This morning, after our run through Decatur and Winona Park, I walked my dog, Ms. Ava, and then, I made the following quick breakfast. Man, I was hungry. This bowl of goodness provides me with calcium, omega 3, fiber and more.
It’s always a challenge to come up with something interesting in a routine where you basically want boot campers to run and do exercise. Run and exercise are the basic components and then there should be an infinite number of combinations to put together to make it interesting. However, it can be hard to think outside the box when you have been doing this for a long time.
The instructors of Kick In The Fit spent some time coming up with new routines last year and the first one I came up with was “Roll Them Bones”. Since I work at Agnes Scott, sometimes I will just stop as I am walking around campus and look at a particular area and see if something comes to me. For this workout, I kept coming back to the Science Quad. The area around the Science Quad is so perfect for working out; it’s hard not to think of it when coming up with something new.
My plan was to incorporate a lot of different exercises so it would be a full body workout and I wanted to use different components such as PVC pipe, different forms of cardio to move around the quad and utilization of the middle of the quad. I thought all of these items would help to keep the workout fresh even when doing multiple laps through the 1st and 2nd rounds.
I also wanted to add a fun element to the workout and it took me a while to think of it. Then it came to me: Dice! I was downstairs in my basement looking through some of the things we have on our shelves and I came across several board games. When my eyes settled on Yahtzee, the dice idea struck me. I opened up the box and there were enough dice to make 4 pair.
I spent the next couple of days putting together the routines for each round, thinking through the exercise, the cardio used between stations and what to do regarding the middle of the quad. It seemed natural to do something with doubles so I came up with six different side adventures to use when doubles were rolled. This enabled me to incorporate the PVC pipe and the middle of the field.
I think the idea that as boot campers come to each station that they have no idea what will happen next keeps the workout challenging, exciting and fun!
We focus on work the entire week, then shift to house work mode over the weekend. On top of that you most likely are working out with Kick in the Fit boot camp during the week, and doing some type of fitness exercise over the weekend. However, as we focus on the benefits of an active & healthy lifestyle, you should also remember that proper REST adds to your over all health.
The benefits of rest range from slowing the heart beat, to increasing the blood flow to the muscles, which allows the body to recover. It also might just make you a nicer person too. 
So as you drive towards the end of this week plan some type of rest for yourself. As you set your goals for the end of the month, set a reward for yourself too. My favorite reward for achieving my goals is a massage from Tuscan Sun on West Ponce. My daughters however has something to do with Green‘s .
Anyway, there are numerous healthy ways you can reward yourself throughout Decatur & Oakhurst so please share your favorites. Trust me, you will need it after you complete this month!
From time to time, we will take a picture of what we are eating and explain the good, the why and sometimes the bad. In honor of today’s workout, I would like to share my lunch, which of course contains a sandwich along with a side salad.
We have lots to choose from in Evans Dining Hall but I am a creature of habit and usually go for a sandwich and salad; not always but most of the time.
As I enter the dining hall, I first ignore the scent of warm brownies or cookie bars baking and refuse to even let my head look to the left at the dessert station. After all, I worked out hard this morning and need to fuel my recovery!
Next I take a look at the table that holds the samples of what you can choose at each station. Usually I head to the deli but every once in a while I make my way to the hot bar.
Today it was the deli for a turkey sandwich. I start with either whole wheat or mixed grain bread for the higher fiber content and get a swipe of yellow mustard. Mustard is a much healthier option than mayo as it is low in saturated fat, contains no cholesterol and is high in fiber. For the insides of the sandwich, I go for turkey with a slice of swiss or cheddar (depending on my mood) and some tomato slices. Like this mornings “Sandwich” workout which was a great combination of cardio and exercise, my sandwich is a great combination of carbs and protein. The carbs help fuel the body during the day and the protein helps rebuild sore muscles!
Finally I do my circuit of the salad bar. I go for a combination of spinach and assorted greens or romaine for a base. I always like to add some spinach for the Popeye factor! Popeye knew it was a superfood way back when and you never know when you are going to come across Bluto!
