The Ten Commandments of Boot Camp

I finished an eight week Total Body Transformation Boot Camp tonight, and I'm really happy with how it went. Working out with 8 other girls being trained by two trainers *cough*drill sergeants*cough*  wasn't something I was used to and totally out of my comfort zone - I'm used to working out in my basement and running back country roads alone. I'm pleased with the results of the camp too, it's taken my mentality from working out being a chore to being a normal part of the day, which is the shift I desperately needed.

Also, I shaved almost a second from my 30 yard sprint, doubled the amount of pushups and crunches in a set time (Don't ask me how long, I don't know. 30 seconds? 90 seconds? 45 minutes? I was just waiting for the word "TIME!" to tell me I could stop), added a tire flip, and added 6 seconds to my static squat. My measurements all went down, and I lost two pounds overall, but my general attitude towards the scale is one of distaste and despisery, so even if the scale went up (it rollercoastered the entire eight weeks), I would still have come out happy.

In the spirit of watching the movie Noah, which I did the other night and loved, I wanted to share the lessons I learned from Boot Camp (yes, I know, the two bible stories are unrelated but just go with it. And go watch Noah. Russell Crowe is still very awesome.)

The Ten Commandments of Boot Camp

1. Thou shalt not eat a half of a pizza before class. It will sit like a rock in your stomach. It's not in the Nutrition Guide.

2. Thou shalt not skimp on calories on boot camp days. You will need the energy. Running out of steam after 15 minutes makes for a very. long. class.

3. Thou shalt not underestimate the power of the pre-workout. You will want to die less.

4. Thou shalt juice on Sundays. It feels really great to juice on Sunday for breakfast and lunch. The Nutrition Guide suggested waiting until 8pm for a meal on Sundays, but I am an exceedingly devoted mother and my family requested that I eat supper with them. And I got hungry.

5. Thou shalt not skimp on protein powder. Seriously, put it in everything.

6. Thou shalt not take the scale too seriously. Screw it. It is just a number it does not own you.

7. Thou shalt not sass thy trainer. They can and will make you pay for it. "Are we running with sandbags?" "No." "Sweet!!" "I changed my mind. Grab a sandbag." Your proper response should have been "Thank you" and then move on. MOVE ON!

8. Thou shalt not forget the bug spray. There is nothing more annoying than swatting at bugs in the middle of a burpee set.

9. Thou shalt respect thy pushup and thy burpee. Be prepared to do hundreds, if not thousands, of pushups and burpees over the eight weeks.

10. Thou shalt prepare for pain. Stairs are overrated, anyway.

I loved it, and I'd recommend it to anyone.