Bootcamp: Day 24 -- The End of the Line!

Yeah, so this is pretty much what I look like now that I've finished my initial six weeks of Boot Camp. But not as blonde. Or tan. And I didn't really grow a moustache.

Ok, slight exaggeration, maybe... BUT... here's what did happen:

• I now notch my belt two holes tighter
• I can wave without resembling my grandmother at bingo
• I can do more squat thrusts per minute than anyone in the fourth grade or below (this one is going on my résumé)
• I feel a boatload more in-shape than when I started!

So for each of the 24 mornings that I wanted to destroy my alarm, for every hour spent wondering if this was a good thing on which to have spent money, for every time Reuben, Alex or Nizio said "the pain is just weakness leaving your body" and I wanted to scream, I have to say it was all worth it. 100%.

That isn't to say that today wasn't one of the hardest days ever, mind you. This whole week was tough, but today I was convinced that the boys must have stayed up really late last night to concoct the world's most extreme routine.

And, Nizio lost his voice, but gained-- wait for it-- a megaphone-like voice amplifier. That's right. A mini bullhorn. I probably spent a good five minutes flittering back and forth between fits of laughter and terror. I think the monstrous boom of his voice made our counting sound thin in comparison, because Alex came rushing over screaming that we weren't counting loud enough. For this crime, the punishment was "Build a House".

No, not a Habitat for Humanity construction project. Nothing of the sort. I had actually heard some folk in class talk about Build a House as one of the most dreaded forms of punishment-exercise. And I nearly escaped without experiencing it for myself. Almost.

Everyone lines up, shoulder to shoulder, then goes into a downward dog-like position, then one person crawls on their belly through everyone else then takes the down dog position at the other end, and so on and so on. Sounds like a schoolyard game kids might play, except children don't have grown men yelling at them while they do it. And the kiddoes might not be as concerned about being really sweaty and stinky and grossing out their classmates. What a way to start your day!

Then we were on to a fierce round of out-do your own time. We had one minute to do each of a bunch of exercises. There were tires involved. It was really hard. And all the while, Alex kept a tally of everyone's count on the whiteboard. When the whiteboard comes out, you should hope you don't have to lift anything else or really walk anywhere for the rest of the day. The thing that killed me the most was laps around the gym. In one minute, we were told that the record was 4 laps and that we should at least meet that, if not break it. This was the second to last exercise in the series, and it nearly broke me. I made it to four (I think the one guy in our class today did 5!) and then could barely catch my breath before moving on to a minute of squat thrusts. Whee!

But as much as I found myself dreading this much working out, it really seems that it's the key to it's effectiveness-- a one hour Boot Camp workout is like two hours at the gym on my own. I would never push myself this hard, and even when I worked out with a personal trainer, I managed to talk my way into a handful of breaks in between exercises.

I was shocked when today was over. I was really convinced there was more. So even though it's the hardest hour of the day, it can fly by.

Sari thinks I'm not coming back. True, I have to take a little break due to a change in my schedule (and in an attempt to finance an upcoming show), but I'll be back.

Or it's back to Bingo Arm.