Bootcamp: The End?

I did it! Bootcamp is now over and I survived all 10 weeks. I only missed two classes, too.

In two and a half months I have transformed myself. My cardiovascular endurance has never been better. I have definition in my arms - I even have hollows forming in my arm pits (I keep flexing in front of the mirror and poking them). I can feel muscles in my legs and in my stomach.

I can do pushups, tricep dips, crunches, and weights. I can run and not be out of breath. I can skip rope, balance on wobble boards, crawl around in the grass, get muddy and wet, and not even blink an eye.

Not only that, but I have so much more confidence in myself and in my body. I never knew I had it within me to meet such demanding challenges head on and overcome them night after night. I wanted to quit so many times, but I refused to give in. And now I'm stronger and prouder than ever. I would not give up any of the cold, wet, icy, exhausting evenings I went through for anything.

I've gained so much out of this experience, that I've signed up for another round. This time, only once a week, starting in April. As much as I want to go twice a week, the running clinic is now taking precedence so that I can meet another of my New Year's goals.

This is the last entry in my Bootcamp diary. However, before I close the book on it, I have one last "Play Along at Home" challenge for you. I hope you'll give it a try :)

Play Along at Home: Investigate Bootcamps in your area. If you have the money and the time, sign up for one. It's tough but if you persevere, the reward is beyond measure. Have fun, tone up, and surprise yourself!

Bootcamp: Day 20

Tonight was the last night for Bootcamp. I can hardly believe it's over. Fortunately, it was an absolutely gorgeous evening and I don't think it could've ended any better.

Again, we did circuit training but with entirely different exercises. I feel kinda guilty about it. I encouraged our instructor to do another circuit class because Mr. Trim has thus far been deprived of the experience. Hehe. Okay, I don't really feel guilty!

Compared with Tuesday night, this circuit training was a breeze. We ran up and down a small hill for the cardio which was a lot easier than skipping around in circles. The actual stations were pretty good; only a few we hadn't done before. Mr. Trim and I were both hurting towards the end, but we made it!

Duration: 01:16, Calories: 488, HR Average: 68%

Bootcamp: Day 19

Tonight was circuit training. Like the last time we did it, it was hard and it was challenging. We had to jump rope around a basketball court twice in between each station. Ye gads, skipping just kills me. In fact, I slowed down at each station so that I could catch my breath for the next go-round the court.

Even still, I did notice an improvement. Unlike last time (which seemed nigh on impossible), this time I could complete the reps with reasonably good form.

Duration: 01:20, Calories: 522, HR Average: 69%

Bootcamp: Day 18

I really slacked off in writing up these last few bootcamps. Sorry that this one is late, too. (Though I'm not sure anyone reads these anyways!)

Tonight's Bootcamp was another field trip. We went out under a cool, damp spring evening to a nearby lake. We power-walked to warm up and then ran the rest of the way to the lake. Once there, we had to zig-zag up and down along a bank. Next, we did resistance training with picnic tables. Tricep dips are a killer but I can actually last through a set now.

We ran back and did a nice long Yoga cool-down. Rain started plipping down as we were rolling up our mats. Yet another beautiful and refreshing evening.

Duration: 01:13, Calories: 487, HR Average: 70%

Bootcamp: Day 17

It was a beautiful day today. The sun was shining and because of the time change on Sunday, we actually got to work out in it. It was a novel experience. Up until now, I've always associated Bootcamp with the cold and the dark.

As the weeks have passed, participants have come and gone, but mostly gone. We were down to five tonight, including me.

To warm up, we had to run back and forth between two stations and jump rope. There was a bit of a race at the end between me and one of the guys. He beat me at the last second when I messed up on the last repetition, hehe. Ah well, it was all in good fun.

We went for a run as usual. It was so nice to be running in the sunshine. It felt like winter was making way for spring.

The rest of the evening was spent focusing on upper body work and using the wobble boards. Speaking of which, something happened that has never happened before. All of us were on the wobble boards, doing squats, when suddenly everyone realized (all at once) that we weren't sucking at it.

Normally when we're on wobble boards, there's lots of scraping sounds as the edges grind against the pavement. If you're proficient at it, the edge doesn't scrape. Needless to say, that rarely happens. But there we were, squatting, and doing tricep curls with weights, without making a noise. Somehow, all of us had found an inner well of balance. It was so awesome, it was kinda creepy.

