Live, Love, Run: Well I Didn't Die...

Ok, I may be a bit over dramatic. But, today was my first day of boot camp and I'm still alive - Winning!

As I previously mentioned, I had a Groupon for one month of unlimited workouts at this studio, and I wanted to wait until my race was over to get started. Going into today's 1 hour class, I didn't really know what to expect other than the workouts varied day to day and were going to be high intensity/circuit type workouts. And even though I've only been to one class so far, I LOVED it! So I thought I'd recap what we did today so you too can share in my excitement/soreness :)

When I entered the private studio space this morning, there were about 8 or 9 other girls there for the class. I liked the small class size already. The owner/trainer came over to introduce himself to me and ask me a few questions about my current workouts, fitness level, any injuries and my personal goals. I then also had to sign a Last Will & Testament. Kidding! Just your standard legal release that I wouldn't hold the gym liable for any injuries. Then one of the girls came over and introduced herself to me and we started chatting. How sweet! She made me feel welcome and comfortable. And then we got started!

We began with a few warm up exercises including squats, lunges, planks, jumping jacks, 'good mornings' (never heard of these before - description here), and a few others that I can't even remember now. Then we partnered up - my new friend offered to be my partner! - and got into the meat of today's workout.

The first drill was a 13 minute partner AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible - using CrossFit terms here) that went like this: One partner got on the rowing machine and rowed 200 meters while the other partner held a low/elbow plank until the rower was finished, and then we switched. The first few rotations I felt pretty good but as the 13 mins wore on I was getting tired! I would estimate that we held the plank for a minute to minute and half each time. And then without break we were on to the next partner drill!

Our second 13 minutes looked like this:

First, partner sit ups with an 8 lb medicine ball -

Followed by running across the gym twice while holding your partner via piggyback?! What? I did not attempt to piggyback my partner. I am a mini 5'2" and she was much taller than me. I did not want to drop, injure or maim my new friend! So, the modification was to push your partner back and forth across the gym while they resisted as hard as they could - think of football drill where they push those big pieces of equipment across the field. Well my partner DID piggyback me and I pushed her (that entire statement somehow sounds wrong!) and we switched back and forth between these activities about every minute to minute and a half for 13 minutes.

And that my friends was probably the most intense 26 mins of working out I've had since my CrossFit days. Oh but we weren't done yet! I went to get a drink of water and the trainer called me out. Haha. "Jill, where are you going? We're not done yet."

The last portion of class was what he called The Finisher. He had a series of exercises written up on the board that we were to complete for time (as fast as we could). It was 10 each of: Pushups, Squats, Pushup with Side Plank, Squat jumps, Pushup with Reach, Burpees, and a few others that again I can't recall. Then we stretched and did a group fist pump!

I loved the energy of the trainer and the class. I felt like a kid back in gym class doing all these different drills and even though it was intense I was actually smiling and laughing the whole time. This is exactly my type of exercise and much how I would envision structuring a personal training business once I finally get that certification (future goal - just putting it out there). I loved how small the class was and how all the girls encouraged each other throughout. My partner especially was so great in that respect.

I can't wait to get to class tomorrow and see what we do! Today was almost entirely arms & abs so I'm thinking legs but I have no clue.

At the end of 30 days, I imagine I'll look something like this: