“Back to School Weight loss challenge”

As I previously mentioned, Wednesday, September 1^st I walked into my first ever boot camp owned and operated by Luka Hocevar and his staff.  Renton Results Boot Camp www.rentonresultsbootcamp.com/  looked like no gym I had ever frequented.  Where were the tread mills, the elliptical machines, the stair climbers, spinning cycles, weight machines?  There were none of the typical gym machines I was accustomed to in my 15 years of working out!  Instead, I entered a long, narrow, high ceiling garage with green AstroTurf looking floor at one end and black half inch rubber like covering at the other. Lined up along the wall were round balls with handles—I found out later called Kettle bells!

There was boot camp graffiti decorating the walls with encouraging words like: “Go Hard or Go Home!”  What?  Maybe I should just go right back out that door!  Another notice on the wall stated “Things come to those who wait but only what’s left over by those who hustle!”     More encouragement on another wall stated that “The greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising every time you fall.”    And “You can’t change your –potential but you can choose to fulfill it.”  On second thought I might stick around at least for the free week!   And what was that odor?  Perfume a la Gym?????

I soon found out why there weren’t a lot of machines. For one thing there wasn’t the space, but more importantly, my body was going to be the machine. I learned what was for me a new form of exercise---my body would provide the resistance weight.  At 244 pounds I would have a whole lot of weight and a whole lot of resistance to deal with! 

I still recall that my second time at boot camp one of the intervals included forward and backward bear crawls!  I could not even come close to getting up on my hands and feet in a bear crawl stance let alone “crawl”!  So I crawled across on my hands and knees!  That WAS humbling as well as painful on the Astro Turf covered cement!  And probably pretty hilarious as well. But no one laughed---at least not out loud!  I remembered Rebekah’s words, “Just do what you can do, Mom!”  I was short on style, finesse, and form, to name just a few, but not on effort!  I was putting all I had into this boot camp experience.

After meeting with Luka the week after attending my first camp, I was recovering from a bit of sticker shock!  My $21.00 a month current gym membership over the years was a “bargain”-BUT what had it done for me?  My thought since then has been that I can pay for boot camp now or for the doctor later!  And we all know what will be the bigger bill in the long run!! 

So, I made the 8 week weight loss challenge commitment!  Rebekah paid a portion of it for my birthday, gave me a coupon she had been given and my husband, as per my request paid the other half for my 64^th birthday gift! So the money was on the line and there was no backing out now!!! Not that I wanted to. I was actually excited that this just might be something that would finally work for me!  What did I have to lose? Nothing but 79 pounds—duh!!!---I’d already lost my dignity doing the plank and leaving a puddle of sweat on the floor and that was even while wearing my 70’s style pink sweat band which I could wring out after each boot camp!  Talk about gross!  No wonder this boot camp in a garage had a strange aroma when I entered the door that first day!

September 12, 2010 @ 244#'s
What can I say? The sweats tell it all!!

Actually, I was soon to be regaining some of my dignity as I started doing more push ups and more body weight exercises and less unscheduled planks!  I became familiar with words like burpees, the prowler, dynaball slams, kettle bell goblet squats, TRX pull ups, walk outs, reverse lunges, high knees, sprinters sit ups, prisoner squats, squat jumps AND my favorite---squat holds! A whole new vocabulary was assaulting my brain as well as my body! I have to say that it was good for mind AND body!  I was on my way!!!!! Hurray!!! But wait, right around the corner was a potential BIG BUMP in the road.  Stay tuned for more of the adventures in this ‘babyboomergrandma’s journey to gettin’ fit and healthy. I’ll be back with more in a day or so! Until then, may God richly bless YOUR  life!

An added note: 

  Yes, I had crossed over the line from overweight to obese.  So why would I put such a revealing picture of my challenge with obesity on this blog? Because it is not the end of the story and I want you to see what can be done. With the power and grace of God, my can do attitude, good trainers, diet and boot camp you will be just as amazed as I am every day with the on-going transformation!