When it was time to cool down, we did it outside under the darkening sky. As we stretched, cold air fell down all around us. It was literally flowing down from the sky. Together with the moon, it was very peaceful. I left feeling more refreshed than I had in weeks. I'm starting to feel sad that Bootcamp is coming to an end.

Play Along at Home: Wobble boards aren't just for standing on. Try using it as a platform to do push-ups on. Alternatively, assume the plank position and press on one side and then the other. It really works your core!

Duration: 01:14, Calories: 505, HR Average: 71%

Bootcamp: Day 16

Considering Tuesday's Bootcamp, this one wasn't all that memorable. There was some spicy girl talk as is wont to happen when there's no guys around. But the exercises were pretty much the same.

To warm up, we had to throw our exercise balls against the wall really hard. I enjoyed this more than I should have. I was really whipping it because the instructor said we could imagine "anyone we wanted" standing against the wall. So what if maybe a client or two kept popping into my head? ;)

After that, we went on another field trip to the playground again. This time, we were only there to do some laps around it - backwards (that isn't a typo). Running backwards is a lot harder than it sounds because it works different muscles. After one lap, my shins were screaming at me to stop. So I walked backwards for the rest of it instead of running.

After the playground trip, we went back to base for more mat work. It was a duplicate workout from one of the earliest Bootcamps, so it wasn't all that new and exciting. But, as the instructor said, without duplication, you won't strengthen the muscles.

I can't believe there's only two weeks left. Time flies when you're in pain having fun.

Play Along at Home: Mix it up and walk (or run) backwards for a stretch. Also try walking up a hill sideways, switching the leading leg about half-way through so that you work both sides of your body.

Duration: 01:15, Calories: 475, HR Average: 68%

Bootcamp: Day 15

Again, because I'm writing this a week after the fact, my memory is a bit fuzzy on this one. It's funny how quickly the memory of pain and suffering leaves your brain so quickly.

We went on a long endurance run for starters. Normally, we go on relatively quick ones. But for this evening at least, we had to run and run some more. I calculated it later at 2.5 kilometers.

When we came back, it was to do some crawling around in the grass with weights. Holding our weights, we had to assume the plank position and then "walk" ourselves in that position with our hands and legs along a length of grass. The instructor "helpfully" lent me bigger weights so that I wouldn't squoosh my hands. Gee, thanks.

We also had to do some crab walking with a 10 lb ball weight in our laps. And then there was doing the wheelbarrow with a partner (man, was that hard). Followed with more exercises involving our exercise balls and mats.

But the best part of the evening came at the end. The instructor had a big pair of homemade dice. One die had exercise types on it and the other had repetitions. When both were tossed, you had to do the given exercise for X amount of repetitions. And, if that wasn't enough, if you were finished first, you had to get up and run to the end of the parking lot and back again. We did four rounds of this and it was fun and exhausting at the same time. I even managed to do 30 push-ups in one go!

At the end of the evening I smelled like grass and my bum was covered in mud. Bootcamp is fun, really it is!

Play Along at Home: Go for a longer run or walk than you would normally do. You'll build up endurance. Bonus points if you come home smelling like nature.

Duration: 01:23, Calories: 612, HR Average: 74%

Bootcamp: Day 14

There was no Bootcamp for me tonight. Instead, like the last minuter that I am, I bought an RRSP. For those visiting from beyond Canada, there's a flurry of RSP buying that happens in February. We do it so we don't have to give the government anymore income tax than is absolutely necessary.

Since I was so behind with everything, I was late phoning the bank and wound up with the last appointment they had. Which, unfortunately, coincided with tonight's Bootcamp. Boo. I like saving tax and all, but I'd much rather spend an evening being yelled at by a petite French dynamo in MEC spandex. But hey, I guess I should be happy and a little shocked that my bank was even open during the evening. Unheard of!

Play Along at Home: Since the RSP deadline is now over as of this writing, I guess it's a bit pointless for me to recommend buying one as part of playing along. But hey, better late than never. If you haven't thought about savings, maybe start today? Put a penny in your coin bank and tell 'em Tiny sent you.

Bootcamp: Day 13

I'm afraid this one will be a little short because I'm writing it a few weeks after the fact and my memory is a little fuzzy!

Tonight we went on another field-trip, this time to a local playground. We brought along resistance cords which the instructor had us loop around miscellaneous bits of playground equipment to do upper body strengthening exercises. I used to think playgrounds were fun places, haha!

