Booty Camp Ab Workout!

Last June I had an opportunity to take part in an 8 week session of Booty Camp Fitness.  It was truly an excellent opportunity not only for being able to get outdoors and get active, but the first class was also the first time I had the chance to meet an amazing group of local bloggers.

 

A few months ago the lovely Lisa from Booty Camp Fitness sent me a copy of their new DVD:  Booty Camp Fitness: Ultimate Home Edition

There has been quite a bit going on at home so I hadn’t had the chance to give it a try… until today.  It’s been so long since I’ve had a good Ab workout so I decided to pop this bad boy in and do the Ab-Salute! Core workout.

Let me tell you, I love a good ab workout!  When I exercise its the workout I enjoy doing most of all, and the Booty Camp Fitness version did not disappoint!

I liked how it started off with a few minutes of belly breathing.  I’ve recently started running and I know belly breathing is highly recommended but I was having a hard time getting the hang of it.  Sammie Kennedy does a great job explaining it which has helped me get a better grasp on what I’m doing.

The whole workout was not too difficult, and with some of the more challenging moves there is a “beginner” option as well which helped.  Of course, no ab/core workout would be complete without doing some planks – and the last part of the exercise was 3 full minutes of planks in alternating positions.  WOW!

I hope to work this DVD into my non-run days as I did find it enjoyable and it was a nice workout!  A few other girls who have done some of the other workouts have said they felt the soreness after (especially the Booty Booster workout!) which is always a pain I welcome!

Not to mention, Sammie is so super cute and really makes you feel as though you’re enjoying the wonderful Hawaii weather with them.  Oh Hawaii – us girls can dream!

Thank you Lisa, & thank you to the rest of Booty Camp Fitness for all of the opportunities!  I owe a lot to Booty Camp Fitness for helping me grow life long relationships with a wonderful group of girls!

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Booty Camp – Week 4 Results

Yesterday marked 4 weeks at Booty Camp which meant it was the day to take our measurements.  I was definitely concerned because I was worried about not seeing any results since I know what a blow that would be. 

Yesterday’s class was great – our instructor Heather had us doing some rally races & wall squats  baseball dugout squats which we hadn’t done before and boy oh boy were the legs burning last night!  My knee was bugging me from the get-go, and after 1/2 way my whole knee felt as though it was pulsing.  Still no swelling or anything but the pain is quite intense.  I was up tossing & turning all night waking up from just abnormal pain in my knee.  That’s quite unusual for me as I am pretty much able to snooze through anything.

Anyway lets get to the nitty gritty:

Upper Left Arm	No Change
Upper Right Arm	No Change
Chest	-0.5
Waist	-1.0
Hips	-0.5
Buttocks	-1.0
Upper Left Thigh	-1.0
Upper Right Thigh	-1.0
Total	-5.0 inches

Not too shabby!  I am definitely going to keep at it.  Heather had also mentioned that there would be a focus on a nutrition plan which I am quite excited about.  I hope to not miss too much in the next 4 classes I have to miss. 

When I go back home to Edmonton I know I’m going to have little opportunity to exercise.  Heather asked if I’d do the DVD and as much as I’d like to… I really don’t think I’d be doing it.  I will be doing a LOT of walking around, so that is something… right?  

I am still debating on whether or not to skip Flirty Fit class tonight.  I have SO much to do, but I still think I’d be able to manage 1.5hrs away… I don’t feel as exhausted after those classes anymore, so I should still be able to get to packing later tonight.

We’ll see!

Anyway, I’m off to Edmonton for 10 whole freaking days!   Cannot wait!!  I am most excited to see my family, and have Dave visit this time… FINALLY!! He hasn’t been back to MY home in about 4years, so there’s lots to do!

Amy’s Week 2 Challenge – check! (pic heavy)

This morning we got an email from our Booty Camp trainer, Heather, saying she had an injury so tonight’s Booty camp class would be cancelled.  It is definitely crappy that she has an injury but hopefully we’ll see her Thursday. 

The Haliblogger ladies still wanted to kick some booty …arse?? so we decided to get together and Lynn had the great idea to take advantage of our get-together and complete Amy’s Week 2 Exercise Challenge as a group!  Even though it was her idea, she was unable to join us tonight.  (Rest up, girl!)  So that left myself, farmgirl, and Angie. 

I was running a little late – traffic traffic traffic AND construction!  But these awesome ladies waited for me and then we were off!

Of course we took photos of our afternoon in the park!  Boy oh boy were we ready to kick butt!  You can see our toughness below:

Angie & Farmgirl getting prepped!

Here is where we started:

We jogged for 5 minutes

and then ended up at our first pitstop:

Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiime for some step ups!

(Left – Ang, middle – Farmgirl, Right – moi)

Here are a couple (of several) furry friends that wanted to join us:

Time to move on… more jogging!

We found a nice spot out of the way with a bunch of benches… but oh no…. we couldn’t use them….

