BFit Tabata Bootcamp
Half-Way Point
By Sara Davenport
I’m the queen bee of coming up with good excuses to get out of something. I’m the girl with the best intentions, that starts something with high energy which quickly fizzles out – making baby clothes, making baby food, sewing my own drapes, making my own Play-Doh …. and the list goes on. News flash! There are stores that actually sell all these things and all you have to is drive there and give them some money!
While walking with a friend the other night and trying to recruit her to join the next Tabata Boot Camp with me, I was telling her how surprised I am that I haven’t formulated an excuse to quit yet. To be honest, I have a lot of awesome and completely legit excuse cards that I could, or could have, pulled out that no one would dispute – I had bronchitis for the first two weeks of boot camp; there aren’t enough hours in my day; my husband travels extensively for work and is rarely home during the week; scheduling babysitters can be tricky and expensive.
So why haven’t I thrown the towel in yet? I can’t pinpoint the exact reason why but I’m sure there’s more than one. Since mid-June I’ve slowly melted off a little over 16 pounds by trying to eat well and move more. This new found attitude materialized during a grocery shopping trip one Sunday afternoon. I’m not a super strict mom when it comes to what my kids eat – I’ve actually seen a mom run across the room and slap a fruit loop out of her kid’s hand while scolding the giver and educating them on its sugar content. I do, however, strive to feed my children all natural foods with whole grains, low sodium and low sugar content. At the same time, I also understand that kids like chicken nuggets and chocolate pudding and it’s unrealistic to monitor everything they eat at birthday parties and at friends’ houses. My husband rolls his eyes when I say I’m heading to Publix really quick. He knows that I’ll be there forever reading all the labels.
As I was putting organic milk (for my children) and non-organic milk (for me) into my basket one day, the thought occurred to me, “Wait a minute, why am I spending so much time watching out for my kids’ health, if I’m not going to look out for my own and their dad’s? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose? If we don’t get serious about our own health, then who will be around to enjoy THEIR health with them?”
Not long after that shopping trip, I saw information on BFit’s Tabata Boot Camp on their Facebook page. I went to an information and demo session to learn more about Tabata. When I learned that the workouts were only 30 minutes, three times a week plus an additional six minute workout, five days a week, the lack of time excuse kind of flew out the window. Pilar Cobb, one of the trainers and owners of BFit, gave me an overview of the program and lead me through a few sample exercises. After the demo, I left with wiggly, wobbly legs and then emailed her later to sign up for the August Tabata Boot Camp session. On day one, my goal was to lose weight. By the end of the week, my goal changed to become a stronger and healthier mom for my children.
My own mother has always had a weight issue, as far back as I can remember – she’s actually obese. I know it sounds mean for me to write that in a blog, but it’s the truth. I don’t have any childhood memories of her pushing me on a swing, helping me ride my bike, playing with me in the ocean, piggy back rides, or chasing me around the house. My dad did all the playing. I’m determined for my kids to have the opposite problem – I want them to have too many memories to keep up with.
So that was a really long explanation to the simple question of why haven’t I pulled out one of my great excuse cards. This time it’s truly different for me. It’s not a fad, not a quick fix … it’s my new life. I want to be healthy for me AND for my family. I’m not just saying this, I mean it.
My own mortality is the main, but not the only reason, I haven’t quit!
- The instructors are fantastic – they are friendly and continue to motivate me to work faster, harder or with more weight and intensity.
- I see progress through weight and inches lost and strength being built. Pilar has quoted numerous times, “Strong is the new skinny.”
- It’s fun! The workout, although hard, is actually fun to do. Everyone works at their own pace and intensity and there’s no judgement.
- My boot camp partners are also fun to workout with. I think it’s kind of like “we’re all in this together.” Just the other morning, while struggling through tricep push-ups another boot camp-er was cheering me on saying, “Come on, Sara, you can do it!” I ran into another Tabata Boot Camp-er at a restaurant one evening and she came over, not only to say hi, but to check out what I was eating – rotisserie chicken salad, white meat only, no cheese, no bacon, no dressing – Ah ha! I’m on point!
- I’ve said this more than once – it’s 30 minutes! Everyone has 30 minutes – that’s like one Peppa Pig episode.
So here are my stats comparing my progress between September 4 and September 16.
As of Wednesday, September 4:
- Weight – 154
- Waist – 32″
- Hips – 43″
- Thigh – 25.5″
- Push ups – 37 in a minute
- V-sit – Held the whole minute
- Squat sit – Held the whole minute
As of Monday, September 16:
- Weight – 151.8 (down 2.2 lbs)
- Waist – 31″ (down 1″)
- Hips – 42″ (down 1″)
- Thigh – 24″ (down 1.5″)
- Push ups – 38 in a minute (increased by 1)
- V-sit – Held the whole minute
- Squat sit – Held the whole minute
It’s working!
To learn more about BFit’s Tabata Boot Camp, visit www.bfitcolumbus.com, go to their Facebook page, or call the studio at 706-289-7736. To learn more about Tabata in general, you can refer back to my earlier blog posts or read an overview from Shape Magazine. The next boot camp starts in October. I hope to see you there!