The rest of the evening was a blur, but I do remember one thing rather distinctly. While we were doing pushups on a balance beam, one of the ladies asked if anyone had lost weight due to Bootcamp. One of the guys spoke up and said that he had lost 6 lbs. I don't even know his name, but I gotta tell you that when I heard him say that, I was super impressed.

Yes, guys tend to lose weight more easily than women. But, this particular fellow seems to be on a journey of his own. He's slightly overweight and he struggles every single week during Bootcamp. There were times when I thought he'd pass out. But, he always works through it and keeps coming back, giving it his all every time. It's truly impressive.

Nameless Guy at Bootcamp: you rock. I salute you!

Play Along at Home: Try adding some resistance band training into your regime. I found a video on YouTube showing one of the moves we did this evening at about the 1:10 mark. For bonus points, do it outside at a playground using a swing set pole. Extra super bonus points if you can do it without kids asking you what you're doing.

Duration: 01:17, Calories: 554, HR Average: 73%

Bootcamp: Day 12

I was on my own tonight as Mr. Trim was still recovering from having all four wisdom teeth out. I didn't really want to go as work had been so stressful, but I knew I needed to. I was half hoping we'd do another round of ball kicking like on Tuesday so I could work out some frustration, hehe.

Instead, we did another fun warm-up game (I love these games) in an unused outdoor basketball court. Our instructor had laid down pieces of rope in a winding path. We had to walk along the rope, doing whatever she was doing up at the front of the line. So, lots of jumping, arm raises, skipping, etc.

Next we went for the run/walk. This time, I decided that by gum I was going to walk it. I'd been running every single night of the week and I was darned if I'd guilt myself into running more. I needn't have worried. Another participant guilted me into it. I'd been doing a great power walk when the girl ahead of me turned around and told me to keep up. What???

So, I mentally stuck my tongue out at her and started running. I passed her, all the other walkers, and caught up with the two other runners. And I kept with the runners for the rest of the run. Thbbbbbpt! Sometimes I think life would be easier if I weren't such a bull-headed Taurus, hee!

We also did something new with the wobble boards. We were each given a pair of boards. You stood on one and then placed the other one on the ground off to the side. Then you had to step over to the new board, stop, squat down and reach back to pick up the one you just stepped off of. Rinse and repeat for the length of a basketball court. There was a lot of giggling during this one.

The remainder of the class went by relatively quick (but not easy, again I was paired up with the instructor). At one point the subject of smoking body parts came up. Our instructor bemoaned the fact that the first place she starts steaming in cold weather is from her pelvic area. As it was a class of all women, that set off a lot of jokes about smoking crotches. Too funny!

Play Along at Home: If you can find one, try out a wobble board (also known as a balance board). They're deceptively simple looking but try doing a squat on one! Some beginner exercises can be found here and here.

Duration: 01:18, Calories: 542, HR Average: 72%

Bootcamp: Day 11

We started the night with a warm-up as usual, but the game was different. We had to do whatever the instructor said (don't we always?) kinda like Simon Says, but really fast. Run in one spot really fast, run sideways really fast, turn around in a circle really fast, turn the other way really fast, and so on. It was a lot of fun, but really dizzy, too!

The rest of the evening was pretty much par for the course. The only thing that really stands out for me was when we had to partner up and I got stuck with our instructor. You had to rest your elbows on your exercise ball while holding a knee plank position with the rest of your body. Then your partner kicks the crap out of the ball all while you try to hold the pose.

I got more than a few sympathetic looks and groans as our instructor is all leg muscle and man can she kick! I fell off the ball twice but I aimed to give as good as I got, so when it was my turn, I kicked like crazy. I wish I could say that I managed to get the ball away from her, but I can't. I was huffing and puffing and smacking that ball while she was leisurely holding on, looking at her stopwatch and yelling at everyone else to keep going. LOL. What a woman!

Play Along at Home: As part of your post-workout stretching routine, try something new - the Child's Pose. It's very relaxing and feels good for your lower back.

Duration: 01:17, Calories: 620, HR Average: 77%

Bootcamp: Day 10

Call me a hopeless romantic but I just couldn't find it within myself to make the husband and I go to Bootcamp this evening. After looking into the tired eyes of the man who got up at 5 a.m. to make me an extra special awesome out-of-this-world breakfast, I knew I'd win Worst Wife of the Year Award if I dragged us out into the cold to be tortured by our teeny instructor.

So we stayed home, ate sushi, cuddled on the couch, played Wii, and – lest we create the mistaken impression we're anything less than hardcore – we even went for a gentle walk around the neighbourhood. Booyeah. We're so tough.

