Friday, June 27, 2008

The Price of Boot Camp

Boot Camp....$349
Food I threw away after 1st day of boot camp....$100
Food to replace empty fridge for 1 month...$600
New smaller size clothes as existing clothes do not fit.....$300

Buying said clothes while sales person is checking out my ass ........ priceless

Monday, June 16, 2008

The instructors really make boot camp special at Mason Mill

I wanted to take a moment to tell someone how wonderful it is to have ‘The American Boot Camp Company’ at Mason Mill Park. The Boot Camp brings great energy to the area. It is a wonderful way for people to interact with one another of all ages, races and backgrounds. It is perfect for a county that believes a park is not only important to quality of life, but it promotes a healthier lifestyle for residents and it does make ‘Dekalb a great place to live, work and play’! It is refreshing to live in a county that allows this activity to take place and lives by the words they promote.

The park is adjacent to my neighborhood, where I can walk to ‘Boot Camp’ in the morning (so keeping the air clean by no car on the road…a double win!). I never knew the Boot Camp existed before I saw one of their signs, but once I enrolled, I found the instructors to be so wonderful and motivating it makes it hard to miss a work out. I am also impressed how respectful they are to others who are visiting the park understanding this is a place for everyone to enjoy. I think some of the on-lookers are very intrigued with what we are doing in the morning. Maybe the next ‘Boot Camp will be for seniors! They seem to want to get involved too. I hope they do!!

Thank you for bringing this great concept to Mason Mill Park. I wanted to make sure the good things you all do for our county don’t go unnoticed.

Kind regards,

Amy L.

Friday, June 6, 2008

The American Boot Camp Company Changed My Life!

My friend asked me last weekend during our annual beach trip…….”Why did you finally do it this time? What was different? I have seen you go through multiple trainers and weight loss programs and you never succeeded. You are so much more confident and happier this year. The last beach trip you were out of breath carrying your suit case up the stairs and this year you were running up the stairs with a case of water and your suitcase. Also, the previous years you slept the whole vacation and this year you were up at 7AM running down the beach. What a difference a year makes.

I thought about my previous failed attempts at weight loss and I finally realized what made the difference. I finally found someone believed that I could do it and pushed me to believe the same. You taught me to believe in myself and that is what made the difference.

When previous Personal Trainers asked me to do something that was difficult I would say “ I am too fat to do that” and they would typically they would move on to an easier exercise. I remember the first time you asked me to do an AB Bridge, I told you “I am way too fat and there is no way that a 240 pound woman can do an AB Bridge. I thought you would say OK and move on to something easier but your response was different. You said that is absolutely not true and you are going to try it. I only managed to do an AB Bridge for about 10 seconds and now I can do it over 60 seconds. I also remember the first time you asked me to run. I told you that I haven’t ran in over 5 years and wasn’t plan on starting now but you convinced me that I could run and 5 months later I completed a 5K.

This has been one of the toughest journeys in my life and it is still not complete. I have lost 55 pounds and I have done more that I thought I was capable of during the last 7 months and the next 45 pounds will be the toughest.
I have had a lot of ups and down and you were always there beyond your duties as a personal trainer. You always replied to my emails when I was frustrated or discouraged and you never gave me the option of quitting.

I could never repay for all that you have done. My life has completely changed and you one of the biggest reasons.

The American Boot Camp Company has completely changed by life…….from my initial emails with Tara, personal training with Whitney and now Boot Camp. Tara was always positive and told me “Don’t worry, we will get you where you need to be”. Whitney has been simply amazing. She has encouraged me to do things that I never thought I would accomplish. Boot Camp is giving me the extra push that I need during the 2nd half of my journey. I still can’t believe that last October I couldn’t walk ½ mile and now I am attending Boot Camp.

I still have 45 pounds to lose but I have no doubt that I will succeed because of everything that you have taught me.

Thanks for teaching me to believe in myself.

Sherri

It's All About the Numbers

What makes me leave a warm bed at the unholy hour of 5:00 a.m. to roll around in dew soaked grass, do weird things called “butt kickers”, “hell raisers” or “super stars”. I do it because of my numbers; 9, 147, 267, and 3.

9- Every night before going to bed I dump 9 different prescription medications in my hand and chase them with water. Out of these 6 are to help control my diabetes, and three are for high cholesterol. I hate pills, they are easy for the Dr. to prescribe but harder to get off of than crack cocaine. This number has been on a steady increase over the last 5 years, I am closing in on my 70 year old mothers daily intake of 16 pills. It is time to change.

147- My pre boot camp fasting blood glucose readings. The Dr. keeps telling me he wants me below 110 but I have NEVER averaged that low, and I have never seen a single reading below 100. There are 2 things that scare the hell out of me. First is I feel like I am following in my Mother’s footsteps, I was diagnosed about the same age that she was, and I have patterned the same worsening glucose levels, but the rest of the story is that she suffered a crippling stroke in her early 50’s and soon after became insulin dependent. The second thing is how my doctor keeps telling me I am at the same risk for a heart attack as someone in their early 40’s that has already had one. It is time to change..

267- My weight. Recently reviewing my weight the doctor’s office pointed out I have gained a pound a month over the last three years. It is time to change…

3- My wife and 2 children. The obvious reason is to be around to see them mature and grow. The less obvious but equally important is to show them they do not have to go down the same path I have with my health.

In 5 weeks my numbers have changed. 9 is now 8 not a big difference, but less is an accomplishment.
147 is now 115 I have seen several readings under 110 and even one under 100. That’s just 5 weeks!
267 is now 255 not bad considering how much muscle I have gained!
3 is now multiplied to include a group of people who get out of bed at 5:00 a.m. and stumble down to boot camp with The American Boot Camp Company at Mason Mill park to be healthier. It has also multiplied to include Sonja, Cyndi, Natalie, Joe, Dale, Beth, Jen, and Regina the friends (i.e. instructors) who never miss a chance to encourage, struggle, and laugh with me.
I have paid the gym memberships and never gone. I have bought the exercise equipment that rusted away. Know I have found friends who will work with me to reach my numbers.

If I can so can you! HooAhh!
Scott