“Stupid Mattress/Summer Madness”

Well, after the 1^st week of boot camp, I’m happy to say that I made it through and was more than ready for week two! With the Labor Day Holiday, I missed having class but still made sure to get in my weekend workout.  My Saturday actually started out with me helping one of my great friends move into her new apartment! Which was a total body workout in a way; we had a few flights of steps to go up and down each time to move in all of her stuff.  But we still had a good time and we even had a few laughs due to the hilarious comments made by one of the movers. “Stupid mattress!” was one of the quips that made everyone laugh.  Apparently he was having quite the time getting the bed up to the apartment, but thankfully it all worked out in the end. :-)  Whether the mover intended for us to get such a laugh out of his comment is another story… :-)

If I could only figure out
angle I should hold the
camera.... hahaha!

That same day, I must have been feeling pretty great, because later on I went on a 5.7 km run at one of my favorite parks. Now I am not an avid runner, at all. I usually like to do a nice stroll or walk, but I had some of my favorite songs playing and was determined to work up a sweat… clearly by the photo, that happened! Being outside in the fresh air made the run even more enjoyable.  Love the smell of honeysuckles and the sounds of birds chirping as the wind blew a nice breeze by the water. After my run I was surprised that my body did not feel tired or achy and I probably could’ve ran even further. I learned two things 1) I probably should not have placed so many items in my little handy backpack. It was way too heavy… what was I thinking? “Stupid backpack!” -  hahaha and 2) Run a little earlier in the day. The only thing that stopped me was it started to get dark and a little cooler outside.  The temperature change and how it became dark so much earlier in the day just reminded me that summer is basically over. So for my cool down music after my run, I had to play a little Kool & The Gang “Summer Madness” (yes, I am old school all the way – lol!)  

For this week I am determined to start my weekend run a little bit earlier to see how much further I can run. Even though I have a long way to go, I can’t believe all the progress I have made already.  During the warm-up exercises, I don’t get as tired during level 1 which is a HUGE step for me! Before, I would really feel winded, it seemed before we even got started - this is the honest truth! This progress is greatly contributed to the awesome support and camaraderie from all the coaches and participants in this challenge! I love how everyone pushes each other in a positive way to reach our goals.  I am thankful for all the new buddies I have made in class and look forward to seeing how each of us change during this process!

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what
you become by achieving your goals." 

Zig Ziglar



Day 1: The “Monumental” Task

Yesterday was the first day of me being a part of the Test group at BOOTCAMP -KZX! I must say it was quite the journey for me even deciding to sign up for this challenge, but I am very happy that I have taken on this goal. Yes, I wanted to get in better shape, but I had all sorts of reasons why I couldn’t dedicate to this group. “I work long hours,” I said… “I probably won’t have the time…”  “Four days a week would be impossible for me to come to KZX!”  “I have to be there from 6:30 to 9 some nights? What if I want to do other things during that time? ”  “Will I survive all those workouts!”  LOL

These are only a few of the negative thoughts that immediately came to mind when I thought about signing up.  However, soon after all those doubts surfaced, another thought came to mind about how I’ve been  willing to make sacrifices for so many other people, goals, dreams, etc.,  how could I not make my health a priority? Which would invariably make it so much easier for me to help others even more and reach other goals?  Eureka moment-haha! Clearly the pros outweighed the cons, and here I am – a proud member of the group.

Now, this is not to say I’m 100% free of those negative thoughts; on the contrary folks! I battle them still, but I found that the more I focus on all the benefits, the less power those hindering thoughts have over me.  I also have awesome coaches (shout out to #teamDANGer-haha!) and friends who keep me super motivated, so I’m not facing this challenge alone.  Speaking of awesome friends; after class, my pal (and boot camp superstar!) Jee had a great idea about getting in another workout, yet having fun at the same time.  So somehow we ended up in DC!

We decided to take a nice, brisk walk around the monuments and were even able to get a view of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial which just opened. For a few minutes we rented bicycles from Capital Bike Share, but apparently my hand, eye coordination (and balance) is not the best at night on a bike.  That’s all I will say on that subject –LOL. Either way, the overall message of this post was about stepping outside of yourself and doing something new!  Regardless if you’re good at that new thing or not, in shape, or not, confident or not, whatever the case may be.  Just believe in yourself, step outside your comfort zone, surround yourself with positive people and you can get there!

If you are facing a new challenge or being asked to do something that you have never done before, don’t be afraid to step out. You have more capability than you think you do, but you will never see it unless you place a demand on yourself for more. -

Joyce Meyer