Play Along at Home: Curl up on the couch, eat California Rolls and play Zack and Wiki. If you start feeling a little guilty, go for a half hour walk.

Bootcamp: Day 9

Tonight's Bootcamp was all about balls. Exercise balls! We warmed up with the ball, we ran with the ball, we dribbled with the ball, we did crunches with the ball, we did squats with the ball, we did resistance training with the ball, we tossed the ball, we sat on the ball, we fell off the ball (okay, that was just me), we even did yoga with the ball. It was Night of the Living Ball.

I did not love my ball so much after that workout.

In fact, it was pointed out to me that my ball was lacking in the size department. I bought it according to my height, but apparently it's still too small for what we're using it for.

I wasn't the only one with ball problems, though. There was one girl whose ball was sad and deflated. Every time she sat on it, it sounded like Chewbacca. (Her words, not mine, I fell off my ball at that point because I was laughing so hard.)

I guess it's time for ball shopping again!

Play Along at Home: AskMen.com has a nice list of ball exercises. No, I'm not making that up. Bonus points if you can make your ball sound like a Wookie when doing the Core Crunchers.

Duration: 01:16, Calories: 505, HR Average: 70%

Bootcamp: Day 8

We were indoors for some of Bootcamp last night, but spent most of it on a little field trip. Our instructor had us run up to a local rec centre then do a bunch of exercises there with resistance bands. There's nothing like working out around a busy rec centre with parents and kids coming and going and gawking at you, hehe.

She'd have us to do some sort of exercise, then we'd have to run after her as she went ahead to another area. She used bike racks, curbs, stairs, trees, a hill, and so on as props to vary the exercises. The trees were the most fun despite the rain and the mud. We had to step on an exercise band with both feet, haul up the handles to our shoulders and then waddle, duck-like, around a bunch of trees. I did rather well at that, but wow, did I ever get muddy!

I also tried out my new Polar F6 last night for the first time. I think I paid more attention to the watch than I did Bootcamp, heehee. I'll say more about it in a separate review though. I'll get that up asap!

The rest of the evening was spent in the gym with core exercises and yoga. Another great night at Bootcamp!

Play Along at Home: An exercise ball is a great way to condition your core. In particular, our instructor loves to make us do crunches and back extensions.

Duration: 01:16, Calories: 523, HR Average: 71%

Bootcamp: Day 7

There was a real humdinger of a wet and wild West Coast storm moving in last night, so our instructor decided to be "nice" to us by letting us work inside the gym. Little did I know what she had in store for us – circuit training. *cue blood-curdling scream*

Okay, I know, that doesn't sound so awful. And it wasn't really. It was just very tough. Essentially, we had to work at each station for a minute at a time. There was probably 20 stations in total and they were either some form of cardio or some form of resistance training.

The cardio was the most difficult – between each station you had to skip rope or run up and down two flights of stairs. The resistance training involved resistance bands or weights that we used to perform any number of moves we had previously learned. The hardest of these stations was one where you had to sit on a wobble board, hold a v-pose, and do the "kayaker" movement with an 8lb weight. I didn't accomplish anything on that station except for sliding off and laughing a lot.

As if that wasn't enough, the mats the instructor put down were the most stinkiest, dirtiest, vilest mats in the world. And let me tell you – it was more than enough motivation to hold any given pose for as long as possible to prevent the barest minimum of your body from touching those skanky mats.

The evening ended with a power walk outside combined with weights. As we walked, we had to do bicep curls, lateral raises, etc. I worked out a lot of stress with that walk and I felt more than refreshed when we came back and did yoga. Great evening. Even if it was indoors ;)

Play Along at Home: Find a skanky mat (or a clean one) and try a few bicycle ab exercises. Tip: the dirtier your mat, the more apt you are to keep moving.

Bootcamp: Day 6

As some of you know, I took tonight off from Bootcamp to recuperate from a bum shin. Unfortunately, that left Mr. TinyTrim to go all by himself to class. But, he's a valiant soldier and did it anyways. In the rain no less!

Since he's as long winded as I am (if not more so), I asked him to guest-write tonight's Bootcamp shakedown. Ladies and gents, it's my pleasure to present, Mr. TinyTrim!

It's funny. I had to hear the phrase "naked salsa dancing" as part of a quiz question tonight ("Which activity is the most helpful for waist control?" -- the answer's actually "resistance training") before I remembered how we warmed up. The same way! Well, without the 'naked.'

