holiday bootcamp breakdown

i briefly mentioned bootcamp in my last post but i wanted to dedicate one whole post to this challenging experience. i was probably in a bit of a rut a couple of months ago. nothing too serious but i was more settled into life here and working from home left me with a lot of time to myself and not a real "set" schedule. i was still working out pretty much daily including runs with Lila or a yoga class. by a lot of people's standards, i was still a crazy workout lady but i could tell i wasn't bringing my "A" game by my own standards.

as you know, i have practiced yoga at Corepower for a couple of years now and have been familiar with their bootcamp program especially when i took 6am classes, i would see the bootcampers in their sneakers and not the usual yoga attire sweating out during circuit training. i never really thought much about participating in the program until a couple of months ago when one of my favorite instructors mentioned it after a Yoga Scuplt class. there was a free class to give you an idea of the bootcamps so i joined and quickly signed up afterwards. i knew this is just what i needed to jumpstart my energy and get myself back into a better routine.

the camp started the Sunday after Tgiving. yes right after a weekend of stuffing myself full of food and drink. i mounted up and prepped myself to start the camp with plenty of good for you foods and the right mindset. camp officially start on monday and i set off on my three week journey. on monday, wednesday, friday, and saturday, we had scheduled workouts and then were supposed to do a second workout to keep ourselves moving and from getting sore. on tuesdays and thursdays we were supposed to also do a workout which for me was usually a strong powerful yoga class. my second workout of the day was typically a run/walk on the beach or sun salutations and meditation in the morning. we were also supposed to keep a food journal which i was good at in the beginning using my fitness pal but towards the end when work got busy, i wasn't as good at food journaling but i still watched what i ate. there were lots of green smoothies! sundays were a day of rest although that was somewhat thrown off with outdoor hikes but did include a therapeutic massage from a kundalini yoga instructor and foam rolling.

i stuck to the program although i could have probably pushed it a little harder on my some of my second workouts. work has been crazy busy and while i can't use this as an excuse, i should realize that despite work being insanely busy, i still found time to work out twice daily! i always feel a low after the end of a training and wonder where will i go from here? i know that this has truly jumpstarted me back on a healthier lifestyle. after a strict workout regimen, i realize that when i workout and eat right, i have much more energy and things start to flow. i was in tears the morning before my last workout since i had re-read my blogs from christmas last year. i am in such a better place. i am in such a healthier place. and while this holiday season has been stressful and sad at times, i committed to myself and found a the best way to deal.

feeling like wonderwoman on a friday superhero bootcamp party

merry christmas to me! foam roller from santa!

namaste

melissa

Taco Tuesday!

I know that doesn't sound very yoga related but I thought it was just a cute way to name today's post. I will get to the workout portion of the post momentarily... 

I have been going at the workouts pretty hard the past week or so. The thought of wearing a strapless dress in my bro's wedding has slightly spurred this but well it's also to further my career! I have been scooting my booty all around town trying to hit up every Yoga Studio possible. I started practicing at a studio, Yoga Six, that offers six free classes within the first two weeks of joining so I have been taking advantage of this as well. There are several Yoga6 locations in SD as well as in St. Louis. After talking to the Manger I also learned they just leased space in Chicago. I am loving this studio so I am happy to get the word out on the Windy City streets early... be on the lookout fellow Chi Yogis! I wanted to check out the Yoga Sculpt class and today was the only day it fit in my very busy social calendar so I woke up bright and early to get my sculpt on. I knew it was going to be a tough day since I also teach Zumba tonight. If you aren't familiar with the Yoga Sculpt format, it's basically Yoga bootcamp. Yep. If either one of those weren't enough. And it's in a hot room. It's an amazing workout especially at this studio. I am obsessed! But my body not so much. After teaching again tonight, I remember why athletes start their careers so early. It's not that bad but I am a little out of practice on the two a days and need to use tomorrow for some restorative yoga to recover. Midway through YogaSculpt as I did my jumping jacks I started to feel nervous about the day's activities when I realized, wait this is awesome! I am lucky enough that I am alive and that my body can do two workouts a day! I started smiling ear to ear as I finished my horse pose lunges. The teacher caught my grin and smiled back but also probably thought I was slightly delirious. I finished my Zumba class sweaty with a smile so now I am headed out for Taco Tuesday and I damn well deserve it!  

namaste

Melissa