Pure Power Boot Camp: Day 1
Anyone who has listened to me talk about going to PPBC knows that the largest concern that I've had is where I was supposed to do the five pushups that are required once stepping off the elevator. Of all the things that could be worrying me about starting this particular workout regime, that should have been the last thing that I was pre-occupied with, but my mind loves to worry about the small details rather then the larger notion that I'm soon going to be running through some sort of miliatry obstacle course. I wasn't even worried about the pushups themselves, I did hundreds when I was at Barry's, but rather their damn location.
It turns out that I could have not done those five pushups, and I'm pretty sure that no one would have noticed. I did, however, do them. As I was walking off of the elevator the girl in front of me dropped and did five pushups right in front of me, so I just followed suit.
Let me say that these marine instructors aren't all that scary. They are clearly well built individuals, and they may or may not have been in the marines, but they are obviously there to push us out of our comfort zone, but not frighten us or torture us. This was a welcome relief. Don't get me wrong I still would have gone even if they were there to instill fear in our hearts, but it's nice to see that they weren't just there to yell. It was also nice to see that they realized that some of us were new, and some of us(being me) hadn't really worked out in five months, and thus were not on par with some of the other members of the class, which was made up of about fifteen girls and one other guy besides me, who was kind of cute when he was running around all sweaty and then less so when I actually conversed with him.
This place is worlds away from Barry's Boot Camp. The biggest difference being that everyone in the class helps to push and support each other. They cheer you on, and more then one person in that class asked how I was doing and if I was okay since they realized that it was my first day. That sort of thing did not happen at Barry's. That's not to say that some of the people at Barry's weren't nice, because they were, BUT....there was not the instant cammraderie that I felt upon entering this class. Barry's was like freshmen year of high school when the cool kids did not talk to the kids who were in the clique, and PPBC seems more like senior year of high school when most people have let a lot of that nonsense go and there is an inter-mingling of the cliques.
The beginning of the class was fairly standard. There were laps, and there were pushups and squats and all of that fun stuff, butwhat made this workout different came next. That's right...it was time for the obstacle course. They took us new peeps aside, and some of the more experienced "privates" to demonstrate the course for us. The first part of it was jumping over hurtles. I wouldn't do this for fun, but that wasn't all that difficult to do. We did that three times.
After that came crawling across the rope net. You basically have to pull yourself to the top of the net then flip over onto the ground. I was surpringly good at pulling myself up the net. The ease with which it came was shocking to me. I did not enjoy flipping over. I don't like to be upside down or to have my equilibrium messed with, and that is exactly what this was. It wasn't even that high up, but I knew that I was not going to be into it. But I did it.
Then I had to swing on a rope, and essentially jump at just the right moment so I would go over this log that was standing a few feet away from me. I slammed into the log on the first try. The marine laughed. He was trying to suppress it, but he wanted to laugh. And he should of. I laughed. I'm certainly more then willing to laugh at myself when I look like a fool. I made it over on the third time...barely. Then I crawled under a net and did some more hurdles. Fun Fun Fun.....then things stared to get difficult.
It was time to leap over walls.....three of them. The first one was very easy. It was very little effort. The second one, I had to get a bit of a run and then pull myself up and over, but I was still able to do it in one try. The third one took me three tries. It was about my height so it was just a matter of me lifting myself up and over.....easier said then done. I'm not saying that I am fat, but I weigh what an average twenty-five year old me height ways and essentially I was lifting my entire body weight. Not fun...not fun at all.
At this point I started to get nauseus. I don't think that I would've actually thrown up, but the feeling was there in the pit of my stomach. Still I trudged forward to the monkey bars...three sets of them which got increasingly further from the ground. I didn't do these when I was a child...I couldn't do them when I was a child, and I cannot do them as an adult. It doesn't look like it should be hard, you just swing yourself from bar to bar. Easier said then done my friends, easier said then done. I couldn't even get past the second one. I'm not ashamed to admit this. My arms aren't exacly made of rippling biceps...so one of the marines then takes your legs and holds them while you go from bar to bar. This made me able to do it, but it didn't make it easy. I felt the burn from the middle of the first set of bars, but I did all three. I really wanted to throw up then....but it was far from over.....it was now time for the climbing wall. I have seen these before and thought that they looked fun. They aren't. First of all the little ledges are too small for my feet...I couldn't get any traction. I realize that my feet aren't that big, and that men with much bigger feet, heigh appropriate feet, are able to do these things, and God love them for it but I don't understand how. It took me a long time to make it across and around this damn climbing wall, and I didn't really finish it. I think they wanted me to experience the whole course.
