I made it through my first boot camp class! As you could probably tell from yesterday’s post I was nervous about it. The funny thing is I wasn’t the only one that was a little bit scared, and I remember saying to the woman next to me that I was sweating before the class had even begun. The gentleman near us who had been in the class before said “don’t worry in about 15 minutes you’ll be feeling good.” :-O
The class was full of a wonderful mix of people, different ages, different sizes, and different levels of ability. I really did not know what to expect going in. Ever since I took a yoga class one time and everyone in the class was extremely advanced, and to say I really, really struggled to keep up would be putting it nicely, I definitely get anxious of repeating that. However, on my way in I repeated over and over in my head it is not about how fit everyone else is, it is about improving myself. In my heart I know this to be true, but I definitely had to keep saying it to calm my nerves.
For some reason if I had signed up for an aerobic class, or basically any class with a name other than boot camp I don’t think I would have been nearly as nervous, but the words boot camp and drills scare me. Plus it was a 1 hour class, and 1 hour of boot camp sounds like a long time to me.
The class started off with the instructor saying “it is going to be hard, but you wouldn’t have signed up for something called boot camp if you wanted it to be easy!” Big Gulp! :-Z Then I felt a tiny bit relieved when she said “unfortunately the gym where the rest of the classes are going to be held was booked for a special event tonight so for this first class we will have to make do with this room, so we won’t be able to do as much running as when we are in the gym.” Oh darn! Not going to be able to do as many running drills for the first class, I’m sure you could sense my disappointment ;-)
Long hour short I made it through my first class. It is amazing how much exercise you can do with very little equipment. All we used for the class was a mat, a resistance band, and a medicine ball, and believe me that was enough. The great thing about this class was it did allow you freedom for how hard you wanted to push yourself, which made it great for beginners and veterans alike. Our instructor showed us Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 for most of the movements. I’m happy to report I didn’t do level 1 for everythingJ. There were definitely times though I had to resort to quickly repeating mantras in my head to try and make it through.
I learned a few things about myself, or re-learned I should say because there weren’t any surprises but I had not thought about it in a while. I can use a lot of improvement in my arms, especially my shoulders! Not an area I’m naturally strong. In fact I walked away with a big bruise on my arm from using the resistance band on some of the arm exercises. On the up side my abdominal strength is pretty good considering I haven’t pushed myself with exercise in a long time.
Today, my body is very sore. I feel it when I sit, or when I try to lift my arms. It is a good thing though, and I’m proud of myself for going out of my comfort zone. I have to say there were not any drills that were way harder than Jillian Michaels 30 minute shred, so if you are looking for something at home I think there is a lot to be said for that DVD, and if you’re extremely motivated you could always play it twice for an hour long workout. It has been a long time since I worked out to that DVD. My kids broke it a while back, and I promise I didn’t give it to them on purpose ;-)
Sometimes it is so hard to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, but the rewards can be great. Now I need to come up with a way to psyche myself up for the second class!
Have you ever pushed yourself outside of your comfort zone and been thoroughly rewarded? Please share in the comments.
The class was full of a wonderful mix of people, different ages, different sizes, and different levels of ability. I really did not know what to expect going in. Ever since I took a yoga class one time and everyone in the class was extremely advanced, and to say I really, really struggled to keep up would be putting it nicely, I definitely get anxious of repeating that. However, on my way in I repeated over and over in my head it is not about how fit everyone else is, it is about improving myself. In my heart I know this to be true, but I definitely had to keep saying it to calm my nerves.
For some reason if I had signed up for an aerobic class, or basically any class with a name other than boot camp I don’t think I would have been nearly as nervous, but the words boot camp and drills scare me. Plus it was a 1 hour class, and 1 hour of boot camp sounds like a long time to me.
The class started off with the instructor saying “it is going to be hard, but you wouldn’t have signed up for something called boot camp if you wanted it to be easy!” Big Gulp! :-Z Then I felt a tiny bit relieved when she said “unfortunately the gym where the rest of the classes are going to be held was booked for a special event tonight so for this first class we will have to make do with this room, so we won’t be able to do as much running as when we are in the gym.” Oh darn! Not going to be able to do as many running drills for the first class, I’m sure you could sense my disappointment ;-)
Long hour short I made it through my first class. It is amazing how much exercise you can do with very little equipment. All we used for the class was a mat, a resistance band, and a medicine ball, and believe me that was enough. The great thing about this class was it did allow you freedom for how hard you wanted to push yourself, which made it great for beginners and veterans alike. Our instructor showed us Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 for most of the movements. I’m happy to report I didn’t do level 1 for everythingJ. There were definitely times though I had to resort to quickly repeating mantras in my head to try and make it through.
I learned a few things about myself, or re-learned I should say because there weren’t any surprises but I had not thought about it in a while. I can use a lot of improvement in my arms, especially my shoulders! Not an area I’m naturally strong. In fact I walked away with a big bruise on my arm from using the resistance band on some of the arm exercises. On the up side my abdominal strength is pretty good considering I haven’t pushed myself with exercise in a long time.
Today, my body is very sore. I feel it when I sit, or when I try to lift my arms. It is a good thing though, and I’m proud of myself for going out of my comfort zone. I have to say there were not any drills that were way harder than Jillian Michaels 30 minute shred, so if you are looking for something at home I think there is a lot to be said for that DVD, and if you’re extremely motivated you could always play it twice for an hour long workout. It has been a long time since I worked out to that DVD. My kids broke it a while back, and I promise I didn’t give it to them on purpose ;-)
Sometimes it is so hard to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, but the rewards can be great. Now I need to come up with a way to psyche myself up for the second class!
Have you ever pushed yourself outside of your comfort zone and been thoroughly rewarded? Please share in the comments.
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