My Week In Hell (Er, Bootcamp)

So…bootcamp.

Yeah. Wow.

I knew going in that it wasn’t going to be easy. And for a program designed for people to lose weight, I was a little intimidated by all of the thin young women I saw in the class. But I showed up for my first class, took my place (in the back of the class) and was determined to do my best.

It was hard, but it wasn’t impossible. The instructor started off with some basic cardio moves involving the step, and I easily followed along. It wasn’t until near the end, when we began switching into more strength moves that I started to struggle a little. Still, I finished strong, and not once did I feel any lightheadedness or urge to vomit.

Actually, all urges to vomit came the next night, when a stomach virus hit me out of nowhere. Ugh. Once again, I’ll say a stomach virus might just be the quickest way to lose weight, but certainly not the most pleasant or one I’d recommend.

By Thursday night (24 hours later) I was able to stomach some solid food again, and by Friday I was nearly back to normal. Which is good, because my second day of bootcamp was Saturday morning.

This particular program features 2 classes a week. One class is the traditional “bootcamp” with a mix of cardio and strength training. The second is what they call QVR (for quick, visible results), which is completely a strength training class with weights. I had been warned by a certain someone that QVR was harder than bootcamp, so I was prepared for the worst when I arrived on Saturday.

It was crowded when I arrived. Due to the success of the Groupon deal, they had more new recruits than they could handle. So they had to split the class into two. I was a little disappointed, because I’ve never worked with a weight bench and really wanted to, but my class was sent to the other room to work with free weights.

The instructor asked everyone to get a dumbbell, but she chose the weight for us. When it was my turn, I flashed my best pathetic smile and said, “Hi, I’m a newbie and a weakling,” as I eyed the 5lb weights. She took a hard look at me and handed me a 10lb weight. I tried to argue, but she was already on to the next person. Huh, maybe she knows something about me that I don’t, I thought.

The class started with lower body strength training and it didn’t take long before I broke a sweat. Lunges holding the weight, wide-leg squats dangling the weight, calf raises, dead lifts…they were difficult but not impossible. But that 10lb weight…it was getting heavy already.

When we moved into upper body routines, I started to lose any confidence I had. I normally use a 3lb weight for videos, and a 10lb weight felt damn near impossible at times. My arms trembled, I had trouble even lifting the weight from starting position at times, and I didn’t do nearly as many reps as the instructor was counting out. I was panting, grunting, whining, and my shirt was completely damp from sweat. A 10lb weight was WAY too hard for me.

For the last 15 minutes of class, I kept noticing the lights flickering in the room. That’s odd, I thought, why do the lights keep flickering? I finally asked the woman next to me, who confirmed that no, the lights weren’t flickering at all. Ah. So this is what it feels like when you’re close to passing out.

I grabbed my Gatorade and tried to give my body a little sugar to help with the stress I was putting it through. It gave me just enough energy to finish. In the cooldown, I was hit with nausea, but I focused on my breathing and it passed after a few minutes. I barely had the energy to haul my sorry self off the floor and put my hated 10lb weight back on the rack.

I left feeling broken. My arms felt like limp spaghetti, my legs ached. But an hour or so later I felt…good. Energized. Powerful. I was tired, but it was an exhaustion from solid work.

Yesterday? Oh, I hurt. A lot. And I still let out a small groan when I sit down sometimes. But I’m totally going back this week. If they can force me to work harder than I usually do, then I expect some awesome results when it’s over in 11 more weeks.

Oh, and current weight: 177. Lowest I’ve seen in a while!