Decatur: Bring a Friend Night.

So, all my Bring a Friend friends flaked out! That's right. I'm calling you ALL out. You flaked. Not even so much as a phone call. I mean, c'mon, if I can do it. Then my goodness, so can you "fit" people. Sheesh.

Alright, enough of the public humiliation. (For now.) It was in fact, Bring A Friend night, which means Week 4 is almost complete! Based on the last bring a friend workout, I have to say this one was no picnic. Not at all.

Here's the breakdown:
1. Wheel circuit (6 stations - 1 min/station - 3 rounds - 1 min. rest after one full round) - KB Squat High Pull, Wall Ball, Rows, Barrier Jumps, Jump Rope, Shoulder Press


2. 3-man team game
One person does plank, one exercises, one does circuit. Circuit = run to cone, complete 30 jumping jacks and run back to team
As a team, get through these exercises as fast as possible:
100 pushups
100 situps
100 squats
75 burpees

If that all sounds hard, it's because it is! The wheel circuit was something else. Being ambitious, I started out with the delightful body rows. What on earth was I thinking? The callouses had finally gone down on my hands, and I want put them right back! I decided to take the wall balls with a heavier weight than I normally use. I had good luck running around the track for the Pushup/Wall Ball challenge with the 12 pounder, so I took it to the wall. Um. Ow. What was I thinking?!? I can't believe I'm about to type this, but I was so damn glad to get to the jump rope! My arms were just noodles. I have to say this, I totally rocked on the jump rope. I was going like a champ, and I was even able to speed up. I almost went totally unbroken on the whole minute until I hit my shoe at the very end. So close! But, it's miles from the first camp when I couldn't jump at all. Next were barrier jumps, and while I couldn't quite jump over the cone, I could at least get side to side behind the cone. Not my brightest and best moment, but I did okay. I had to keep stopping, though. I would lose my breath and not be able to catch it. At one point, I actually started to get a little worried. My lungs were just burning! You know it's a killer workout when the shoulder presses are the easiest exercise in the whole thing. I was overjoyed to get to that one. Not only did it mean the last exercise, but I totally wussed out and took the lighter weight. I could do more and get faster. By the end of that minute, the backs of my arms were burning. After each round, Michelle is telling us that it's a 6 minute investment on getting fit and we're getting years back on our lives. I never really thought about it, but she's right. Every hard exercise we do, every time we push ourselves, we're adding those years back to our lives. We're getting healthy. It was a good feeling. Even though by the end of those three rounds I was ready to lay down for a week!

The game was definitely a fun way to end the Bring a Friend Day. Three to a team, pairing vets and newbies together. We had a good run, and I killed on some pushups. (Why on earth are those getting so easy. I even like the inverted ones! What's wrong with me!?) We came in second in the game, which was awesome. I even ran and did the jumping jacks.

It's amazing how much four weeks can make a difference. I approached this camp a little wary. I'd seen so much change from the first one, but I felt miles behind the other returning vets. I'm trying to choose a few things to work on for each camp. The first one was survival. Seriously. I have never worked that hard in my life. But I did do it, and I survived it. That right there, is a serious badge of courage. This second one, I wanted to work on my upper body strength and jumping. I hated having to ask for subs for the jumping exercises. Now, I might be a little slower, but I can do them. No ankle or knee brace necessary. But this camp does have one spot that's bothering me, I'm still struggling on running/jogging. It can be frustrating at times. I have to do fewer laps, or cut the route short to keep up with everyone. And you know what's silly, I'm just flat out scared of running. I have no idea how to conquer that. It's not so much a physical limitation as it is straight fear. Maybe that's what I work on for the next camp...