I hurt.
Went to the 6 a.m. “teaser” boot camp session this morning, which was supposed to be a 30-minute taste of what the hour-long class would be like, but noooo. Only one other person showed up – and she’d completed the spring boot camp – so we worked out for about 50 minutes.
That’s about 20 minutes longer than I was prepared for.
Go ahead and scoff, but I was seriously sleep-deprived. Despite my best intentions, I didn’t get to bed until midnight, then tossed and turned until my alarm went off at 5:15. I had every reason to just shut it off and roll over, but I didn’t want to wimp out. Besides, it would be just 30 minutes of sweat, right?
I got dressed, made a cup of Starbucks VIA and was out the door by 5:45. The streets were pretty clear, so I got to the gym right at 6 a.m. I saw several people over at the personal training desk, but turns out folks were just socializing. I was the only one who’d showed up for boot camp.
About five minutes later we were joined by a trim and fit woman Kate, the trainer, knew from the last camp. We waited a bit more, then got started. I can’t recall all the many different exercises we did because right now, it’s all just a blur of floor work, kettlebells and the innocent-looking Kinesis wall equipment. My hands either had a pulley or kettlebell in them the entire time. We even did sit-ups with the stupid things.
I got winded fairly early, but kept it moving all the way to the end. I did get a little lightheaded a couple of times, likely because of inadequate sleep and only coffee in my system. There’s another teaser class on Thursday, so I’ll be sure to get at least six hours of sleep, and have a little trail mix or something before heading to the gym.
You read that correctly: I’m definitely going back. At the end, I had to take a few minutes to get my breathing under control, but I felt really good. A strong sense of accomplishment. I actually thought about hitting the treadmill afterward, but my legs felt a little rubbery – lots of squats and lunges – so I came on home.
Now I really am quite sore, which surprises me, because it’s only noon. Tomorrow, I suspect I’ll feel as if I’d been in a car accident. Thursday a.m., much better I hope.
After an unimpressive July and August, this is exactly the jumpstart I need. Hopefully more people will sign up for boot camp, which officially starts next week.
I have a punishing workout regimen. Every day I do 3 minutes on a treadmill, then I lie down, drink a glass of vodka and smoke a cigarette. ~ Anthony Hopkins
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Leslie J. Ansley is an award-winning journalist and entrepreneur who blogs daily for TheRoot. She lives in Raleigh, NC.