Outdoor Bootcamp!!

We have had an amazing weekend of sunny and warm temperatures here in Nova Scotia. 

Earlier today was an outdoor workout by Cyclone Fitness.  They are the group that I've done my 2 spin classes with and were celebrating 2 years in business.  I showed up at 9am for a 10am class and got to meet some like-minded fitness folks.  I always find there is a ton of energy in the air when a group gets together like they did today!!  And then it started....the pain!  There were 4 separate stations; legs, core, arms, and hills that each lasted 10 minutes.

• Legs - walking lunges (about 20), 15 boot snaps, walking lunges back to finish with 15 squats.
• Core - Walking inchworm to pushup (about 10), 30 crunches, walking inchworm back to start with 30 mountain climbers.
• Arms - crab walks, 15 pushups, bear crawl back to the start to finish with 20 jumping jacks.
• Hills - hill repeats on Citadel Hill

I had never heard of boot snaps before and the exercise sounded easy enough but man, oh man...they were FREAKIN' hard.  From the position below, simply straighten your legs and then return to this position...that is counted as one rep!  The closer your knees are to your elbows, the harder the move!

I moved around the circuit in the order above so I was very fortunate to have 2 stations between legs and the hills.  This is a good thing as my legs were really shaking after 10 minutes.  As we worked around the circuit, it was nice to see like minded individuals pushing their limits and getting as many reps in as they could!

And then came the hills!!  Yes...the hills!  Not only was the hill STEEP, but my legs were still feeling weak!  I started up for my first hill, taking smaller steps and pumping my arms as I reached the top.  Walk back down, bring that heart rate down, turn around...and back up.  I got 3/4 of the way up and had to walk....my quad muscles were burning.  Hill #3 was a repeat of #2.  And then Sonny (one of the trainers) decided to run with me and make me run the whole hill for my final run.  I'm not going to lie...I wanted to quit...my quads were screaming at me (as was Sonny)...but I grunted it out to the top of the hill.  I tried hard to smile as a tourist bus drove by but I just couldn't muster the energy. 

Back to the bottom for a nice yoga stretch to finish the workout.  PHEW!  As always, having others around pushed me to keep going when I wanted to give up, when my legs were screaming at me to stop.  Way to go Cyclone...what a way to celebrate 2 years!!  Can't wait to join you during your 3rd year in business!!! 

If you had told me 3 months ago that I'd be running up and down Citadel Hill I would have laughed at you and said 'NO WAY'.  It's funny though...when you try new things and show yourself what is possible, anything is possible!  With my new found time off, I plan on stepping outside my comfort zone a bit...I think this week kayaking on a lake somewhere is a must!

I hope that each of you had a great weekend and got to spend some time with friends and family!  Have a great week and remember to try something new, something that is just a bit out of your comfort zone...heck...you might just love it!!!