I then pulled myself across tires. I really don't know how to describe this other then I had to turn my entire body around to get off of it, and I nearly fell off of it doing this. Graceful I am not.
Next came what I'm sure is going to be my nemesis. This wall that is far taller then me....you are supposed to run, jump and then walk up the wall and over. I didn't really need to run to get a grip on the wall, but after that there wasn't much that I could do. They kept telling me to walk up the wall as I was hanging off of it. There may come a time that I 'm able to do this, but today was not that day. I felt like all of my limbs were going to fall off, and yes I still had that delightful sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Thankfully, the other two girls that I was doin it with could not do it either, but when I was trying to do it they were wonderfully encouraging. I can't wait till I'm a couple of weeks into this and really feel like a part of this little group.
The end of the class has all of us interlocking our arms and legs doing twenty-five situps in unison. I barely eeked out eighteen. To be fair, I had just done twenty-eight situps on my own.....one of the marines wanted to see how many situps I could do in a minute. I really feel like once my body gets used to the shock of the intensity of this workout that my performance will get better. It did at Barry's, but Barry's was definitley easier then this. It wasn't easy, but easier.
At the end of the class we do a little hands in the circle thing, and one of the marines told us we did a good job, and congratulated us first timers for making it through the first class without throwing up. To which one of the more veteran members of the class asked if anyone actually threw up to which the marine responded with a hearty laugh and a most definitley. I wouldn't say that I am in the clear until I make it through the first week.
I was sore about an hour after the class...that's not supposed to happen. My body really hasn't exerted itself much. I'm sure I will still be sore tomorrow, and I feel exhausted, but once again that is just my body getting used to this workout. Plus, come the middle of July if I can walk around with a tank top on then I'll be a happy camper. :)
It turns out that I could have not done those five pushups, and I'm pretty sure that no one would have noticed. I did, however, do them. As I was walking off of the elevator the girl in front of me dropped and did five pushups right in front of me, so I just followed suit.
Let me say that these marine instructors aren't all that scary. They are clearly well built individuals, and they may or may not have been in the marines, but they are obviously there to push us out of our comfort zone, but not frighten us or torture us. This was a welcome relief. Don't get me wrong I still would have gone even if they were there to instill fear in our hearts, but it's nice to see that they weren't just there to yell. It was also nice to see that they realized that some of us were new, and some of us(being me) hadn't really worked out in five months, and thus were not on par with some of the other members of the class, which was made up of about fifteen girls and one other guy besides me, who was kind of cute when he was running around all sweaty and then less so when I actually conversed with him.
This place is worlds away from Barry's Boot Camp. The biggest difference being that everyone in the class helps to push and support each other. They cheer you on, and more then one person in that class asked how I was doing and if I was okay since they realized that it was my first day. That sort of thing did not happen at Barry's. That's not to say that some of the people at Barry's weren't nice, because they were, BUT....there was not the instant cammraderie that I felt upon entering this class. Barry's was like freshmen year of high school when the cool kids did not talk to the kids who were in the clique, and PPBC seems more like senior year of high school when most people have let a lot of that nonsense go and there is an inter-mingling of the cliques.
The beginning of the class was fairly standard. There were laps, and there were pushups and squats and all of that fun stuff, butwhat made this workout different came next. That's right...it was time for the obstacle course. They took us new peeps aside, and some of the more experienced "privates" to demonstrate the course for us. The first part of it was jumping over hurtles. I wouldn't do this for fun, but that wasn't all that difficult to do. We did that three times.
