#HealthyMe: Motivation From My Co-Workers
Julie Bitely
| 2 min read
To be honest, the prospect of “boot camp” never really thrilled me. Be it military, exercise or otherwise, something so extreme, just isn’t my cup of tea. So needless to say, when some co-workers encouraged me to try an eight week, after-work boot camp class with them, I was less than inclined to join. When they mentioned coming as a drop-in attendee, however, I was intrigued. Adjusting to a new schedule as a young professional had me putting my exercise needs on the back burner for a while, and I figured a class might be just what I needed to jump back in. Why not give it a try?
The day of the class, I was oddly nervous. I knew my co-workers would be amongst the crowd, but still felt unsure of what I was getting myself into. Initially everyone grabbed a yoga mat and small weight sets and I followed suit. We warmed up with some walking in place, jumping jacks and general aerobic activities to get energy levels up. The warm-up alone made me a little out of breath early on, but nowhere near tired yet.
The next segment of the class was divided into two parts: cardio activity and strength training. We spent a half hour doing different activities like burpees and jump rope jumps in controlled time intervals. We spent the remaining half hour working different muscle groups via push-ups, lunges and other strength-building activities. I had done some before, but adding the free weights was a new element my muscles definitely weren’t used to.
Despite stretching and a good warm up, one day later I am still feeling the burn. The motivational thing, though, is knowing that I’m not alone. Working hard alongside my co-workers yesterday was encouraging and being reminded of the class that week forced me to hold up my commitment too.
An intense boot camp may not have been the most ideal way of getting back into a fitness regimen, but it would’ve been tough no matter what. One good experience has made me want to seek out a local class or gym to continue some of my favorite workouts like spinning and rock climbing. I just hope I’m in as good of company as I was for my first trip back to the gym.
How do the people around you help you keep up your workout regiment?
Photo credit: Brian J. Matis
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