I’m trying to incorporate a better variety of exercises into my workout life. It seems like, for the last few years, I’ve been stuck in the same routine -- vinyasa yoga, boxing and running.
These are all great workouts, but my body just doesn’t seem to get that much out of them anymore. I think it’s called muscle memory, but whatever it is, me and my body are b-o-r-e-d.
So when I was contacted by Caroline Jhingory, who wanted to do a story with me about her quest to conquer her weight loss plateau, I was all ears. Here was someone who lost 150 pounds! But now she’s stuck at her current weight and trying to get to the next level. I can relate.
A few weeks ago, my crew and I met her outside a school near Union Station. That’s where the Belin Sport and Fitness boot camp class was meeting that night.
When I hear the term “boot camp,” I envision a large man in military fatigues with a bull horn screaming, “Drop and give me 20!” But instructor and owner Corey Belin is actually pretty laid back.
He assured me there would be less yelling and more laughing. Well, I don’t think there’s anything funny about a boot camp workout. Maybe it’s just me.
We started with a warmup -- running, skipping, high-knee walking and backwards jogging. Then came hula hooping and planks -- not at the same time.
Health
We divided into small groups. While one person hula hooped and walked across a parking lot, the rest of the team members held a plank.
Here’s the thing -- I can’t hula hoop. I’ve never been able to, and at the ripe old age of 32, I wasn’t exactly planning on starting.
Problem is, I now had this team of people holding this painful high push up. So what did I do? When Corey wasn’t looking, I held the hoop up and ran. Problem solved.
Next up, we broke into new groups and switched off exercise stations. While one group ran around the block, we went from doing bicep curls to mountain climbers (Corey calls these B Slides) to hula hooping (ugh). This I could manage. I mean, I was out-running my other team members. Who’s a slacker now!
I can lift weights with the best of them, and those mountain climbers? They were tough but I could do them. I even got my pretty Lululemon pants a little dirty in the process. Oh, and the hula hooping? This time, I got it. There are even incriminating/mortifying photos of me to prove it. These I will not include in any sort of public domain.
We finished with a series of planks, where we rested our feet on other people’s shoulders. I luckily didn’t crush my partner as I feared, then in an effort to team build, we got in a circle and each announced the name of our first crush.
I’m not going to lie. I didn’t exactly give it my all that evening. I was tired. Stop judging me! But we had fun and I made some new friends. And that’s what Corey says is a big part of his workout -- building community.
By the way, in case you were wondering who my first crush was... I’m soooo not telling!
Lauren Dunn is the News4 medical producer.
