You Can Have Your Cake & Eat It Too

Another day at bootcamp, but for this Thursday we were spared the elements. It was still very humid and muggy but it seemed to cool off slightly. I limped over to "Star" (yeah, my thighs were still cryin' from yesterday!) and mentioned the air was still a little thick today. She replied, "You got that right! But hopefully it will be better than yesterday." She experienced the humidity and heat within the enclosed space a little oppressive and predicted it might have been more difficult to tolerate than the rain might have been. Well, whether its the rain or the humidity, we got the grit, we got the grit! :)

Rain was not going to beckon on us this morning. But it didn't matter. My legs and buns were reminding me what an awesome workout we had yesterday, and I had to admit, " I sucked it up" big time. :) I was sore, sore, SORE! The lactic acid had made its home in my muscles and the weather had provoked the arthritis in my lower spine. I felt stiff and needed to limber up. Thank goodness that Brian always gives our bodies sufficient time to warm-up before hitting the heavy stuff. He always designs the program in a progressive fashion so we perform the meatiest and intense circuits in the last half of our workout.

I was also thankful that today would entail some cardio, shoulders, biceps and back, with a little agility training thrown in to fatten the mix. My legs would have a chance to recover.

We did all kinds of fun things today, and though the air made breathing uncomfortable for me, my muscles began to limber up. We did some interval running in groups which I always like, because it forces me to acclimate my physical conditioning to include sprinting and explosive work. I once read that we have both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles, and its important to train both types. I believe the power and explosive work is part of the formula that keeps our bodies young. So as much as it hurts and I think I'm going down for the count, I am so, so grateful for these circuits because I would never do them on my own.

Brian blew the whistle and we were off running back and forth to the designated lines. The Little Rocket launched from her pad first. I have to give her kudos, because she is a great teammate. She always cheers her team on, and if she notices someone in the next team struggling to keep up ( such as me!) she will throw a word of encouragement my way, and a high-five too! I have seen her reach out to others and praise them for their efforts. At the end of that circuit, Lil' Rocket smiled and said, "Good Job! Now you're running with the BiG DoGs!"

Well bless her heart. I have a quite a journey to follow before I get to run with the BiG DoGs! :) If anyone at Adventure Bootcamp is ever awarded Best Team Player, I hope it goes to the Lil' Rocket. :)

We went back to the base camp, and Brian directed us in our upper body workout. I am steadily improving, friends! I got to increase the weight for my back, shoulders, and mixed the weight for my biceps. I am seeing qualified improvements in my strength and stamina, and it is just so exciting to experience myself breaking through my threshold! I have not been able to accomplish this with other trainers or myself for the last 3 years.

Of course we never have a camp that doesn't include mad fun and a "little hot sauce" to crank it up! As I've mentioned before, Brian uses music as a great motivator to help us push ourselves and to create great camp camaraderie! So the song of the day was by "Twisted Sister". Yeah, the gang was chanting, "We're not gonna take it anymore! We ain't gonna take it!"

Brian always knows how to milk the fun out of each session, so he would cut the music and we would sing those lyrics! If I didn't know better, I would think this "ain't" know workout! This is another party at the Adventure Bootcamp, led by that Brian Schiff!! (lol) ;)

(I have to admit, I'm having a little fun playing with Brian on this blog!)

Yeah, it was a grand workout party! I looked around and a few of the campers with rhythm couldn't help themselves; they were shakin' their booties, while others continued to sing as the music changed artists.

Well, I think I'm gonna have to nickname our leader "Dr. Feelgood" because he sure knows how to make my body feel great in and out of that bootcamp, and he sends my energy and happy spirit to orbit! (lol) :)

Hee-hee! At end of bootcamp, I was so energized I decided to practice my jogging a little, 'cause I'm determined to improve my mile. As I took off on my jog, "Amazing Grace" and "Shaker Girl" asked me what was up, and then cheered me on! :) Thank you for your thumbs up and support, camp friends! :) Your encouragement really does make a difference, and I need all I can get! You are a reminder of where I want to be.

This fat cat is gearing up to get lean and mean. And what better place than at Adventure Bootcamp where I can work as hard as hard can be, but have the time of my life doing it? Its called: " You can have your cake and eat it too!"

And ohh baby, you know I love that cake! ;)

I'll catch up with ya next time!

the pinK tiger