"Boot Camp"

One of the benefits of my new part-time job at the YMCA is a free membership. Taekwondo and Cardio Kick are my preferred forms of exercise, so I do much outside of that (except lifting weights, which I had not been keeping up with -hello New Year's resolution!). But I did take a couple of classes- one of which, was a Spinning/Boot Camp class last Friday's from 5:30-7pm. No, that's not a typo...an hour and a half! My new boss looked at me like I was insane when I said that I was going to do it. (a look which I've become way too accustomed to seeing from people!) It started out with about 20 minutes of Spinning (an exercise bike class with variations in position and resistance), then 30 minutes or so of "boot camp," then more spinning. The boot camp portion consisted of combinations of different types of push-ups, ab exercises, jogging, "mountain climbers" etc. When the rotation of these was complete, and class members would breath a momentary sigh of relief, we'd do another, then another, then...well, I lost count. After boot camp, it was back upstairs for more Spinning for the rest of class time. I've been exercising faithfully, for most of my life, but I know that I would not have been able to get through such an intense workout if I didn't do Taekwondo on a regular basis. All of the push-ups, sit-ups, drills, free sparring, punching, kicking, well...everything, is the most thorough workout a person could get. Taekwondo gives me the strong legs, arms, abs, etc. to push my limitations, conquering psychical challenges that I would never have thought possible before. But I can't forget, perhaps the most important thing of all - a strong mind!