Boot Camp Olympics Tonight!

Tomorrow is our last night at boot camp. *tear* I will admit that I have loved it. I never could have figured out these workouts on my own. I used to just wander aimlessly around the gym but now I think I have some direction. Past all of the pain, injuries, sweat and sighs, I think it was a big success. And I finished something I started. Write it up: Me - 1, World - 0

We are doin big thangs at boot camp tonight. Main focus is back/shoulders/abs. However, we will also be engaged in a little friendly competition.

Tonight we will be doing our Boot Camp Olympics. The events will be:
1. Jump rope x 1 minute (count total number of jumps)
2. Crunches x 1 minute (count total reps as shoulder blades must clear the ground and return to the ground each rep)
3. Static hold in push-up position until failure (count total seconds)
4. Body weight floor dips (count total reps as backside lightly touches the floor every rep)

We will also have a class picture I'll post up here soon.

Tomorrow night will be the final push-up test. I did 22 the first week. Let's see how I do in comparison.

I will also try to get ahold of my before and after measurements to put some results in perspective.

So for now, adieu.

Candice K.
I will find out the poundage soon enough.

Boot Camp: Week Two Wrap Up

The workouts have gotten more intense but the soreness is relatively gone. We will be tight when we really get a muscle-blasting exercise. My favorite exercises at the moment are the ones done on a device called the TRX (see: http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/). A bracket is attached high on the wall with straps hanging from it. At the end of the straps are handles where we grab on for dear life and, using our body weight and angle as resistance, perform different exercises.

Week Three we are beginning more intensive circuits. Focuses such as "killer legs" and "killer arms" are being introduced. Most of us are working on incorporating 8-lb weights in to the exercises when possible. I really need to buy a new set. I have metal 5-lb weights and I'm deathly afraid that I will end up dropping a sharp metal edge on my person. Also, when they've been sitting in my car for 24-hours, they tend to be 30 degrees colder than the actual temperature outside. Makes for an interesting workout.

I've been doing spectacular on my eating thanks to my fellow bootcamp ladies and Chucky. At work we are watching each other like hawks. It also makes things easier when you aren't the only one making a lifestyle change instead of watching co-workers smother their toast with globs of butter or mayo all day. I come home and Chuck is working on a healthy dinner and I'll make us some salads... which he is actually eating! I'm so proud of him.

I'm avoiding the scale at this point so that I don't become discouraged if I haven't lost any weight. I know things are already fitting looser but I can also tell that I've developed a lot of muscle especially in my thighs.

Looking forward to next week.

Candy K.
Hustlin'

Day Two of Boot Camp: The Next Morning

9:36 AM - I got home last night and took a shower, had a bit of leftover spaghetti then hit the hay. Had a lot of problems going to sleep and then once I got to sleep, the achy muscles woke me up every time I turned over. It was awesome dripping with sarcasm. I took Tylenol before bed and again at 3:30 am. I'm not gonna lie, the aches and pains are the worst part.

The focus for last night: legs and shoulders. We really had a good workout. If this were an hour and a half session, I would have thrown-up. A lot of leg exercises, running and hurdles. In the oh-so-true words of Terra, "We didn't pay for nothin'."

Tonight's focus will be cardio and abs. My abs are so weak. I don't put any work in to them because out of all of the fat parts of my body, my stomach is the least of my worries. I always gain in my mid-section last and lose it first. This isn't to suggest I shouldn't exercise my stomach, I just have more pressing matters on my mind, like the fact that my right arm is a full inch larger around than my right.

All in all, things are going well. I feel great because I'm accomplishing more than I thought I could. Nicole walks up to me and goes, "I feel good. The only part that really hurts is from my shoulders to my knees." My sentiments exactly.

Candice K.
No weigh-in until the end of camp.

Day One of Boot Camp

8:21pm - Chuckles made me a nice dinner for my first day at boot camp; salad (so weird for him), spaghetti with sweet rosemary spaghetti sauce and low-carb noodles and breadsticks. It was tasty and I totally appreciate coming home to a warm, tasty dinner. As it was, I couldn't lift my arms very much. They were like jelly.

So, our first day. The theme was chest/back/arms. Going in to it, I wasn't sure what to expect. It is difficult to imagine how so many people of different sizes, fitness levels and age could all converge and work out at the same time.

We could instantly tell who were the veterans and who were the newbies. The vets had their mats rolled out against the wall and were sitting waiting for the session to begin. So we followed suit. After a quick intro, we were down to business with the warm-ups; a little jogging in place, jumping-jacks and other things to get the blood pumping. All the things that let me know I need a better sports bra.

