Boot Camp, Week 1.

Taking the 2007 - 2008 winter off from training -- following a very active summer and fall -- was, in hindsight, a very bad idea.  Thanksgiving and Christmas took their toll, and the short days of January and February kept me mostly indoors.  But the upcoming races (Super Jock n Jill, Royal Victorian, and the Goofy Challenge) were not getting any shorter as time passed.  So I joined a fitness boot camp, hoping that it would kick my training into high gear.  Now that the first week is under my belt, I can tell you that it is some of the best money I've ever spent on fitness.  You cannot fail to dramatically improve your fitness in this sort of program (as long as you don't drop out).  Some of the highlights I've identified are:

• Participants meet five, three, or two days per week.  (I'm in the five day program.)
• Sessions are a full 60 minutes long (i.e., the sessions start and end on time).
• Cross-training, as opposed to just strength or just endurance.
• Motivation through group interdependence.
• Substantially less expensive than one-on-one training.