Why The American Boot Camp Company is the best boot camp in Atlanta

I feel great! I just finished my 7th workout of the week and it's only Thursday. Between teaching boot camp, kickboxing, interval and core, running a business, sales, marketing and business development, I finally got a chance to workout for myself this morning at our Pinckneyville Park Boot Camp location. And man-o-man was it fun!

As I was driving home, I decided to blog about my experience in hopes that everyone reading this might be inspired to join boot camp or at least try one of our free workouts.

So I really don't LOVE working out. I would much rather go for a walk or read a book. But I do love to eat. I love wine and pizza and chocolate. I love hamburgers and pasta, too. So my battle with weight forces me to turn to exercise in order to be able to infrequently eat the things I love. Because I know that I am not the only one that feels this way, I decided to start my fitness business. But what I think many of my clients don't know is that I STILL STRUGGLE EVERY DAY. Read on to see the list of excuses that ran through my head this morning and pretty much every day and see how my awesome boot camp instructors helped me fight through and burn over 350 calories all before 7AM.

EXCUSE #1: I Can't get out of bed because...
This morning when my alarm went off at 4:40AM, my throat was sore and my nose stuffed up. I could have very easily rolled over and emailed saying I wasn't going to make it because I was under the weather. But something forced me up and as I took my first step the second excuse of the day popped up. My legs are so sore from the previous 3 days of 2 workouts a day and I can't get injured, so maybe I shouldn't go. But I continued to get ready, inspired by the countless clients I work with each month that actually do get up every day for boot camp. So I brushed my teeth, got dressed and headed out the door for my 20 minute drive to Pinckneyville Park. As I drove several more excuses came to mind, but I was already on the road so I kept going.

EXCUSE #8: I don't want anyone to see what type of shape I am in. What if I can't keep up?
As I arrived at the park, I wondered what all the other campers might be like. I wondered if they would be watching me because I am the owner of the company and I thought about what they would say if I had to modify a pushup or stop to stretch my soleus injury. So I warmed up on the curb a bit before anyone got there and I didn't volunteer my name to anyone. Being anonymous is a really cool thing. It is great that nobody else in the group knows me. And I also like that the group was big enough that I could "hide". So I convinced myself that I would try my best and the people in the group would just think I was vet or someone from another camp.

EXCUSE #11: I don't want to give 100% in the warmups because I want to have something left for my workout.
As we started off promptly at 5:45AM, I started jogging and found that it would be very easy to "take it easy" and give less than 100%. Nobody 'really' knows my fitness level and what would it matter if I held back. Then very quickly my competitive nature came out and I said to myself, "you will give 100% so you can see what you put your campers through every day". So off I went and immediately found myself toward the front of the group. Kim, led the warmup and reminded me why we start our bootcamp workouts out with a dynamic warmup. Because these types of activities really do get the body ready for the upcoming workout in a safe and super effective way! My calves got warm, my legs got warm and my heart rate elevated in a way that left me ready for more, not too tired. Great work, Kim! And while I was doing my thing, I even heard a few other instructors calling out little tips like, "Keep those stomachs pulled in" or "Keep your pace a bit slower until you get warm".

EXCUSE #12: I know I have an old injury and I don't think I can do certain parts of the workout, even though I am not currently in pain. Should I even try?
So I have a pretty bad shoulder injury from too many pushups over the years and not enough back training. I have been diligently re-habing it over the past 6 months, but I am still pretty timid about doing more than 10 pushups in a row for fear I will re-injure it. I know this is a very common feeling that many ex-athletes have and many of our boot campers that have previous injuries. Should I modify right away or give it a try? I decided to give them a try. I made a conscious decision to do as many as possible and deal with the consequences tomorrow. I knew that my shoulder is healed, but I also know that if I don't attempt to do more pushups that I won't get any stronger. This is what I call "selling yourself short". If you don't try, you can't know what you are capable of. Today I was capable of doing ALL the pushups on my toes. What an awesome feeling. It's great to prove something to yourself, even if it is one pushups at time.

EXCUSE #26: I am tired and want to rest. I just did 30 pushup and should be proud of myself.
No. That is a load of crap. Even though the thought goes through my head. As I look over at the girl next to me in the warmup, I realize that she is completely out of breath and that I am breathing OK. I can't quit. I won't quit. Then I hear Sara, one of the lead instructors, say, "Don't give up!" and I push on.

EXCUSE #29: My shoulder really does hurt.
As we progress into the workout I have decided to really give it my all. I have done a similar workout before, but really like how Karin is choosing to explain the exercises. It takes my mind off the fact that my arms hurt. And then my shoulder, just the left one, really does start feeling weaker than the right. So instead of stopping, because Kevin, who is right next to me isn't stopping, I choose to just use one arm. I think, "maybe I should stop and explain to him what is going on" and then I just keep moving. Before I know it, Karin says, "sprint!" and off I go to the fence. I realize that Kevin is right beside me and I turn on the speed. I LOVE sprinting against someone. It reminds me of the very first workout I did outdoors when I realized that working out isn't always terrible. And that I was very competitive. Thanks, Kevin, for sprinting with me and giving me a challenge!

EXCUSE #31: I can't do this exercise very well.
About half way into the boot camp workout, we started a lunge movement with a twist. My shoulder started giving out and that caused me to lose focus. It reminded me that when my clients get fatigued that they can't focus either and I should change exercises to keep them from getting dejected. As this exercise progressed, at least 10 times I wanted to just quit. But I looked around and noticed that nobody else was quitting. What a great benefit of being in a group. The motivation of the instructors participating and all the other campers out there trying their best really helped me finish the round.

NO MORE EXCUSES...
About this time, I looked at my watch and realized that we only had 10 minutes of the workout left. I couldn't believe how fast it had gone. And then I had an epiphany. I CAN GIVE 100%. And now I want to give even more! I can get through this! And I did with the help of a great team of instructors! What I love the most about Pinckneyville is that there are many different personalities to help at different times during the workout. Kurina was super chipper as soon as she walked up, Sara and Allison are tough, but always smiling. Kevin is kind, but won't let you slack. Kim is always loud and supportive. Karin is detailed and really descriptive in her explanations and Noel is super energetic and right there in the trenches with the campers.

So as I drove home, I was so excited to have completed my boot camp workout before 7AM and ready to tackle the day with a positive outlook. I thought to myself, "I truly hope that every one of my clients feels the same way when they leave camp each morning!"

I love boot camp and thanks to the entire team at Pinckneyville Park for a great workout and a wonderful reminder of how much FUN boot camp camp be!