Bootcamp Class - Complete!

I'm happy to report that I have successfully completed the bootcamp course I started in June. It was an 8-week program that met twice a week (Monday and Wednesday).

This was a beginner's bootcamp class and I'll be honest, for the first few classes I was kind of bummed that I wasn't in extreme pain and wishing to die from an excruciating workout (hey now - that's what the word 'bootcamp' implies!). I definitely ate my words after doing a bajillion push-ups and sprints up stairs.

Our first class consisted of a fitness test just so we had a basis of measure to see how much we've improved. The fitness test consisted of:

- 90 seconds of push-ups
- 2 minutes of sit-ups
- 2 minutes of mountain climbers
- 1 minute of side jumps
- A .62 run around the park (complete with hills!)

While my numbers weren't anything to boast about, I felt good about falling somewhere in the middle when it came to the fitness level of all the participants in the class. Nobody wants to be the worst performer!

For awhile, I didn't think I was seeing or feeling any difference in terms of my weight, body or strength. Actually - that's a lie… the difference I saw in my body wasn't toner arms or a flatter stomach. It was SMALLER BOOBS. As if they're not already small, they're even smaller. Go figure.

Back to the no difference thing - like I said, I didn't feel any stronger or even any faster when it came to running despite all the sprinting we had done. I felt this way up until week 7 of the program until I had my first Dragonboat paddling practice (yes, I'm still doing that but that's an entirely different blog post). I paddled my little heart out and wasn't sore. AT ALL. I didn't poop out after a couple of drills like I had previously and I just felt good.

I missed the last week of the bootcamp class because of my vacation but knew that one class was going to be the fitness test. So yesterday I had The Mr. go to the park with me, armed with the stopwatch function on my cell phone, to retake the test. And holy hell - there was quite a difference with a few of the items. Because I am proud that I made an improvement (although I am nowhere near being as fit as an athlete), I'm posting my results:

Push-Ups (90 seconds)
June: 40
July: 66
Go me! I have to admit that these were on the knee push-ups but still. I think it's quite an improvement. I don't know if it was worth shrinking my boobs for but at least I have something to show for it! I'd also like to add that I probably could have done more but The Mr f'ed up the stopwatch about 40 seconds into my push-ups and I had to start over.

Sit-ups (90 seconds)
June: 78
July: 106
I was actually kind of surprised that there was such a difference. I figured this would have stayed relatively the same but perhaps the fact that The Mr was yelling words of encouragement and I didn't want to look like a turd, I pushed myself even harder.

Mountain Climbers (2 minutes)
Does everyone know what this is? In case you don't, it is performed by holding yourself in a high plank position and bringing your knees towards your chest like you're running up a mountain.
June: 90
July: 107
I had actually counted 214 and thought, "Holy shit, I am fucking amazing!" but then reality set in and I thought, "Crap - I'm totally counting this incorrectly. This can't possibly be right." I confirmed with the instructor that I was only supposed to count a cycle so I had to divide the number by 2.

Side Jumps (1 minute)
June: 79
July: 78
Yeah yeah yeah, this one was a little worse but I went several times because I lost count. My last count was 157 and I realized again that I was counting it incorrectly. So - I had to divide that number by 2.

Run around park
June: 4:50 min
July: 4:31 min
So I'm really proud of this number. I shaved 19 seconds off of my run! And as I triumphantly crossed the finish line, The Mr's first words to me were, "You totally could have fun that faster. Why do you take such short strides?" Thanks, hon.