Thursday, June 25, 2009

The $4.98 Boot Camp

Last month, my wonderful, generous husband treated me to a full month at one of the more pricier boot camps in our area.

It ended this week and I left 1 pound lighter, 6 1/2 inches smaller and 5% less body fat.

Not bad.

But now it's over. And unless our money tree comes to life, I won't be going back anytime soon.

So I have been trying to come up with a replacement.

I now know the boot camp 'routine' light cardio mixed with intense cardio and a variety of muscle building work-outs done in specific amounts of time. Variety being the key.

At first, I went from memory. I remembered a few of the routines and I mixed in those routines with some light to hard running. Two mornings later, I was at a loss.

I needed some variety along with a good timer. On a whim, I wondered if there was 'an app for that' on the good ol' iphone. Surprise, there are quite a few 'apps for that'.

For cardio, I found an app called 'C25K'. This running program takes you from literally the couch to a 5K 30 minute run in 9 weeks. For $2.99, I figured why not and downloaded it. I got to play my own music (something that really annoyed me about boot camp--the instructor seemed to love Beyonce--me, not so much) and do some running/walking combos. I finished covered in sweat.

OK, that covered the cardio but my main issue was the strength exercises. I searched the apps long on this one and found the most popular one, 'iFitness' for $1.99. Even without stepping foot in a gym, I have quickly found a number of different exercises that I can build into routines and keep track of them. I have paired these with the timer already on the phone, mixed in some cardio bursts (jumping jacks, jump rope, burpees) and I have my own little boot camp.


Now there are some things that I just can't substitute from boot camp. The social aspect of boot camp is missing. I don't get to huff and puff while chatting with others about summer vacations, kids, etc. so I might try to rope in some local friends. Even if I can't, maybe you might want to join me. If you are interested in trying this $4.98 boot camp, email me at verybusymomwith4@gmail.net . If anything, we can compare routines, time and helpful tips. Who knows--maybe we could even do posts with our routines and some encouragement like my instructor did.

So in short, it's not not perfect but for $4.98 plus tax, this boot camp is hard to beat!

7 comments:

Susan said...

I think your idea is brilliant!Good luck to you; I know you will do your best! :-)

Brian and Staci said...

You, my dear...are the bomb!!!! What a GREAT idea!!! I sooo wish I could be there huffing right next to you....but maybe I could do it right here at home too :) I need to do something...I'm just getting bigger....and bigger....and bigger.... :( I need some accountability!!!!! We'll chat!

Queen to my 3 Boys said...

Good on ya!

The thought of some heavy exercising with my ever-expanding belly makes me want to take a nap. *wink*

It won't be long and I'll be searching for my own boot camp, though. Oh ya...I live in one...with 3 (the 4th coming) little drill sargeants. *grin*

Brian and Staci said...

Hey Lisa! Tried to send another email back to you but not sure if it went through??? It was talking about a nasty little stomach bug I picked up from somewhere...did you happen to get it???

Carol said...

That is certainly great value for money.

But it made me more interested in getting an iphone than exercising.

Typical.

Momo Fali said...

Nicely done! I love a good bargain.

Judy Romero said...

Very nnice post