Boot Camp Wrap-Up

SUMMARY: Boot Camp was good; some measurable improvements.

With some regrets, I bid my 4-week Boot Camp session a fond farewell. If I'm conscientious about continuing what I've started, my general fitness will continue to improve.

There's that "if", though; one of the things about BC is that the instructor calls out what to do and for how long and ensures that you get an appropriate mix of exercises across the week. The next thing is the interaction with others. The third thing is being outside at a nice park. I moved my exercycle outside this spring, but I find that, now, mostly I notice all the yard chores that remain undone. But it is more pleasant than being inside, where it's tedious and confining, like being in a gym.

That aside, I made progress. I can jump rope better than I could at the beginning. I improved my mile time in 3 weeks from 11:44 to 10:51. I did 9 push-ups compared with 7 three weeks ago--and that's after almost 2 weeks of not being able to do much of anything involving my shoulders because of the bursitis. I thought I wasn't going to be able to do the push-up test, but tried one cautiously and discovered that it didn't hurt.

My official evaluation had my weight and assorted measurements mostly the same, although, interestingly, my hips are 2 inches narrower (and my bust is an inch narrower, drat!). I tried to wear the same type of clothes that I wore the first time--no girdles or bustiers. And my body fat measures down 2 pounds but muscle up 1 pound, according to their little gadget.

All in all, not a bad start.