My Bootcamp Buddies!My fave part about this pic is that when I said “look tough” all the girls broke out their guns but the men just stood there. But, you know, it’s very tough standing. PS> Greg – don’t worry, no one will run over your pecs at night.
Gym Buddies Krista, Lisseth, Bill, me, and AllisonWhat I really wanted to title this post was “Wild Bootcamp Bill and How the West Was Won.” But in spite of what all you East Coasters think, Minnesota is not actually considered part of “the west” and I was afraid the bootcamp message would get confused for some kind of war talk. But it was kinda wild (on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is Farkle with your grandparents and 10 is the cantina scene from Star Wars reenacted by a frat house then I’d put this at about a 3 – you know, like buying a beret and wearing it out of the house wild.) AND there is winning involved!
How To Play Bootcamp
There are several hard-and-fast rules to my workouts: 1) Try everything, 2) Laugh lots and 3) Buddies make everything better. So when Nuru planet sent me their “Exercise Anywhere” cards – a deck of card with different exercises printed on them – to try out, I knew I had 1 and 2 covered but with rule #3, the more the merrier. I roped in my bootcamp teacher Bill and the rest of my class into helping me out. For all of you that would like to join in, here’s how to play bootcamp!
Step 1: Find a drill sergeant, er, instructor. Bootcamp Bill was perfect for this because while he’s not very mean, he still has plenty of ways to motivate us. (Funny Bill Story: the first time I took his class, we were running warm-up laps on the track and as he ran past me he smacked the rear of the woman in front of me. She seemed non-plussed but I was aghast. He must’ve seen my face because on the next lap – as he passed me again – he said, “You know I’m married to her right? I don’t just randomly spank people.” Good to know, Bill, good to know.)
See? Now Bill and I are friends. Look at us lunging all happy like! (Side note to Nuru: You probably don’t need to have cards for squatting and lunging. I think it’s safe to say most of us master those skills in the toddler stage.)Step 2: Find classmates. Sure you can do the Exercise Anywhere cards by yourself but… why? Thankfully my bootcamp class is made up of adventerous folk who are not afraid of a good sweat.
Check out all those fitness fiends doing their wall jumps!Step 3: Pull a card out of the deck and do it! Bootcamp Bill decided to have us do 2 sets of 10 reps of whichever card a random classmember chose. In between sets, we ran shuttles.
Gym Buddy Krista demonstrates the Bird Dog (a.k.a. spinal balance from yoga) and not only nails it but manages to smile and wave too! Now that’s good balance.
Gym Buddy Allison is Superman! That is if Superman were a woman. And pregnant. Now that I think about it, Superman could only hope to be as super as Allison!
What is this blog without the obligatory weird pose picture? Gym Buddy Lisseth and I do Pike Push-ups. (You will thank me for not posting the orignal shot of this pic – taken from behind us, thank you very much Allison.)
Just like those chicks in the fitness magazines, Lisseth and I demonstrate the different parts of an exercise. I’ve got part A of the burpee with the jump while she’s got part B – the ending position. For the record, neither of us are burping. Step 4: Don’t forget to properly cool down with some walking & light stretching (read: sit on a foam roller and discuss how The View loses a lot of its appeal when viewed entirely in closed captioning and/or also who’s child is more likely to pee on the floor first and/or who has embarrassing sweat stains.)
I have a freakishly small head. Seriously.You want a chance to Play Bootcamp too? Leave me a comment with your fave bootcamp-style move and you’ll be entered to win a pack of Nuru’s Exercise Anywhere cards! Note: Gym Buddies are not included. (Want a second chance? MizFit’s got a deck to give away as well!)
What a great group!! I would feel like I died and went to bootcamp heaven if I was lucky enough to work out with you guys!
aww man, I really need the gym buddies!
Boot camp is my absolute favorite, look at how much FUN you are all having!
I just went to a class like this! I was actually wondering where the instructor got the cards, so PICK ME! PICK ME!
Dang girl, you look amazing!!
I soo wish I was in that class. Looks like you really have a great group there! I’m finding it hard to find people who are wanting adventure and to SWEAT! A lot of these girls around here go to the gym with makeup on and NEVER break a sweat. Annoying. I think I’ll go online and see if I can find a boot camp class, or some ppl willing to do one with me!
I love burpeeeeees!!
Oh & Pick me!!
[[Not intended to rhyme.. haha]]
Awww, I’ve never taken a boot-camp style class really so I don’t have a favorite move to share. However, my favorite move ever is the one shown at the end of this video: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/93268_train-exercise-ball-hamstrings.htm
Also, I wish I had gym buddies! The women in my Pilates class are fun (the part about laying on the foam rollers and talking instead of actively doing anything cracked me up because we do the same thing!) but it’s not quite the same.
P.S. I also have a freakishly small head. My hairdresser concurs.
Awww, I’ve never taken a boot-camp style class really so I don’t have a favorite move to share. However, my favorite move ever is the one shown at the end of this video: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/93268_train-exercise-ball-hamstrings.htm
Also, I wish I had gym buddies! The women in my Pilates class are fun (the part about laying on the foam rollers and talking instead of actively doing anything cracked me up because we do the same thing!) but it’s not quite the same.
P.S. I also have a freakishly small head. My hairdresser concurs.
Awww, I’ve never taken a boot-camp style class really so I don’t have a favorite move to share. However, my favorite move ever is the one shown at the end of this video: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/93268_train-exercise-ball-hamstrings.htm
Also, I wish I had gym buddies! The women in my Pilates class are fun (the part about laying on the foam rollers and talking instead of actively doing anything cracked me up because we do the same thing!) but it’s not quite the same.
