The $4.98 Boot Camp Revisited

About two months ago, I described my own two app work out I was going to do at home in lieu of the gym or a pricy boot camp. I bought iFitness and C25K and set out to work.

At first I was really good at using iFitness, setting up routines and doing different exercises based on their advice. However, I did not count reps. Instead, I used a timer instead and did exercises for 3 one minute spurts. It was a great work out but I have to admit, it was hard. This was primarily my own fault; Spanky was always up and grabbing an arm or a leg while I was trying to lunge or do some chest presses. I do like the app and feel it was worth the $1.99 though. It is full of great ideas. I could see it coming in handy at a gym weight room or anywhere there is not a toddler running around around ;)

C25K was different. I set up my walk/run time with some playlists that could get me pumped up. The first three weeks were super enjoyable, almost too easy. I was not a runner but was quickly going in 3-minute bursts without problem. Things started to get tricky in week 4--a 13 minute run. It was hard but I huffed and puffed my way through. The following weeks were challenging but I kept it up. As of today, I am on Week 8, day 3, starting with a 5 minute warm-up, a 28 minute run and 5 minute cool down. I am in shock that I am actually running for that long. I would have never thought this would happen but I almost feel like a runner (if my marathon-running sister is reading this, I am sure she is laughing ;) ). There are bells and a voice that tells you what to do during the run so you don't have to check your timer or anything. And it never stops the music. It just quickly plays over it. For $3.99, I declare, this one of the very, very best things you can buy to get into shape. (*Note, in my first post on this I said C25K was $2.99, I am not sure if it went up by a dollar since or if I misquoted. Consider this a $5.98 workout of I was wrong!)

But the real question. Am I losing weight? Well, for the pricey boot camp I got as a gift in the spring I lost a little over 2 pounds. With my running (which is only three days a week as compared to five day a week boot camp), I have lost SIX pounds. Woo-hoo! My clothes are also looser and again I can run 28 minutes solid.

So in closing, I would highly suggest iFitness for the routines and I would say C25K is a must for anyone who wants to exercise!