(picture credit: sussexbootcamps.co.uk)
I start Sussex Bootcamp in Horsham Park on the 23rd May for 4 weeks. I'm looking forward to getting my fitness levels up and learning more about health & nutrition. I will be blogging about my sessions (3x a week!) so I'll let you all know how I get on.
Check out the Sussex Bootcamps website here :)
MY GOALS for the 4 weeks:
- Improve my fitness levels so I can run the 5k Race for Life in June
- Tone up! (especially my stomach/thigh area)
- Stop bad food habits, like snacking on sweet things, and eating late at night.
Session 1 (23/05/11 - 7.15pm)
I'm absolutely knackered from my first bootcamp session this evening! The instructor definitely threw us in in the deep end! There were about 15 people in this class, a mixture of men and woman and different ages! We started by stretching and then moved onto a blast of different exercises; it definitely never got boring and time simply flew by, it certainly didn't feel like an hour! We did 40 seconds blasts of exercises like squats, press-ups, punches, planks and running, before repeating them until the end of the class. We then finished with a typical cool-down. Before my class I felt lethargic and sluggish (it doesn't help that I'd been scoffing on leftover birthday cake all day, naughty me) but now I feel rejuvenated and energised :) Can't wait for my next class!
Session 2 (25/05/11 - 9.30am)
Another exhausting session at bootcamp this morning! I was still aching from Monday's class, and now I can barely walk! I sort of limped home! haha. Worth it though, great class - I really enjoyed being outside in the sunshine this morning (it rained on Monday!) The trainer Katie was really encouraging, and allowed us all to work at our own pace (some of the members had attended bootcamp before, some were newbies like me). I definitely think today's class was harder than Monday's - we did exercises like lunges, planks, etc and some jogging around the park :) It's nice going to different classes because you get to meet different people and see how different instructors do their classes. I'm feeling much fitter but I have yet to curb my sweet tooth - I came in and had a cupcake. What's wrong with me! Until next time...
Session 3 (27/05/11 - 7.15pm)
Absolutely knackered after bootcamp this evening! We did boxing today and I literally can't move my arms. It was great to work on a different muscle group today, as the first few sessions have been more focused on core stability/leg work etc. But let's just say I haven't used my arm muscles in a while! ha. I was teamed up with a man called Jim who was very helpful and encouraging! :) I've got to unpack all my uni stuff now and I can't even move my arms above my head. Oh dear! Until next time...
WEEK TWO
Session 4 (31/05/11 - 7.15pm)
Silly me thought the session was on Monday this week. Turns out bank holiday Monday classes are moved to Tuesdays - I didn't realise and had already booked an anniversary trip to Cardiff! Will have to work extra hard tomorrow...
Session 5 (01/06/11 - 7.15pm)
OMG today's bootcamp was the hardest ever! Starting with some stretches, we then moved onto high impact exercises to get our heart beats racing! Similar to last Wednesday's session, we held planks, did bear crawls, ran around the park and stretched rope between a pair! We repeated each set until the end of the session when we were all literally exhausted! Me and my fellow bootcamp member Flo then hung around to have a nutritional talk with Katie, who advised us to up our protein intake for each meal! She also suggested we keep a food diary so I will bring that in next session to see where I can improve my diet! Katie also announced she was pregnant, aww... so happy for her! I'm not aching as much as last week, I think it was the shock of it that made me ache so much last week! Until next time...
Session 6 (03/06/11 - 7.15pm)
You guessed it, I'm dying! In fact this post may take a little longer to write as we did boxing tonight and the muscles in my arms are dying. I LOVE boxing sessions, they're definitely my fave of the week! I just love the variation, it never gets boring and you get to take all your vented aggression out on a pair of boxing pads. Result. We mixed it up between jabs, straights, upper cuts and hooks and my technique DEFINITELY improved this session! The member are so encouraging, it makes you want to work really hard and try even harder! Considering I've been doing kickboxing since I was about 11, I finally learnt how to do a proper upper cut today, wa hoo! I also brought in my food diary to show Katie (it happened to be the week when I went drinking twice - I haven't been drinking since January and then I go twice in one week, doesn't accurately reflect my drinking habits but hey-ho!) She advised me to add more protein to my evening meals, which I will definitely work on, and replace the chocolate in my diet for healthier diets like nuts and seeds. I will try, but I'm a chocaholic, aah! I will write a food diary for next week and see if I can make any improvements :)
WEEK THREE
Session 7 (06/06/11 - 7.15pm)
Today was REALLY hard! I went for a run earlier in the day and then ran to my bootcamp class, so I really had to work for it in the session, I was knackered! I was a little late as I ran (obviously overestimated my speed!) so got straight into warm-up stretches. We did a lot of core stability exercises today, which I'm not very good at because I have zero balance! Often I find myself having to just stay static else I'll wobble over! We then moved onto skipping, which may sound easy, bu t when you're knackered as it is, are actually really difficult! We also did squats, mixing it up between narrow and wide to really make our legs work. Mine definitely did, my thighs were aching! We also ran around the park which I find one of the hardest things because you really have to push yourself and give it all you've got. I worked really hard today, I definitely think running to bootcamp helps because it really gets you in the mood. I've also been working on my diet - I have yet to curb my sweet tooth (one day!) but I have made a conscious effort to try and add protein to every meal. Over the weekend I forced my other half to boil me an egg with the soup we were eating, and I ensure I have a yoghurt every breakfast-time if I'm not having a protein-based breakfast e.g. eggs. Can't believe I'm almost at the end now, I definitely didn't realise how unfit I was!