On top of my base I add any of the following: shredded carrot, cucumber, tomato, onion, broccoli, olives, etc. The more colorful your salad, the better it is! Sometimes I will put a small amount of blue cheese or boiled egg on the top. Finally, I bypass the heavy, creamy dressings and go for the vinaigrette dressings that are much lower in fat and cholesterol. Todays selection was a delicious redwine vinaigrette. A little goes a long way as two tablespoons does the trick!
At this point I did catch the chocolate frosted brownies out of the corner of my eye but at the same moment, one of our awesome Agnes Scott students came up to me and said “You know, I really want pizza…but I’m not going to. It’s not worth it!” As I left the dining hall, I told her she was my inspiration not to eat a brownie.
You just never know where that boot camp support is going to come from!
How did you become involved with KITF?
Indira Cruz, my official Scottie Sister for life dragged me to a “Bring a Friend Day” in March 2010. I loved it! It gave me the kind of group support I missed from swim team. It provided me with a great outlet for the stress that college can sometimes place on a student. Plus, I made so many new friends. Everything is always funnier at 6 am.
What is your favorite sport?
It is a triple tie: swimming, cross-country and track.
What is your favorite KITF workout?
I love run days, and I like it when it rains because we have to go to the parking garage. Those workouts are always EPIC!
What was one of the goals you had as a boot camper and did you achieve it?
I wanted to do exercises that strengthened my legs when I first started. I had injured myself from running long distances before coming to boot camp. I was not doing anything outside of running. With boot camp I rid myself of those leg problems. I am now knocking on my wooden desk to make sure I don’t magically get a knee or pull a muscle after writing this.
What is your current fitness goal?
To enjoy boot camp as much as possible in my final months in the United States.
Bear Walk or Crab Walk?
Bear walk!
What is your favorite music to rock out to when you are working out?
This is a tough one! Anything by Beyonce.
What is your favorite sports themed movie?
The Big Green
What is the longest race distance you have run?
Half Marathon
What is your favorite board game?
Tuesday was a tough workout that involved a lot of cardio, arms and abs (not to mention hills!). But maybe the greatest benefit of the Blitzkrieg workout is to the legs. Running hills not only gives you a great cardio workout but it gives you strength, power and speed!
When you run hills, you use your leg muscles differently then when you are running on a flat surface. As you run hills, it becomes a form of resistance training for the legs that strengthens your calf, quad, hamstring, and glute muscles. It also strengthens your achilles tendons and hip flexors and helps protect against leg injuries.
As you strengthen these muscles, you will find that your sprint speed increases as well. Since you use the same muscles to sprint as you do when running hills, the resistance really pays off when you are on a flat surface.
Lastly, you will find on long runs or hikes that you are able to attack the hills with more power and consistency and still have something in reserve for the other side!
On Saturday, March 31 Janice, Paige, and Henry participated in a fund-raising event for a local theater company as the Out of Hand Theater put on an Atlanta version of The Amazing Race called The Game.
The Game is a puzzlehunt where teams race around town solving clues and figuring out codes. This year The Game had a $300 cash prize for the first place finisher. The clues took contestants to eight different locations around town and then ended up at Manual’s Tavern for an award ceremony. Kick in the Fit Boot Camp was one of the clues! While we were not at the Agnes Scott Campus, we transported a mini version of boot camp to Underwood Hills Park in West Midtown. Once the teams solved the clue prior to ours they received one of our cool Kick in the Fit water bottles containing a word puzzle directing them to the park. Once they arrived in the park and found us, the fun began. The puzzle at our location was to go from a total of 500 calories as a team to 143 calories by doing certain exercises to lose calories or eating certain snacks to gain calories. The puzzle was quite the math challenge, and several teams had to do an awful lot of jumping jacks to get where they needed to be. If they overshot their goal they would have to eat something to “gain” calories back. But there were some tricks as well – for example if everyone ate a certain snack they could end up doubling their total calories. Our instructors had stations set up for push-ups, mountain climber and jumping jacks, and made sure the puzzlers completed their exercises with proper form a dose of laughter. We are pleased to say that most teams were WAY more excited to do our exercises than to do the math required to solve the puzzle! It was a perfect blend of brains and brawn and a fun way to promote Kick in the Fit!