After that came crawling across the rope net. You basically have to pull yourself to the top of the net then flip over onto the ground. I was surpringly good at pulling myself up the net. The ease with which it came was shocking to me. I did not enjoy flipping over. I don't like to be upside down or to have my equilibrium messed with, and that is exactly what this was. It wasn't even that high up, but I knew that I was not going to be into it. But I did it.
Then I had to swing on a rope, and essentially jump at just the right moment so I would go over this log that was standing a few feet away from me. I slammed into the log on the first try. The marine laughed. He was trying to suppress it, but he wanted to laugh. And he should of. I laughed. I'm certainly more then willing to laugh at myself when I look like a fool. I made it over on the third time...barely. Then I crawled under a net and did some more hurdles. Fun Fun Fun.....then things stared to get difficult.
It was time to leap over walls.....three of them. The first one was very easy. It was very little effort. The second one, I had to get a bit of a run and then pull myself up and over, but I was still able to do it in one try. The third one took me three tries. It was about my height so it was just a matter of me lifting myself up and over.....easier said then done. I'm not saying that I am fat, but I weigh what an average twenty-five year old me height ways and essentially I was lifting my entire body weight. Not fun...not fun at all.
At this point I started to get nauseus. I don't think that I would've actually thrown up, but the feeling was there in the pit of my stomach. Still I trudged forward to the monkey bars...three sets of them which got increasingly further from the ground. I didn't do these when I was a child...I couldn't do them when I was a child, and I cannot do them as an adult. It doesn't look like it should be hard, you just swing yourself from bar to bar. Easier said then done my friends, easier said then done. I couldn't even get past the second one. I'm not ashamed to admit this. My arms aren't exacly made of rippling biceps...so one of the marines then takes your legs and holds them while you go from bar to bar. This made me able to do it, but it didn't make it easy. I felt the burn from the middle of the first set of bars, but I did all three. I really wanted to throw up then....but it was far from over.....it was now time for the climbing wall. I have seen these before and thought that they looked fun. They aren't. First of all the little ledges are too small for my feet...I couldn't get any traction. I realize that my feet aren't that big, and that men with much bigger feet, heigh appropriate feet, are able to do these things, and God love them for it but I don't understand how. It took me a long time to make it across and around this damn climbing wall, and I didn't really finish it. I think they wanted me to experience the whole course.
I then pulled myself across tires. I really don't know how to describe this other then I had to turn my entire body around to get off of it, and I nearly fell off of it doing this. Graceful I am not.
Next came what I'm sure is going to be my nemesis. This wall that is far taller then me....you are supposed to run, jump and then walk up the wall and over. I didn't really need to run to get a grip on the wall, but after that there wasn't much that I could do. They kept telling me to walk up the wall as I was hanging off of it. There may come a time that I 'm able to do this, but today was not that day. I felt like all of my limbs were going to fall off, and yes I still had that delightful sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Thankfully, the other two girls that I was doin it with could not do it either, but when I was trying to do it they were wonderfully encouraging. I can't wait till I'm a couple of weeks into this and really feel like a part of this little group.
The end of the class has all of us interlocking our arms and legs doing twenty-five situps in unison. I barely eeked out eighteen. To be fair, I had just done twenty-eight situps on my own.....one of the marines wanted to see how many situps I could do in a minute. I really feel like once my body gets used to the shock of the intensity of this workout that my performance will get better. It did at Barry's, but Barry's was definitley easier then this. It wasn't easy, but easier.
At the end of the class we do a little hands in the circle thing, and one of the marines told us we did a good job, and congratulated us first timers for making it through the first class without throwing up. To which one of the more veteran members of the class asked if anyone actually threw up to which the marine responded with a hearty laugh and a most definitley. I wouldn't say that I am in the clear until I make it through the first week.
I was sore about an hour after the class...that's not supposed to happen. My body really hasn't exerted itself much. I'm sure I will still be sore tomorrow, and I feel exhausted, but once again that is just my body getting used to this workout. Plus, come the middle of July if I can walk around with a tank top on then I'll be a happy camper. :)
posted by Unknown @ 2:47 PM
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