fast as we could for 30 seconds. Over and over and over. There was some friendly competition on how quick you could turn the treadmill to for the sprints and over the course of the 25 minutes or so I was able to get quicker and quicker without the treadmill throwing me off. I actually REALLY liked doing the sprints and plan to add this to my list for when I exercise on my own.
Day 3: Friday 15th
I was surprisingly not feeling as sore as I expected going into the third class of the week. Today’s class was in the private fitness room that had piqued my interest the week before… the punching bag room! When I walked into the room, Walter instructed me to put on a pair of boxing gloves and I knew it was about to go DOWN. There were 5 of us in Friday’s class (one woman was in all three days – she’s super fit and totally my hero) and we all got our own punching bag.
Let me tell you, I punched and kicked the bejesus out of that bag! It was like the bag had personally wronged me. It was a GREAT way to get the stress of the workweek off my shoulders and I loved every single second of it! We used boxing gloves from a bin, but I’m thinking I might buy these boxing gloves so I don’t have to share hand sweat with anyone (BLEGH!).
After beating on the bags for about 30 minutes, Walter had us go pick a cardio machine and do 10 minutes out there. Then, we returned and punched, elbowed, kicked and kneed the bags for another 20 minutes.
By the end of the hour, I was dripping with sweat and had a huge smile on my face! Once again, I am NOT an athletic person, but give me a pair of boxing gloves and I turn into Ronda Rousey! And yes, I had to google her name, because I’m not a sports person.
Week One Thoughts:
I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into week one, but I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, there were times where I wasn’t going as hard or as fast as some of the other people in my class, but I did the best that I could for the entire 60 minutes of each session. I certainly worked out much harder than I do on my own and I learned a bunch of new ways to work out too. I was sore after each session, but not so sore that I needed to pop any Tylenol. Mostly I’m proud that I decided to put this 41-year-old body to the test.
I can’t wait for next week!
If you want to follow along with my Elite Warrior Boot Camp, I’m trying to post after each workout on my Instagram account (find it here). I’m also planning to do a half-way point blog check in at the end of week three!
Disclaimer: This post contains a sponsored link.
I love group fitness classes because of the group energy.
Just like on race day. It is so much more fun and motivating to be doing it with a group of others.
Are you interested in or tracking any #s (weight or inches) to help you measure progress? While I hate doing it I find loosing really helps motivate me along.
I got measured at the gym the day I started the program so I can track inches and body fat. I also weigh myself and track it once a week.
Wow. I am impressed and inspired! I think you are a warrior! You have the warrior spirit, or you wouldn’t of been able to enjoy that punching bag so much!
Congratulations. I will be following along, and will think about getting off of my butt to wake up my body!
Thank you Nancy!