To EVERYONE who kicked Arse yesterday! I am hearing that a lot of you LOVED the tuff workout because it really gave you a since of accomplishment! AWESOME! We LOVE feedback, good or bad, so always feel free to SHARE with us please.
So here is your “off day” challenge: STRETCH those arms today AND remind yourself of that sense you felt yesterday by sharing a HIGH 5 with someone today, and make sure you give a smile with it.
Remember, you should be inspired by your own actions!
This morning brought the beginning of April boot camp. We had a great mix of new campers and solid vets to get “Kick in the Fit” started off with a bang this month!
During the orientation period, Paige talked about expectations and specifically what boot campers could expect from the instructors. Paige talked about pushing boot campers past their comfort zone and that in the group setting where everyone supports each other, there is a greater possibility of achieving it. This morning ended up being a great example of that.
We broke into two groups this morning with group one taking the PT test and group two doing the “Grinder” workout since they had completed the PT test Friday. I was with the PT group and we started our first test which is the 2 lap run around the track. Gary had asked me to stop at the lantern at the three-quarter mark to motivate boot campers as they completed their laps. I looked forward to motivating the runners as they came around the final turn for each lap.
As we began the run, I edged up near the front so I could get to my “cheering” spot before the other runners. As we came around the opposite side of the track, we started hearing cheers from the “Grinders”. As we came nearer to their workout area, they were going nuts cheering us on! It was awesome! Talk about having a little ”get up and go” added to our step!
By the time I reached my spot, and thanks to group two, I was fired up and ready to motivate! Everyone had a great pace going and I had a great time cheering everyone on as they came around their last turn! I think the spark we all got from group two really gave us a push!
As we began our final test, the “Grinders” ran over and joined us so we could all do the plank together. This really energized the group again and we had some good plank times!
Solidarity is one of the factors that makes boot camp great. Working out in a group setting, everyone pulling for everyone else, really allows the individual to push past their limits. Push yourselves and each other and you will reach those goals!
In honor of today’s workout, a little history on where it came from.
Michelle and Lisa were two of our most popular boot campers last fall. We affectionately referred to them “The Europeans” since they were studying at Agnes Scott as exchange students and they were both from Europe.
All of our student boot campers really push it during boot camp and we have had some great and memorable Scotties join us each semester but Michelle and Lisa took it to another level.
From day one, they were usually the first boot campers to show up and often arrived earlier than the instructors. They were both very disciplined in filling out their log books and following the program; almost to the point of being competitive. The both always pushed it during the workouts and shared a great attitude. You would often hear then cheering on and motivating the other campers. When they traveled to Miami for a week during fall break, they did their own boot camp workouts each morning!
Neither Michelle nor Lisa had ever run a race before starting boot camp but you wouldn’t have known it during our long runs. When Michael Babcock came to do a run clinic and talked about the Serenbe 5K-15K Trail Run that takes place each November, the Europeans immediately set this race as a goal. And not the 5K…the 15K!
They both started running outside of boot camp and would run with instructors on the weekends to increase their miles. On race day, my wife and I drove Michelle and Lisa to Serenbe and they were very excited and enthusiastic about tackling this challenge. Paige Stanley,Susan Ray and I also ran the race and I think we would all agree that their energy was infectious.
The Europeans ran a fantastic race as Michelle placed 2nd in her age group and Lisa was not far behind. The best part was seeing how thrilled they were after the race. It was very gratifying to the instructors to see the Europeans embrace our program and meet such a challenging goal in the process.
Lisa and Michelle at Serenbe
Later, when boot camp was almost over for the year, Michelle and Lisa led the charge for the students to come up with their own workouts and extend boot camp another week. They were going to be leaving soon and wanted to continue working out until the very last day. The workout they came up with was dubbed “The European Invasion” and it was a doozy! The instructors immediately added it our repertoire and will always think fondly of Michelle and Lisa when we perform this workout.