Boot Camp Blogger is a look into the life of Boot Camp participant Tara. Follow along each week as she experiences the challenges and successes of Boot Camp the Extreme Fit way!

Initially, I got into this Boot Camp thing because a) I needed to lose weight b) I needed something to kick my butt into losing that weight quickly and c) my friend was coaching the class and putting a little bit (OK, maybe a bit more than little bit) of pressure on me to join. I assumed I’d get through the month, lose a few pounds, and continue to feel motivated to keep doing what I had learned in class on my own (however, this is not usually the case in my experience). But that’s not exactly what has happened to me. Something quite unexpected has happened, actually. 

I. AM. ADDICTED. TO. BOOT. CAMP.

During our first class, I wanted to die and never return. I think the same applies to that entire week. Week Two was more manageable, but I was still extremely sore and moving as if I might, possibly, need a walker to help me about. By Week Three, I was actually looking forward to the mania. And when Week Four came around, I was literally pumped! Though I have an injured foot right now, I’m at every single class on the sidelines doing my personal, no-jumping, no-hopping, no-anything-that-could-injure-my-pulled-tendon workout (thanks Val for creating a special workout for me!), and I’m ecstatic to be there. Who wants to sit at home babying an injured foot with a glass of wine and HGTV when I can be out there sweating my butt off and burning as many calories as possible (can you see a change in me yet?)?

Last night, as I did my routine (which, by the way, was not as easy as it may have looked to the others), I watched my classmates bust their butts running around the court, frog-leaping up and down the hill, mountain-climbing, squat-jump-turning, you name it, and all I could think was that I wished I was out there with them. I mean, it’s hard, no doubt, and to the normal onlooker (we’ve had a few gawkers wondering what the hell we were doing), we might look a bit mad, but I was bummed about all the calories I was missing without that cardio! Cardio is absolutely essential to getting the weight off, and I don’t mean just walking around the block. One thing I’ve learned about what I want for myself is that to get to where I want to be, I have to give it my all every time I’m out there, whether in class or at the gym or in my own neighborhood. And I have to get out there a lot! Nothing less than 100 percent will do anymore.

And as I watched my classmates last night, I tried to figure out which ones I’d see in class next month. You never know specific circumstances, but as you get to know people in an extreme situation like the one we’re all in, you get to really know and understand different personalities. Each person is different in his or her approach to each aspect of the class. You’ve got your quiet concentrators, your jokesters who like to break up the monotony, those who like to chat it up and laugh and giggle during class, the screamers who must drop an “F-bomb” or two (or 20, as is my case on occasion) in an attempt to just make it through. So many personalities have come together to form this group that has been through so much together in the past month, and our differences have really meshed to pull us through.

Next month, I look forward to meeting all the new renegades who have chosen to embark on this “Crazy Train,” but I also hope to see all or at least most of my fellow September Helena Boot Campers at Spain Park—healthier, lighter, and dedicated to “feeling the burn”!