Session 8 (08/06/11 - 7.15pm)
I made a HUGE mistake tonight. I had a curry about half an hour before bootcamp started and I felt sick the whole way through. It didn't help that I was already suffering from hayfever/runny rose etc, and I really let myself down today as I couldn't give it my all for fear of being sick. I have definitely learnt my lesson, and if my mum is cooking a massive dinner before bootcamp I will have to have a banana or something instead and re-heat my dinner after bootcamp, it's just not worth it, I wasn't sweating half as much as I was after Monday's session. However some of the exercises in today's session were REALLY challenging. Again I struggled with some of the core stability exercises because I suffer from a distinct lack of balance, so I often had to remain still and try and complete the exercise that way. We also did bear crawls today and mountain climbers which I find really difficult, I'm so slow compared to everyone else! But I suppose most of them have been doing it much longer than me. We finished the session by running around the park so hopefully next week I can extend my route by a little further. I asked Katie, our bootcamp instructor, if we could do some more ab exercises as I feel that is the area I need most work on, but she encouraged me that all the exercises we do are working our core area. I think I need to lay off the curries really if I want rock-hard Diaz-esque abs! A girl can dream...
Session 9 (10/06/11 - 7.15pm)
Loved bootcamp tonight! It went so quickly! Boxing is ALWAYS my fave session of the week, you can put your all into it and you feel so great afterwards. In pairs we did a combination of straights, hooks and uppercuts, swapping between us and varying it to make it more interesting. I'm not sure what my most powerful punch is, either straights or hooks, but I really suck at uppercuts! I also am rubbish with my left hand, it's so wimpy and pathetic, I end up hurting my hand lol. But I definitely wouldn't want to get in the way of my right hand, it's definitely improved over the weeks and is pretty powerful now! I've also maintained my focus on protein in each meal, so for my final week I will focus on cutting out the chocolate and cake. I was thinking of buying some dark chocolate to eat when I'm craving something sweet. I read that Ciara said losing weight was 85% diet and 15% exercise, I wonder if there's any truth in that. I wish it was the other way round! I do some form of exercise usually every day! Ah well. Can't believe it's my last week next week, I'm gonna miss everyone so much!
WEEK FOUR (FINAL WEEK)
Session 10 (13/06/11 - 7.15pm)
I really struggled with bootcamp tonight, I could barely complete some of the exercises, I don't know what's wrong with me! I guess that's what happens after you take a weekend off from bootcamp! Today's session consisted of exercises to get our heart rate up, including press ups, planks, running, one legged squats and grasshoppers (killer!) We repeated this sequence for about 15 mins before finishing the session with stretches. I'm still trying really hard to eat plenty more protein, especially tuna and eggs. I've also been doing some baking which I've found has helped me to not eat rubbish, because I'm seeing what I've put into my food and knowing exactly what I'm eating! I'm definitely going to continue doing this because it helps me to visualise what I'm consuming. Until next time...
Session 11 (15/06/11 - 7.15pm)
Well tonight wasn't exactly the best start; it was POURING it down with rain and we had to find shelter beneath the bandstand in the park, but let's just say it was a little bit cramped! However we soon warmed up and it was just like every other session, bar the paths and grass being slightly slippy! We did our traditional Wednesday workout today, varying exercises including press-ups (which I must say I've definitely improved on), lunges, mountain climbers aka leg sprints, bear crawls and long jumps! We also went for a little run around the park but I cut it short to do burpies instead, don't know what's wrong with me lol! I felt SO much more energised after the class though! Before I was feeling lazy and sluggish. Now I can't wait for Friday's session, boxing is my FAVOURITE and I will have to measure myself to see if I've lost any weight! See you on Friday :-)
Session 12 (17/06/11 - 7.15pm)
I can't believe Bootcamp is over!!! My final session was one of the best, I worked SO hard at boxing, really putting my all into it. We did the usual jabs, hooks and uppercuts, swapping pairs to keep it interesting. I definitely want to keep up the boxing, in fact me and another bootcamp member, Flo, are thinking of joining Horsham Boxing Club, eek nervous! Overall I would absolutely recommend Sussex Bootcamps, for any age or ability, if you're looking to improve your health, shift some weight or generally get fit! Thanks Sussex Bootcamps, and thank you Katie for being an amazing instructor!
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