Then we began doing exercises that focused on our arms. We broke in to groups and did a circuit of different exercises including push-up, tension band curls and pulls and kick-backs. We did each exercise for 30 seconds then rotated. On the third time around, we were DYING! We had a small water break and continued. The rest of the class we focused on standing and mat exercises mixed with some cardio. We were definitely feeling the burn.

Tomorrow, we hope to be outside to enjoy the slightly warmer weather and to get a little cardio in. Hopefully, it won't be raining too much.

Candice K.
Official Boot Camper

Today is the Day! Boot Camp!

I will be keeping a journal of our days at camp. Complete with the pre- and post-feelings of the day and the workouts. We are SO looking forward to this. I NEED this.

11:25 am - The girls and I are starting the Columbus Fitness Boot Camp today. We will be taking some before pictures during lunch. I am personally quite freaked out because Terra saw Desperate Housewives this weekend and they went to boot camp. I guess they had some sort of a drill sergeant... We have a personal trainer running this. I met her Tuesday. She's very nice, but she's there to push us so I hope I don't bring out the mean in her.

On the agenda for today: Chest/Back/Arms along with a timed mile run/walk/jog and counted push-ups. This will be fun b/c I totally have NO upper-body strength. I'm pretty sure my arms are fat attached directly to the bone... no muscle in there... just fat. Fat that jiggles whenever I wave, laugh or have a good idea. Doesn't take much.

I'm ready and equipped with my Tylenol Back and Body. Let's see how this goes.

Candice K.
251 lbs.
Ready to Rock and Roll... lots of rolls; belly rolls, crescent rolls... I must resist the crescent rolls.

Plateau Buster: Boot Camp

In the never-ending battle to get fit, we find ourselves spending more time and money figuring out ways to do it. I am no exception. While I have a free membership to a gym, I feel it's only right to consider that a credit I can spend on other types of health-related expenses.

After a favorable review of a program from the friend of a co-worker, several of us decided to embark upon the most frightening of all workout regimes: the boot camp. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking. Am I crazy? Suicidal, perhaps? No, just fed up with the way things are currently going and I'm ready to take some responsibility for my current state, which is Ohio and it is technically number 17 on the State Rankings of Obese Adult Population (please see: http://calorielab.com/news/2008/07/02/fattest-states-2008/).

The camp will go from February 9 - March 7. We will be going Monday-Thursday at 6pm and Saturday at 9am for a grand total of 20 glorious gut-busting, brain-throbbing, heart-popping hours. If you are in the Columbus area, please visit: http://www.columbusfitnessbootcamp.com/index.html for more details.

So the ladies and I are pretty stoked to be doing this. We are compiling our required gear such as a mat, 5, 8, and/or 10 lb weights, RUNNING (not walking or cross-training) shoes, water bottle, etc., etc., etc. We will be hitting up Play It Again Sports in the coming weeks. We are also planning pre- and post-celebrations to give us something to look forward to. Nothing too crazy. We don't want to demolish the progress. I feel if we can enter this thing and make it all the way through, we will be ready to take on anything.

I'll keep you posted on the experience.

Candice K.

253 lbs.

Fit Mag's Body Type Analysis and Diet

I subscribe to fitmagazine.com and they are always sending me some GREAT articles on fitness.

This article covers the body types that there are, their benefits and drawbacks, and a diet and fitness plan geared toward getting rid of pounds where you want to get rid of them.

I am a "pear" shape. I wear a 12 or 14 top but I wear an 18-20 in pants. This is a rough spot to be in because I can't typically shop in the same section or even the same store to find an outfit. Most plus size stores such as Lane Bryant only go down to a 14/16 which is too large for me, and regular stores, such as Old Navy or the Limited, have an 18 or 20 but they usually run small. I guess you could call me a tween... just on the larger side of the spectrum.

I am pretty much on the low fat diet that they recommend and the majority of my workouts are done on treadmills and ellipticals. However, the education they provide on the body types are pretty fascinating to me.

Apparently, being pear-shaped isn't as bad as I thought it was.

Candice K.
249 lbs.
Today, I will play Wii Sports for an hour.

Exercise Obsession of the New Year

My Big Ol' Booty

If you've met me, you know that I hold one thing above all else to be true: big girls are coming back en vogue.

