Saturday Sweat

I love Saturday’s. And not just because I don’t have to sit at a desk all day, but because it’s a day to follow my passions. To do what I love. And one of those things is to sweat! Usually Saturday morning is filled with a run and some strength training since the length of my workout isn’t determined by what time I have to get on the bus to Boulder.

But last weekend Woody and I started a new Saturday morning routine: boot camp at Genesis Fitness.

A friend of Woody’s has been coming here for a while now and (easily) talked us into trying it. Three months ago I would have never thought I could make it through a class they were taking, but with the 30 Day Shred videos I’ve been doing lately, I have become noticeably stronger!

The gym is pretty basic, but it has tons of equipment – definitely enough to make for a tough workout!

The class is based on circuit training, so we get in groups of 4 and rotate through each station. Each week there’s a different instructor for the Saturday morning drop-in class (only $5!) we’ve been attending, so you never know what you’re going to be in for! This week we had Garth, the owner, who devised a killer workout with a ton of exercises. (I did not do well on those up downs at this station, but was killing it on the step hop-overs by the 3rd rotation!) Last week we had Micki, who put us through a tough Super Bowl-themed workout, trivia and all.

The treadmill station is my favorite – obviously.

There are a lot of really strong people in the class, but everyone is so focused on they’re workout and when they need to rotate, that no one is judging anyone else. It’s all on you, but you also have your team to support and keep you motivated and working hard. I was a bit nervous about being on Woody’s team, since he is so much stronger than me, but it turns out not to be a big deal, really. Partially because I’m keeping up pretty well!

I can definitely feel a difference since I started mixing up my workouts at the end of December. Woody and I plan to keep going to this class through mid-March at least, when we’re in a wedding in Florida, but I’m guessing we’ll continue to go after. Except on race days, of course! (By the way, I am confident that this strength building, and the isometric exercises are going to make be a better runner, too.)

If you’re not running, what’s your favorite way to mix things up? * Have you taken a boot camp class? What did you think? * How do you spend Saturday morning?