[Evermont]

More business as usual. There are now just four of us that have not yet missed a session with 7 of 20 sessions remaining.

DD is considering signing up again for just M-W-F when the next class starts, there's a little discount.

Today I did "partner rows" with Brian 60+ year old 'Drill Sargent' (DS). He's an impressive specimen even watching him from a distance, but with this exercise you FEEL what your partner has going on. Standing in a slight lunge facing each other with shins touching we move a (2 inch x 3 foot PVC) pole back and forth chest to chest offering resistance while your partner pulls (as if rowing a boat). Brian might be stronger than me - he certainly has much greater endurance and no question his flexibility is way better than mine. What an inspiration. Can't say enough good about this guy, I'm honored to know him. Plus, I finally got a good workout on the rows!

[Evermont]

Today we completed 3 of 4 weeks of bootcamp.

DD has slipped a bit this week - she had a late night out and so missed Thursdays session, she slept through her alarm clock this morning too. The only person besides myself who had not missed a single session didn't show today either (18 heads today). So I'm the only one who's getting his money's worth out of this thing.

Yesterday before lunch I tested BS and got 99. I think that's the first ever double-digit pre-lunch reading. So I went nuts at lunch (Pizza Hut - not my choice) and had 2 deep and 1 thin slice along with salad and water, then I tried 1 slice of the "dessert pizza". 2 hr. PP was 185 but I washed my hands and retested at 126. Gooey sugary dessert pizza contamination I guess.

The scale hasn't budged in the past three weeks at all. However, when I was completing todays last exercises (stretching) I was a little shocked to see a whole network of healthy looking veins all around my shins and calves. Last week I got a couple comments on the muscle definition on my legs. Then when I came home to shower DW noticed abs starting to peek out from behind the flab. Abs! Not a 6-pack mind you, but I'm getting there. So I'm not listening to the scale, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. Investing in future fat burning muscle.

[Evermont]

This morning I completed week 4 of 4. I was the only one who made it to each and every class. It was definitely getting easier toward the end. I can see some modest results, a little less belly fat and a bit more muscle. I was feeling pretty good before but better still now.

There is a week off before the next class starts. DD is planning to go M-W-F for the next class. I'm thinking about doing it on my own at home. I have a flexible schedule and like it that way, this is the only regular daily commitment that happens at a fixed time and 5:30 a.m., while it usually works for me isn't always ideal. I'll need some good mats to do the floor work, I can do much of it outside when the weather is nice. The trick will be to maintain enough discipline to keep up the level of effort without an audience. Also I need to get back to strength training and other types of exercise so I'll have to work out how to blend all these things together.

I do have a renewed and deeper appreciation for calisthenics now. I guess I'm working on balance, endurance and strength all at the same time with these exercises. Lots of compound movements and a very rigorous pace. The sweat starts dripping 15 minutes into it and by the end of the hour I'm soaked. 1000 calories later I'm really juiced and ready for anything - and most people are still in bed!

It is possible to vary the intensity of these exercises quite a bit. Our instructor pointed out many times that proper technique will add to the level of difficulty (while keeping you safer from injury). Some people will just sit out certain exercises or skip some reps here and there. Another way to self regulate the level of difficulty is to scale back on technique or amplitude, like lunges that don't go all the way to the floor. So there is room in a class like this for many levels of fitness. If you find an opportunity to take a bootcamp style fitness camp go ahead and try it. It's really just another kind of exercise class, and a pretty good one at that.