I'm not saying that 250 lbs. (ie. Me) is coming in to style anytime soon. But I do believe a healthy set of curves is going to be the best ass-et you can have in the years to come. So, the one thing I think I have going for me is my bodonkadonk. I've seen it; the silhouette of my butt in a nice pair of jeans. It's there. I just need to work on it, sculpt it, mold it... oh, sorry. Too graphic.


Well, I found an awesome workout at fitnessmagazine.com. This one has Jackie Warner's Stamp of Approval and believe me, it's crazy difficult. Balance is a must for most of the intermediate moves. But it's totally worth it.

Another thing that has REALLY helped shape my derriere is the elliptical. Depending upon the elliptical, the optimal incline for ideal gludiusmaximus strengthening can be rather low or extremely steep. My favorite elliptical is a front-drive with adjustable motion. This means that there is no incline selection but your stride can change from a walk to a jog to a full on run based on how far you push the petals. This site has a pretty good elliptical guide if you are in the market.

I'm really down with having a nice butt no matter what I weigh. So as long as I stay focused, I think I will be able to handle it, no problem.

Candice K.

250 lbs. (weigh-in tomorrow)
Today, I will eat a nutritious dinner.

Getting Back to the Gym: A Procrastinator's Story

So I haven't worked out in a gym for a month. I was going everyday religiously but with the wedding planning, I got lazy. Everyone in our office received FREE passes to the gym IN OUR BUILDING a few months ago. Let me say that again, the gym is in the building in which I work. I do not have to go out in the cold to get there. I do not have to drive there. I simply hit a button on the elevator and I'm there.

Last week, I made a commitment to myself every evening, "I will workout tomorrow." And everyday I welched on said commitment, "I have to go get something for lunch. I won't have time," or "my gym bag still has wedding stuff in it and I don't have time to clean it out. Guess I'll get to the gym tomorrow." Well, everyone. THE BUCK STOPS HERE! Not that I was passing the buck. I was simply putting the buck off for a while. I will work out at least four days this week. This is a promise I am making to myself.

Man, being fat is the worst.

Candice K.
252 lbs. (weigh-in Wednesday)
Today, I will not eat until I'm so stuffed I can't move.

I'm Gonna Need Wiihabilitation...

That's right. Chuck went out and purchased us a Wii last night. My plan is to use the Wii as a tool in my weight loss. I had been obsessed with it since I went to a friend's house and played Wii Sports. The fixation only worsened when I again visited said friend and this time, I played Guitar Hero. This prompted me to download Guitar Hero to my cell phone... Please believe me when I say it is not easy to hit one button per column of numbers on a cell phone with two fingers, let alone when you have artificial nails which I do at the moment.

I don't plan on solely working out with Wii Sports for fear of developing Wii Elbow. I am also getting Wii Fit as a supplement to my normal workout at the gym. This video is the reason Chuck encourages my decision to get Wii Fit. I found out that on Thanksgiving, Meijer is selling the Wii Fit ($89.99) with the Wii Workout Kit included FREE (including one 56" non-skid textured workout mat for your Wii Balance Board, one rechargeable battery pack and charging cable, two soft grip 2 lbs. dumbbells, one workout towel, two wrist bands, and one water bottle to keep you hydrated). So I'm gonna get on that.

On a somewhat related note. If you are able to get out on Thanksgiving and/or the wee hours of the morning that Friday (also known as Black Friday) and Saturday, there are alot of great deals this year. Just visit The Official Site of Black Friday 2008. If you are looking for a wiidiculous price on Wii's, most places have them right now for $250 which includes Wii Sports and one controller and nunchuk. I would caution people to research bundles before purchasing them. Retailers can really gouge you on those.

Also, I weighed in this morning and unfortunately, I did not lose any weight. However, I didn't gain anything, either. I think that in itself is a success. If I could pass on a word of advice to dieters, it would be that you have to take diets one day at a time. If you binge or don't exercise one day, that shouldn't suggest your whole week, month, year or millenium is ruined. Just make a commitment to yourself that you are going to do better tomorrow. Eventually, you'll find that you don't put as much on your plate or you are kind of wanting to work out. I know, my wisdom is so powerful it moves you.

So, just to round out this post nicely, please enjoy a few Wii-tastic words courtesy of UrbanDictionary.com:

Wii-lationaship - a relationship developed over the Wii internet

Wiidoken - the act of swinging your Wii remote with such force as to break the wrist strap resulting in the destruction of expensive electronics and/or injury of personal friends

Wiigwam - a room dedicated to the use of the Nintendo Wii

Wiiologism - any word made up in reference to the Nintendo Wii

Candy K.

252 lbs.

Today, my goal is to drink 60 ounces of water