Drinking the Boot Camp Kool-Aid :-)

Otherwise known as... Another Round of the Best Kind of Pain...

So I'm a bit late in posting, but I started another round of My School District Boot Camp last week.  I love boot camp, not only because I get to see Chad, the Gollum-esque instructor who infuses each workout with his inspirational talks, coupled with truth regarding the importance of exercise between camp sessions.  This afternoon "Preacher Chad" came to my mind as I listened to him talk about how everybody makes mistakes; it's getting back on the workout/healthy eating program after the indulgences that make the difference.  I prefer to think of exceptions to healthy eating as choices rather than mistakes, but hey, that's just semantics. 

I say I love boot camp, but half the time I'm telling whoever is near me that I hate whatever it is that we're doing.

I do it anyway.

It's good for me.  (Like broccoli, and spinach, and all of those other things that people aren't supposed to like, but I secretly love!)

This week I had to miss my usual session on Tuesday, because I gave a presentation to My Small Town High School parents regarding the effects of End-of Course exam results for Algebra and Biology, and the best way to satisfy Florida's online course graduation requirement (beginning with the Class of 2015).  I gave this presentation on both Monday and Tuesday evenings, so I was unable to make up the session at Chad's other location in My Small Town.  (I rocked the presentation-- twice!  I really do love my job.)

Sooooooo... I went yesterday to the other location, knowing full well it would be the same workout given today.  I have unwittingly become hard core.

That said, I was late.  Twenty-five minutes late.  Jen, what time did you get here today?  

4:55.

I always feel that some workout is better than no workout, don't you?  With that, Chad jauntily walked away.  I hadn't realized the other session started at 4:30.  I thought it began at 4:40.  Ah well... I do agree:  Some workout is better than no workout.  I still managed to get in an assortment of exercises completed in the 20/20 workout, as well as a mini-tabata drill incorporating the dreaded bands with biceps work.  I prefer mini-tabatas to full tabatas.

Putting this in print almost guarantees getting a full tabata next week.  I will take it, even though my muscles are already weeping.

Today, I showed up late... again.  Just a few minutes, but still, the warmup was almost complete when I arrived.  Jen, how are you?

Chad, work and school are kicking my butt.  

Still, you can come here and kick some butt!  Again, he jauntily walked away, making the rounds with the other campers as only Chad can do.  I was actually thinking that I showed up at camp to get my butt kicked in a whole different way.

When got to camp yesterday, an old friend happened to be on the mat right next to where I set myself up.  Jen, go back!

I laughed.  That's okay-- I'm here to drink the boot camp Kool-Aid.

I started the workout, and knew that even though I was late, I was exactly where I belonged.  I will gladly drink the boot camp kool-aid every fall and spring camp is offered through My School District.  Camp always helps my body-- muscle definition, increased stamina, and the ability to do great amounts of pushups at once, just to name a few benefits.

The best part, for me, is seeing the people I've grown to care about.  Every time I return to camp I get to see an assortment of former and present colleagues in My Ever-Growing School District.  I love that.  The workouts are not easy, but they're not meant to be, and they're only as hard as I push myself.  Chad was telling me that camp is a way to kick my own butt.  Greeeaaatttt.  Isn't it enough that every other aspect of life is kicking my sweet gluteus maximus?

Seriously, though, Chad is right.  There is power in pushing one's body to its limits, and becoming more healthy, and yeah, more attractive too.  Camp isn't Kool-Aid, boot camp is real. 

Author's note:  Jen Single usually changes names to protect the innocent, but in this case feels it's only right to give props to Chad Stearns, the best boot camp instructor in My Small Town. If the reader lives in My Small Town, she should consider one of his early morning camps.  Jen Single would go if her work schedule didn't conflict with early morning camp.  It's the best way to start the day.  With the best people.  (The after-work camp is the next-best thing.)  :-)