Plyo-what?

So Jillian Michaels and I have officially divorced. Maybe I'll flirt with her again in the future when I'm too lazy to go to the gym.

Thanks to Groupon, I discovered this small, women’s gym a couple miles from my house. The Groupon I bought gave me two weeks of Bootcamp classes for around $30 (6 classes in total). My first thought was, “I’m not going to see any results in two weeks, so maybe it’s not even worth it.” My next thought was, “Well, it’s only $30, and it’s better than sitting on my butt every night.” So I bought the Groupon. If you’ve never tried groupon – look it up, and sign up immediately. It’s amazing!

4 weeks later, I’m still taking bootcamp classes 3 times a week, and I love it! For those of you in the advertising industry, yes…I am the perfect target. Make a commercial, give me a coupon, stand on the sidewalk in a ridiculous costume waving a giant sign– and I’m likely to try it.

After the first two weeks of classes and some conscious eating decisions, I lost 5 pounds! I don’t really look any different (at least I don’t think I do), but I feel better. I feel a little stronger, healthier, energized, and most significantly, I feel more motivated to continue with an exercise routine and healthy eating habits. I’ve got another 4 weeks of bootcamp to go, and who knows, maybe I’ll keep signing up if I like the results I’m getting.

A typical bootcamp class is a combination of weight training, body resistance training, and some cardio here and there. I’ve done so many squats and push-ups in the last few weeks I could cry.  The great thing about the class is that there are only a handful of girls in it, all about my age, and the instructor is wonderfully encouraging but not a crazy drill sergeant. In fact, because it’s a smaller gym, the instructor knows everyone by name and always makes everyone feel so welcome. Makes for a very comfortable, low-pressure environment.

Also, just as I was getting tips from friends about using protein supplements to help me recover from workouts, my instructor gave me a bunch to try for free! Well, “free” in that I already paid for the classes and this was a bonus. I used to be SO sore after every workout, and now, I’m hardly ever sore. Why didn’t I know about this until now!? Clearly I wasn’t paying attention in health class during high school. (And clearly I’m not the athletic type – understatement of the year.)

Now I’m attempting to add some running into my routine, and I have never, EVER, been a runner. It sounds torturous to me, but for some reason I’m inclined to try it lately. I welcome any and all advice in this area, as I know many of my friends out there are crazy athletic marathon runners.  

For starters, I need to get new tennis shoes. Mine are quite literally falling apart. Any suggestions?