I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR!!!!

Today's blog title is my new slogan after the workout I did at bootcamp last night.  I think I'm gonna have to get a t-shirt or headband made with it - cause that's exactly how I felt after I left last night.

What a night it was.  You will remember that after my first session (which just consisted of basic fitness tests) I was on the verge of passing out?  Well, not last night.  I made sure I stayed hydrated correctly all day, ate well all day, and ate an apple before I left to ensure that I had the proper fuel in my body for what they had in store for me.

Ok - so when we get there, there's a member of the National Guard there to help train us.  We started the night out with doing push-up, sit-up, and pull-up drills.  We had to do push-ups against a beam, then on the sandbags, then we went to the floor.  I was very surprised that I was able to do several push-ups against the beam - not so much with the sandbags and on the ground.  After that, we had to do sit-ups until we couldn't sit up anymore.  I did about 15.  Then the pull-ups..oh, the pull-ups. I was lucky enough to have a guy help me out, and he helped push me up so that I was able to do 5 pull-ups.  That sounds impressive, but not really when you have a guy doing most of the work...LOL  After that we had our nutritional counseling.  We were able to sit down for 10 minutes and rest so that the head instructor could give us some tips for our nutritional logs.  Because our heart rate went to rest after the counseling, it was then time for warm-ups 

The stretching was simple - the calasthetics were what really got the blood pumping.  We did 10 jumping jacks, 10 ski jumps, 10 lunge jumps, and then jogged on the spot.  After we were good and warmed up, it was time for the obstacle course.  We were paired up, and we had to do the obstacle course with a partner and race against 2 other teams.  My partner and I were in the second set of people to do the course.  It wouldn't of been so bad, if the drill sargeant hadn't made us do continuous calasthetics while the other team was running the course.  We did push-ups, sit-ups, leg floats, swimmers, and then repeated.  I was EXHAUSTED before we even started the obstacle course.  I did the course, though.  My partner helped motivate me the whole way, and the National Guard guy helped give me a boost over the 5ft wall.  I even had the energy to sprint back to the finish line when I was done.  :)  When we got back, the last team was on the course and so it was back to calasthetics until that team finished the course.  Did I mention I was EXHAUSTED???

After the last team completed, we had 90 seconds to get a drink of water and then we had to sprint to the end of the parking lot.  There we were met with 3 foot peddled go-carts.  We then did go-cart relay races as teams.  Each team member would get in line, everyone had a turn at lifting and turning the go-cart, pushing the next person off, and then driving the go-cart down the track and back again.  I had a lot of fun with the go-carts.  They require a lot of lower body strength, and that's about the only strength I have..LOL  Our team came in second (out of 3) so we didn't lose. :)  After 10 push-ups for not winning, it was time to do the race again - and that race we came in second too.

So, are you feeling exhausted just from reading this yet? You should!! Only half of the session was over with by then...there was still a long way to go.  Which brings me to the next challenge.  This was the highlight of my night and gave me the "I am woman, hear me roar" feeling.  In our teams, we were told that we were going to pull one of two National Guard HumVees across the parking lot.  I was so excited.  We got in our formations, grabbed the rope, and off we went.  We managed to get to a steady jog pulling that sucker -and we won the race!!  It was such a rush knowing that I could do something like that.  Even it was a team effort - I felt so empowered.  We then did it two more times...and I LOVED every time.  To show that I didn't just let my team pick up the slack and that I busted my ass - here's a couple pics of my arm....the battle wound from the HumVee pulling contest:

The night still wasn't over - and it was back to the obstacle course for us.  This time we ran the obstacle course individually in groups of 3.  The pain of the evening really set in climbing up the rope ladder..but I just kept trucking.  I pulled every ounce of energy I had inside of me and I finished that course..again!!  Back to the starting line...MORE freakin' calasthetics.  We did football rushes, mountain climbers, push-ups, and repeat.  We did that for 5 MINUTES!  That may not sound a lot...but it most certainly is.  Then, just when we think it's all over - time to rest... WRONG - just one more time through the obstacle course.  The last time I literally had to crawl through the course..but again, I did it.  Didn't sprint to the finish line - but I jogged - and being that every muscle in my body was screaming at me...I told them to shut-up and finished.

When we were dismissed, I just had this burst of energy rush through my body.  I felt like I could take on the world...not a feeling one would expect after the severe punishment I'd just put my body though.  I came home, bragged to the family about my night, and then when it was time to go to bed I slept like a baby.

I woke up this morning feeling the same sense of empowerment and energy.  I expected not to be able to get out of bed..LOL  I am sore, don't get me wrong about that, but it's a good pain - one that makes me know that something is going on in this body for the good.

So, can you tell that I'm liking it so far?? Hopefully you can.  Tomorrow, I will share the information given to me about nutrition - and the best way to be healthy for life.

Till next time.  :)