P.S. I also have a freakishly small head. My hairdresser concurs.
Fun pictures!! I like Bootcamp Bill. When I first read the end of your blog I thought you meant that your gym buddies couldn’t win and I thought how lame… then I realized you meant it like Batteries not included. 🙂 A friend of mine uses these cards every night before he performs to pump himself up. I think they’re cool.
Charlotte, once again I am laughing at your funnyness! I love the pictures of you and the buddies. Makes me want to find some buddies of my own.
The weather here is starting to warm up to the balmy 50s and it’s so nice to be able to go outside.
Ok, I have nothing constructive to add, but just wanted to say you’re funny!
Wow! You and your buddies made bootcamp look like fun. I agree with the others, I think I shall go in search of some workout buddies…
AHHH sick toddler. is that how I missed this yesterday?
you far more creative than I 🙂
Bootcamp-type stuff looks like fun! Too bad none of my friends are big exercisers. I’d be a mean drill sergeant though.
Not sure if it’s a bootcamp move but I love jackknife sit-ups and other painful core moves.
I never knew a pike pushup was a real thing. I just do it for fun sometimes.
I’ve never done boot camp but would love to try some of the moves.
OK, I am determined to win these cards. This will be my 3rd try!
My favorite bootcamp move – these days is a simple push-up because I really want to improve mine.
Thanks Charlotte!
PS – Love seeing pics of the gym buddies.
Please pick me!
I would so keep these at work for those late nights when I no longer care about embarrassing myself since I can’t get to the gym.
I’m not a fan of working out with buddies. It’s just harder for me to focus on my form when I’m talking to someone. Plus I get really self-concious.
My favorite bootcamp-style move is push-ups with your feet on the bench.
these would be amazing for work trips!
would be great if gym buddies were included too!
I have two faves: Burpee breakdown:
5 burpees, 10 squat thrusts, 15 burps (that’s when you take the standing up part out of the burpee and just go from a low squat into a plank to a push-up and back), and 20 push-ups.
My other fave is partner dog sleds. Partner A puts the middle of an exercise band around their waist while B stands behind them holding the handles of the band. A takes off running (they’re the “dog”) while B adds resistance (they’re the sled.) It helps if you have a Bootcamp Bill-type person running in front of the dog sled encouraging the sled to catch them:)
I SOOOOO want these cards. They would be great to get my mister to do things with me at home. Third time’s a charm, right?
Also, I never would have noticed your “freakishly small head” but then you pointed it out. And, yeah, it’s little, but so are you, and you are adorable, size of your head included. So, I just wanted to balance [your] negative comment with a positive one. Cause negative comment are uneeded! 😀
When I think “Bootcamp” I think ugh, haaard. And I hate hate hate coz they’re so hard / love love love coz they’re so good lunges. So any kind of lunge combination – lunges and walking, lunges and carrying things, walking lunges while carrying things, potentially also with bicep curls – THAT feels like a bootcamp move to me. And I both hate and love them.
Much like I’d love the Cards! But not hate them, I’m sure.
The hanging out with awesome friendly folks? That part looks like fun. The “bootcamp” part where you have to exercise your assess off? Eh, not so much.
And you do NOT have a freakishly small head, for goodness sake. You look adorable.
I don’t know if I could ever assemble a bunch of bootcamp buddies as cool as yous. I wanna play!
Good golly, picking a favorite move would be like picking a favorite star in the heavens.
But right now I am into planking with a swiss ball under my feet and pulling up into a pike. Trying to be able to do more than a few before falling off.
If I don’t win I may make my own cards. Just think – you could have a deck for Pilates, a deck for Yoga, a deck for Upper Body, Lower, Plyo…
I want some cards! Gotta love the traditional push up as my fave boot camp move!
Hey Char! Sometimes when I take a day off from work, I join Bill’s Bootcamp. He’s gentle yet firm in pushing you just a little bit further. First class – I wanted to throw up, I HATE running and running hates me! My legs felt like jello once we were done. It was a good exhaustion.
I suppose the “Bootcamp” phrase scares people, kinda like “turbo” kick. Bill’s a nice guy, don’t be scared!
See ya tonite at Turbo if the weather doesn’t freak people out on the roads 🙁
i love lunge variations. the side lunge, the reverse lunge, the angled lunge, oh! and the lunge where to start out facing forward and spin a 180 to lunge and spin back (oh, how that draws the looks at the gym…).
how timely your post is–i recently recruited a few friends to do an outdoor bootcamp on the lakefront once spring comes to Chicago!
My favorite bootcamp exercises are handstand wall walks and lunge jumps. The bootcamp class I take has gotten me into better overall shape than any other class I’ve ever attended!
Love this, such good photos too! The cards sound awesome. I love just about every kind of boot camp workout. But I especially love doing planks (the crazy ones with arms and legs extended and all that), in between jumping jacks/jumping rope 🙂
Your bootcamp workout looks so fun – what great comradarie!!
Best bootcamp move – staying one step ahead of the “Sargent” and avoiding a “shout down”!!!
I love that you included pictures this time and everyone seemed very happy. Is the “Bootcamp” the experiment for March?
Love all the photos! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
My favorite boot camp move is walking planks! I would love these cards!
id rather look like you than audrey hepburn any day! awesome workout!
You guys make it all look seriously fun. I think I’m past-due for a work-out shake-up!
The pike push-ups look cool, and I’m pretty sure I know nothing about them – so pick me so that I can learn (because, yes, even I already grasp lunging and squatting).
Your bootcamp pics TOTALLY make me want to participate! 🙂