back to boot camp

So almost a week has come and gone since declaring my re-commitment to healthier living. Last Monday I started working out again consistently {3x a week} for the first time in many months. It was hard, but I loved it. Are you surprised that I loved it? I know... it sounds weird, but when you find a workout that you actually look forward to doing, it's much less "work" and much more "empowering."

For me, that workout is boot camp. Last summer I started taking a boot camp class {this one} after getting a $30 Groupon to take 12 classes {3 classes a week for 4 weeks}. I figured if I hated it or didn't stick with it, I wasn't wasting an arm and a leg. But, to my surprise, I actually fell in love with it. 

It was so empowering to see muscles form, be able to increase weights, do more reps, run faster, etc. I ended up becoming a boot camp junkie and went for about 4 months. My trainer, Lisa, even nicknamed me 

"Amanda Hard Core." 

Then the holidays came so I "fell off the wagon" for a couple months. I was ready to start back up again in January, and I got sick for three months. {You can read about that here and here on my other blog}. I got out of the swing of things and just kind of put working out on the back-burner. 

But another Groupon came along for the same boot camp and I was inspired to go back. I started last Monday with a different trainer than last summer and it was a totally different experience. I wouldn't say it was bad, per se, but it definitely wasn't Lisa. And I didn't feel like I worked out as hard as I did last summer. I mean it was hard, but not 

I-think-I'm-going-to-puke-so-I-better-sit-down hard. 

Plus, it was a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday class from 6p-7p {which is what I did last summer}, but with my schedule much busier and needing my weeknights open, coupled with my lack of enthusiasm for Ray, I knew something would have to change or I wouldn't be committed. I knew that Lisa taught the morning camp at the same location, so I tried out the 5:30am {yikes!} class last Friday. I was hooked again! I immediately emailed the owner of the company and asked to be switched into Lisa's a.m. camp. Yesterday I got the OK, and this morning it was up at 5am to get to boot camp! Woot!

Here are some things I've learned since starting boot camp:

1. You have to drink plenty of water daily while doing a workout plan. About half your body weight in fluid ounces is usually pretty good. 
2. Relatedly, if you're like me and still get light-headed even if you're well-hydrated, add a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt to each glass of water you drink. It puts good minerals back in the water that filtration/purification takes out. Don't worry, if you only do a pinch, it won't taste like you're gargling saltwater. 
3. Your knees will tear open and bleed a little if you do 300 girl push-ups in one hour, with half of them done on an asphalt parking lot.
4. Your scabbed knees that you've been applying Neosporin to all weekend will break open during the first run of Monday's class.
5. You should not wear high heels to work the day of/after a leg-day. 
6. It is possible to get up at 5am and do a workout!

Thanks for following me on this journey. I really hope you join me... 

follow me on the left! 

I'll be back on Wednesday to share an awesome arm workout that we did this morning. Get ready!