Our little French dynamo of an instructor began by pointing out that there was "a man here" as we started. I soon realized why. The salsa steps (dip, up, back, up) were easy enough to follow along, but then she said -- as if we do this all the time -- "now, add the hips . . . " That's when I noticed that all the women seemed to inject a swagger depending on whether their feet were forward or back. For the life of me, I couldn't get it. I just kept stepping.

After that and some knee-out kicks (right knee up, swing outward, down, then left), we went straight into our circuit. We started by speed-walking two laps along the 4" wide cement curb of a turnabout median in the road ("Remember!" she shouts, "there's crocodiles in the middle there . . . and they're HUNGRY!").

From there, we ran back to the three rows of bike racks. They're sorta shaped like triangles with their points buried in the cement. Well, we all had to crawl INSIDE the row of triangles and up one row, squeeze our way out, run to the second, squeeze our way in, crawl through, and so forth.

After that, we all lined up along a row of yoga mats and downward dogged our way to a human tunnel. The person at the end had to crawl through the tunnel and attach themselves to the other end. I apologized to everyone (remember, I'm the only male) in advance before crawling in.

After that, it was skip rope time. Well, skip rope and running time. Well, skip rope and running two laps of the outside of this basketball court time.

Turns out that the city workers DIDN'T forget a dozen manhole covers, as I thought I saw as I made my way to our usual starting point. They were wobble boards -- twelve of them -- and, after skip-lapping, we had to do three squats per board, making our way toward the road.

Where we then set off for our run!

Cross the street, down the road, cross the incredibly busy street ("Jumping jacks while you're waiting!"), down the huge hill, up the huge hill, turn around, down the huge hill the other way, up the huge hill the other way . . .

TURN AROUND, back down the huge hill, back up the huge hill, turn around, back down the huge hill the other way, back up the huge hill the other way, jumping jacks, busy street, down the road, other street, and back to camp. Yeesh!

It was ball time. One knee on the ball, bend with the other leg and, on the way up, curl (both weights!) with one arm. Then switch. Then -- I'm not sure how she possibly expected this to happen -- we were to sit on our balls, legs spread and feet pointing back duckie style . . . and stay balanced WITHOUT touching the ground.

Oh, while doing curls with our weights.

There were a lot of yelps, but nobody touched the ground . . . with their face. We all, however, usually had at least one toe on the ground the whole time.

Then, it was time to play superman. We partnered up lying stomach-down on our ball, and pulled against each other, straight armed, by pulling our crossed resistance bands apart. Much ow. Extra ow 'cause I was partnerless, so got to pair up with our terminator of an instructor.

We then put our ball between our knees and gave it lots of little squeezes. That was easy, so I was probably doing it wrong. Not to worry, my pain came immediately next when we all lay down on our backs, put one heel onto our ball, and used it to push our butts off the ground and kick the sky with our other foot.

Then, it was ball-between-the-feet time, while still on our backs. Above us, down and up, twist and twist. I heard one *thud* as somebody let go of their ball with their feet to have it land on their face.

That was the end of the ball work. My ball kept rolling away to say hi to a campmate.

Still on our backs, we did 30 bicycles, which are twist sit-ups to those who may know them by that name. Then, we turned around to do the same thing on our stomachs. Plank, hold, knee-to-elbow, wash, rinse, repeat.

The final blow was -- after all this insanity -- to hold our plank position. Longest. Minute. Of. My. Life.

Thank everything for yoga cooldowns.

So, that's how it went tonight without Tiny. Hey, I didn't die. That's good, isn't it?”

Very good indeed! Haha, I think he was the most traumatized by the salsa dancing. Oh, and the quiz he mentioned? It's from my new You on a Diet Book which is really very interesting and informative thus far.

Play Along at Home: Another hideous wonderful exercise our instructor loves to throw at us is something called a tricep dip. If it's too hard, try the modified tricep dip. The first night I tried this, I just about died. I can do more now.

Bootcamp: Day 5

We were out in the cold again and I've lost any hope that we'll go back to the cushy warmth of the gym. Because of the cold snap, there were spots of ice everywhere. Fortunately, there was enough of an ice-free area where we could do the exercises without slipping. Interestingly enough, there were more than a few missing faces – seven in all.

The warmup game was volleyball played with a big exercise ball. As if that wasn't fun and challenging at the same time, my bitty blue exercise ball got drafted into the game so that there were two balls going. We lost the balls more than a few times over a fence. Heehee, it was like being in school again!

