Progress Report

It's hard to believe that my second round of boot camp is drawing to an end. (Harder to believe that I let nearly an entire month slip by without writing on my blog--I wonder if I have any readers left?)

As I was saying, I'm entering the last week of the second round of boot camp, and already it's hard to imagine life without it. Yes, I am seriously contemplating going another round. I enjoy the camaraderie of working out with a group, but more enjoyable has been seeing some real progress. Let's review some of the changes, shall we?

• My legs have slimmed down and my calves have become quite muscular. This is due not only to boot camp but also to my Couch to 5K program that I began while boot camp was on its two week hiatus. I'm currently going to boot camp Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and doing Couch to 5K on Tuesdays, Thursdays and (some) Saturdays. Walking/running up and down my very hilly neighborhood has definitely made for some strong leg muscles.

• I started out using 5 lb. hand weights at boot camp, but in the past week have semi-graduated to using 8 lb. weights, at least most of the time. Perhaps by the end of this week I'll be a full-fledge graduate and use 8 lb. weights exclusively. (A girl can dream!) I am by no means close to having Michelle Obama arms, but they are quite nicely defined and stronger.

• Thanks in great part to the Couch to 5K program, I can run farther and longer (although still not as fast as I'd like). I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to run long distances non-stop, but I can definitely see some progress and that's encouraging.

• Clothes that were once snug on me now fit, or, in some cases, have become loose on my frame. I bought a couple of pairs of pants at the shopping outlet on my beach trip in May; they fit at the time, but are now pretty loose. It's exciting to try on clothes that now loosely drape rather than pull and strain, but it's also a little frustrating to think about needing to buy new clothes when so many of my current clothes are fairly new and in good shape. Luckily I've hung on to some pants that were a tad on the small side for me in recent months but are beginning to fit well again. Perhaps I can put off shopping a bit longer...

I share all of this (and my previous boot camp posts) not to brag on myself; believe me, if you saw how I huff and puff and get red-faced and drip sweat non-stop each morning, you'd be tempted to call a paramedic out of fear that I'd keel over any second. I'm not the most graceful creature when it comes to working out, nor will I ever be the fastest or strongest. No, the reason I share these experiences is twofold: first, to build in some accountability for myself. Knowing that people who know I'm working out are going to be asking me about it helps keep me on track when I'm sorely tempted to hit the snooze button.

My second reason for sharing this is to encourage those of you who have ever wondered about boot camp or Couch to 5K or any other fitness program or sport to check it out. I feel SO much healthier since I've been doing boot camp and the Couch to 5K, and I'm so glad I tried it out. I may not be able to do boot camp every month for the rest of my life (oh, if only they gave lifetime memberships! I'd sign up tout de suite!), but I do intend for fitness to be a critical element of the rest of my life. I like to try new things, so I'm hoping I can always find something fun and challenging to do to keep me going.

How about you? Tried any new workouts or sports lately? Or are there any that you want to try but are intimidated by?