 

Nearby there was a gazebo with a few more benches, where we did a few sets of tricep dips. (No pics from me, Angie should have some tough)

More jogging (here is where I was slowing down… A LOT… damn that cardio!!)  This time there was an incline and I had a rough go at it.  I can’t wait for the day where I can jog more comfortably.

We ended up at another bench where we did some squats.  (Excuse my form below… this was DEFINITELY a photo op!)

Oooh movement:

We were right near this tower thingy so we jogged up there and found an awesome area out of the way where we did some ab work.  Several crunches , reverse crunches – oh yes.  Ab work is what I love!

Oh and Heather would be proud – we even did some downward dog pushups.  (Heck yes we did!!!)

More jogging & photo ops (seriously this park is beautiful!)

Miss cutie patootie Angie striking a pose:

OMGOMGOMG – someone save that girl….

Now for the last stretch (which was uphill) we did some walking lunges:

I was sweating like a madwoman after this!! Even though we didn’t have an official booty camp class, these 2 ladies definitely had me working!

I was so icky and sticky and hungry so off I went to Booster Juice for a protein packed smoothie & panini.

 

AWESOME DAY!  What an awesome idea, Lynn!  We definitely missed you!!!

Exhausted!!

Not too much to say tonight.  I am POOPED!  I think the mix of Booty Camp and a lack of sleep combined has put me in this state.

Booty camp was great once again.  I think us ladies have been noticing that the exercises have been getting easier as each class passes.  Speaking for myself, it is definitely no piece of cake, but I am just noticing improvements in myself.  I still have a lot of work to do from a cardio perspective but I knew that going in.

The girls are great, Heather (trainer) is great and it really makes for an enjoyable Tuesday & Thursday evening. 

After class tonight I headed to Booster Juice to get a protein packed smoothie.  I had to go to Daves brothers’ place for a family gathering so I needed something to tide me over.  When I got there supper was over, but they heated me up a porkchop, some roasted potatoes and some fresh veggies.  I scarfed that meal down in no time!  Everything was topped off with a small sliver of carrot cake and a skewer of fresh fruits. 

Now I’m home and I am read for bed.  I can’t wait to catch some zzz’s tonight.  I hope morning takes it time arriving!

Booty recap & Soy inquiry

All I can say is all day today I've been HURTING! Just walking down these stairs to get to my car was torture:



BUT, I had my trusty Green Monster in hand (and YES that is some of my BB Swag from work hehe):


Today at work it seemed like I had to pee every 5 minutes which was ALSO torture! Sitting up/down in my desk chair hurt my adductors in my leg so bad... and then when I had to actually pee, I had to hold onto the TP dispensor! Man oh man, I was in rough shape! Towards the end of the day sitting started to get better, but OTHER muscles started to hurt when I walked. Sheesh!! My body was giving me a big "F-U!"

When I got home I showered, did some stretches and had another green monster (no pic).
Today's Green Monster included:
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- 1 Cup Soymilk (More on soy milk to follow below)
- 1 TBsp ground Flax
- 1/2 banana
- 1 TBsp Liberte yogurt
- and my piece d'resistance - 1 cup of WATERMELON (my personal fav, so I had to give it a try)

Overall it wasn't too shabby! I will enjoy this for brekkie tomorrow! The abundance of fruit in my house will allow me to try several different varieties!

Ok so then came bootcamp. There were volleyball people in the sandpit, so Heather had us go to a grassy spot further down the hill. It was nice on the grass, but still a bit bumpy from the random rocks we encountered. Oh - and by bringing us further downhill, it brought us closer to the baseball field.... and what does a baseball field mean....... BLEACHERS! YUP, we had a few circuits of running up & down on the bleachers. We worked it though!!
Most of the exercises were the same from the 1st class with a few new variations. Some crazy downward dog-type pushups as an example.
I struggle the most with cardio. My endurance SUCKS, but I hope to improve on that. When we were running the length of the baseball field at the end of the class I was pooped! We mixed up the lap with some jumping jacks... but as Jaime can attest, mine were looking more like WACKY jacks! I had lost a lot of steam!

After class there were a few photo ops. I don't have all of the pictures but I have some love to share (I managed to get a pic with Heather in it):


I was supposed to go to get my bridesmaids' dress altered, however I was WAY too sweaty and gross so I cancelled and rescheduled for tomorrow. I thought I would be able to zoom home, shower then meet the lady in 30m but after the class I honestly just wasn't feeling like rushing!

Us ladies headed out to Starbucks for some java then we headed home.

OH - about that Soy - I was talking about my Green Monster at work today and a colleague came over and warned me about drinking Soy milk. She told me that Soy milk has high estrogen levels and has been known to cause lumps in womens breasts (breast cancer?). She suggested I drink the rice milk (since I can't have the almond breeze... allergies).
Anyway - I haven't heard of this before so I am looking to you lovely ladies for any input!

I am seeing green!!!