The run/walk was on a new, slightly longer route. I started out walking, but quickly realized I was the only one who was. So I ran. I ran the whole gosh-darned thing. I later worked it out to 2 kilometres. Not too shabby...though I suspect I'll pay for it tomorrow at the running clinic.

The rest of the night was as per normal. Hideously simple looking exercises that torture your muscles in new and varied ways.

I confess I wasn't looking forward to going back considering how difficult the last class was. But tonight went exceptionally well. Bootcamp is cold, dirty, and wet. I love it.

Play Along at Home: One of the exercises our instructor loves to torture us with is called the Boat Pose. It looks simple, but try holding it for one minute without collapsing. Check out About.com for a how-to video.

Bootcamp: Day 4

Last night's Bootcamp didn't go as well as the other nights. Everything was as it usually was (warmup, cardio, muscle training, yoga), but it was a real struggle for both my husband and I to keep up with it.

I think it was a combination of things. It's been a long week for us and the running clinic was the night before. Basically, we're pooped! I also think I might have hurt something. Something isn't quite right with one of my shins and I'm thinking I've overused it between spinning, Bootcamp, and the running clinic.

Speaking of the running clinic, I didn't realize it, but aside from the actual clinic night, we're expected to do two additional training runs every week. My husband, being good at math, calculated that I'd be pounding my body six days a week with high intensity workouts if I keep going the way I'm going.

As a result, I'm considering dropping the second night of Bootcamp. I want to get in shape, but I don't want to hurt myself or burn out doing it. Hmmm...decisions, decisions. I know it's not really quitting, but it sure feels like it :/

Bootcamp: Day 3

Last night's Bootcamp went much the same as the other two nights. Same sort of exercises, but different. It was held outdoors again and I'm beginning to think it isn't so much a scheduling conflict as it is a "let's make this a real Bootcamp by holding it outside in the bitter cold."

As with the other nights, we had to walk or run. This time we went much farther. I really surprised myself by running a good portion of it. And I think I surprised two girls who kept playing catch-up with me. The last time they caught up with me, I passed them again (while walking no less). I heard them muttering about it, so I broke into a run again and ran the rest of the way leaving them in my dust. It felt strange kicking butt in something I sucked at in school.

Another exercise we did was something I've seen on the Biggest Loser. One person runs while the other person holds them back with exercise cords. It's called a Chariot, teehee! We also had a go at skipping and doing squats on this novel bit of equipment called a wobble board. Take it from me, it's aptly named. And the last bit of fun we had was with something called the Pursuit of Happiness. Everyone stands in a line and starts running (or walking). The last person in the line has to run (or walk) to the front. Once they get to the front, the next person who is last in line does the same. Rinse and repeat! Kinda like a conveyor belt. I really liked it, but if there's a next time we do it, I'm joining the runners.

As usual, we ended the evening with yoga which I'm really enjoying. We did something new called an Eagle Pose which looks remarkably similar to when I have to go pee really bad.

This morning I don't hurt much at all. The right side of my bum is a tad sore as is my right arm. I wonder what I'm doing that my right side always hurts more? Regardless, I'm not hobbling like last week so it's a good thing!

Bootcamp: Day 2

In case you missed it, I signed up for another Bootcamp class. This will make it twice a week! Tonight was the second class and I'm happy to report that it went just as well as the first one did. Even better because I had my honey along!

Though we did similar things as on Tuesday night, the only things that were exactly the same was the warm-up and the power-walk. The instructor knew that there would be a few people from her other class so she wanted to switch things up so we didn't work the same things in the same way.

For example, this time we played dodgeball. So. Much. FUN!!! I love stuff like that. It doesn't feel like exercising because it's like being a kid again. We did more upper body work but it wasn't the same muscles as we worked last time. We also spent more time using the exercise ball to strengthen our core. There were lots of other various exercises (too many to count!) working things I never knew I had.

But the best "new" thing we did was kick boxing! When she started on the kicking and punching, I knew my husband (remember him?) would be sold on the whole thing. He has a black belt in karate but doesn't practice any more. I could tell he really liked it. And I really liked it, too! Kicking is fun :)

The evening ended with yoga again, but slightly different poses. Hehe, I didn't do so well with some of them, but I wasn't too upset. Tiny Trim just don't bend that way! Or at least not yet. On the other side of the coin, my husband is a pretzel. You'd think he'd been doing yoga for years!

The verdict? Even though we worked the first hour entirely outside in the cold (there was a scheduling mixup with the gym), we both enjoyed it. I can't wait for next week!