Bootcamp: The Final Results

Bootcamp ended on Friday, not a moment too soon. I got used to the early morning starts and the workouts were fine, but I could. not. stand. the instructor.

In terms of results, well, I think my initial expectations were a bit unrealistic. I imagined losing lots and lots of pounds and inches...and that just didn't happen. I did lose a bit--about 4 pounds overall and an inch or so around my hips and waist. But I won't be shopping for a new wardrobe just yet. Fortunately, I saw this coming about 2.5 weeks in, so I'm not demoralized by this end result.

Instead, what I've realized is that bootcamp has gotten me back to doing a lot more strength training that I had been doing for a while, which is a good thing. I do see more muscle tone in my arms and legs, so there are good results here.

The flip side is that I haven't been doing as much cardio as I had been doing. We generally did 10-15 minutes of cardio during the hour, which isn't nearly enough to burn the calories I need to burn. I tried to go to rowing practice at least once a week, sometimes twice, but that's still not enough to show results.

So, what I've been thinking is that, now that bootcamp is over, I'll get back to longer cardio workouts, more frequently, while still doing strength training at least three times a week. I think if I bump up my cardio while still doing regular strength workouts, then I'll see more results in the weight/inch loss department.

Indeed, yesterday's rowing workout confirmed my thinking. We did a long row--11 miles in 2 hours--and when I stepped on the scale post-shower, I'd lost 2 pounds since the morning weigh-in. Certainly, I'm not going to lose 2 lbs per workout, but if I keep up with longer cardio workouts, I will see results over time.

All in all, I'm glad I did the bootcamp. I got a lot out if it, if not exactly what I expected/hoped. I would do it again, though not with that same instructor of course.