Tonight was a Costco night and I managed to pick up about $70 of all healthy food (90% of that was produce lol).
I picked up some:
-Egg whites
- Big bag o' spinach
- Strawberries (not as good as Farmgirls!)
- Bananas
- Mini peppers
- Mangos
- Huge box of blueberries
- Blackberries
- Liberte Yogurt
- 2 cartons of raspberries (mmmm)
- a new (I think it's new) organic cereal that I taste tested a few weeks ago at Costco and LOVED it!
- box of Peak Freans cookies


ANNNNNNNNDDD I picked up a little guilty pleasure reading material:


The author of this book is Lauren Conrad from the TV Show "The hills." I guess the reviews coming in are decent so I decided to give it a try. I am reading "Love the One You're With," and not quite enjoying it as much as I thought I would. Maybe I'll make the switch to LA Candy hehe.

**Oh for anyone who is a Janet Evanovich/Stephanie Plum fan, check out what I saw:


Whooop whoop!

Sooooooooooooooo, I was doing some blog reading and decided I HAVE to jump on the Green Monster Bandwagon. That's right... I *finally* hopped on!
My Green Monster (I keep wanting to call it 'Green Machine') included:
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- 1/2 of a banana
- a handful of raspberries
- 1TBsp ground flax seeds
- 1 cup Light Vanilla Soy Milk
- AND 2 TBsp of Liberte Yogurt (That was for you, Ang!)







And..... VOILA:



It wasn't as green as it could have been, but that was definitely because of the raspberries. It was SO good though. You *cannot* taste the spinach at all, all I tasted was a banana/raspberry smoothie.
Veryyy good! Dave is the smoothie maker in our house but I think I'm going to show him a new gooder!

So tomorrow will be Day 2 of Booty Camp. I honestly, HONESTLY have no idea how I'm going to do the squats, lunges... well, basically *anything* that involves me bending down. My thighs are KILLIN' me today! I am having difficulties bending down, sitting down in a chair, getting up, walking down/upstairs. Late this afternoon around 2ish after all of the sitting at work my muscles got SUPER stiff. I have tried to stretch them out but it just isn't happening. I am hoping by some stoke of luck we get to do yoga or something to stretch out the muscles. But I am tellin ya ladies, I am hurtin today!!

Thank goodness Booty Camp wasn't tonight... the heat & humidity is INSANE here today. Blech!

Wish me luck tomorrow!!

Booty Camp Day One - Check!

So I have to be honest with you all.....

Booty camp was AWESOME!! I had been looking forward to this for so long and it was definitely a hit!! I was SO glad to finally be able to meet some of the lovely Blogger ladies, who are nothing short of AMAZING!

I knew going into this I was not going to be able to keep up with a lot of the cardio stuffs, however I did my best even though my lungs felt like they were bursting out of my chest!! When we got into more of the strength moves I was feeling a little better. There is just a LOT of room for improvement (I honestly just spelled that as 'emprovement' btw....oh my) on the cardio side of things, which I will work up to in this 8 weeks.

There were TONNES of people in this class. The instructor was told there would be maybe 9 people but there were about 25ish people in the class. Holy moly!! I was happy to see a big turnout though!!

Most of the workout was done in the sand, minus some of the running we did, which proved to be challenging.. well...more awkward than anything. It's hard to keep your balance in the sand but it's a nice change of pace. It was nice getting down to the nitty gritty though. Going into today I'd hoped for the rain that we were having to continue so we could get REALLY dirty, but instead the sun came out for a 1/2hr or so while we were doing the cardio. Damn you sun!! lol I think we'll all be finding sand in unmentionable places for a while...ewww... just kidding btw! Hahah

After the workout we enjoyed some of Farmgirls' DELICIOUS strawberries!! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmm sooo good!


Once the class was over we did the fitness assessment and got our weight taken and measurements done. Sure enough, I plugged in the numbers on their website and I have about 35.6% body fat and I am obese. go me!

I am very curious to see what, if anything, changes for me when we take our measurements again at week four...then eight.

I am sure I have left out tonnes of awesome details but I am pooped right now so I'll let the other girls fill ya in!

For now I leave you with some eye candy:

On my way to BootyCamp #1



The ladies (I am NOT a fan of me in this pic... I am mowing down on the strawberries but the only other pic I have no one is smiling, so this is a better one of us all minus me THATS RIGHT ... I took one for the team!!)



Farmgirl & Sweaty me:




Cutie patooties:



OMG I totally forgot to mention the Redbull girls that came to promote their drink. They were cute lol:



Car models:



Getting our measurements done:


At home, enjoying a Protein packed Ripped Berry Booster Juice (I just checked and its calorie packed also...funnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.... dot dot dot....)


Edit - I should mention that as soon as I got home and told Dave about Booty Camp, he went straight to the gym in his hotel for an hr's workout. Go Dave!! He'd even mentioned *walking/running* while I take my bike out. How cool is that!?