Tell Us Your Get-Fit Story

Tell Us Your Get-Fit Story

My nose is just a centimetre or two from the cool, damp grass. Fatigue burns through my pectoral muscles. I can hardly squeeze out the strength to push myself up one more time. Others around me—mostly women ages 30 to 50—groan.
“Come on!” yells trainer Kim Ricci, founder of Victoria’s Life Force Systems. “One more! You can do it!”

I push up one more time, my biceps quivering like Jell-O. Ricci sings out again: “One more!” We moan anew and somehow manage another, even if we have to drop to our knees for a “lady’s” push-up to do it.

This is the agony that is fitness boot camp—and I love it.
Am I nuts? Probably. But three times a week, rain or shine, I can be found in a Victoria park, sweating with 20 or more like-minded recruits while a trainer barks directions at us.

Thus begins Anne Mullens’s article, “Get Down and Give Me 50!“ in the April issue of Reader’s Digest. The boot camp trend started about a decade ago as a male workout led by retired drill sergeants. Of course, when women saw the results, they wanted to join, too. Our writer finds that boot camp works for her because she tends to give up when the going gets tough, unless someone is urging her on. She also gets bored with the same routines week after week, and prefers being outdoors to being stuck in a gym.

What about you? What are you looking for in a fitness routine? How do you stay in shape? Do you prefer to go it alone, or are you looking for camaraderie? Do you look for a structured routine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? Have you lost weight or inches along the way?

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