My Favorite Boot Camp Class is Back!

By Janelle @ Run With No Regrets | fitness

Nov 14

Hello!  I hope you had an enjoyable weekend and a Happy Veteran’s Day.  My weekend was jam-packed full of fun and included well-needed days of rest since I had some pretty intense workouts every day from Monday to Friday.

Just a few highlights from the weekend:

  • Friday:  My boyfriend’s birthday bash!  We had excellent Thai dinner at Trio with friends, classy drinks at Lemon Hill, and then celebrated at home with carrot cake (his favorite) and more drinks with more friends.  He was so surprised and loved everything!

“Chicken and Waffles” special at Trio!

  • Saturday:   Homecoming Weekend at the University of Pennsylvania, my alma mater.  Best of all was the Penn vs. Temple basketball game in the historic Palestra.  We didn’t win, but it was a hell of a game!

Bill Cosby performed after the Penn/Temple game!

  • Sunday:  Justin Timberlake concert!!  Bought the tickets months in advance and had great seats.  I was an *NYSNC fan back in the day but I’ve never seen Justin live…we had a great time!

Justin Timberlake concert!

But back to fitness, last week was great because my favorite Boot Camp class started!  Boot Camp is a fitness program offered by my company every Tuesday and Thursday for one intense hour!   Thanks to the essay I wrote for my company’s Wellness Contest,  I get to take the entire 10 week session for free!

So what do we actually do in Boot Camp?  Get our butts kicked in a variety of ways!  We focus on the core but work the entire body.  Every time the class is offered, new things are added, but here are a few of the things we do:

  • Standing abs (5 on each side, 50 sets according to my buddy!)
  • V ups to sits ups (1-3 sets of 25)
  • Pushups and variations (3 sets of 10 or 20)
  • Squats and Sumos (3 sets of 10)
  • Reverse Lunges with or without weights (3 sets of 10 on each leg)
  • Squat Thrusts (2 sets of 5)
  • Burpees (2 sets of 5)
  • Planks, Planks, Planks (including side planks)
  • Side Bridges
  • Arnolds (3 sets of 25)
  • Shoulder Shrugs (3 sets of 25)
  • Pushup Lat Row (3 sets of 10 on each side)
  • Banana Rolls (30 second holds)
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The instructor for Boot Camp is Russell Burke, and he’s awesome!  Over 60 years old and has the energy of a 20-year-old, he’s a great motivator/drill sergeant!  Everything moves so fast and it’s pretty much impossible to keep up with Russ, but no matter your pace, you will see benefits as it gets easier and you get stronger!

After Tuesday I was SO sore and still had to endure two more days of Physical Therapy and another session of Boot Camp.  Thankfully, Thursday was much easier because we used weights and were less cardio intensive.  Before getting injured, I used to be comfortable with 7-pound hand weights, but I didn’t want to overexert myself and worked with 5’s.  The funny thing was that for most of the exercises, 5 pound weights were too easy for me.  So it looks like I’m in pretty good shape thanks to Physical Therapy!

Here I am after last Thursday’s workout…not nearly as beat as Tuesday but feeling great!

Boot Camp Class finished!

I am a big proponent of strength training as a runner, so Boot Camp always fits very well with my training goals. Of course I’m not signed up for any races yet, but this class will help keep me strong, especially since my last day of Physical Therapy is tomorrow! I’m really glad that he’s incorporating more dynamic stretching during the workout.  We seem to be focusing more on the hips too, which is still a weak point for me.

I look forward to the next couple of months!  Have you done Boot Camp?  What’s your favorite workout (besides running)?

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