I’ve been going to the Boot Camp class at my gym every Monday night since just before Memorial Day, minus the Mondays of Memorial Day and July 4th because there was no class on those days.

So, at Boot Camp last night, we did a fitness test. The instructor says she likes to do them several times a year, just to keep track of how she is progressing.  I know I’ve gotten harder/better/faster/stronger since starting the class, but this was the first time I was able to take stock and measure how I was doing.

When I heard the words “fitness test” I immediately had a traumatic flashback of taking the Presidential Fitness Test back in elementary and middle school.  I always did terribly during that portion of the year in gym.  I wasn’t a particularly fit kid and I certainly couldn’t do a pull-up.  I also was (and am) a miserably not flexible person, and it was humiliating when the boys were more flexible than I was.  And the worst–the WORST–was the mile run.  One year I did decently enough on all the fitness tests to achieve the “National Award,” which is sort of an honorable mention for the not really fit kids.  The high point of that year was my jogging-walking a mile in under eleven minutes.  The track at Pine View was a quarter of a mile, and I still remember the shame of being lapped by those mutants who could run a six or seven minute mile.  GUYS!  Stop showing off.  Pine View is a school for the Intellectually Gifted, athletic prowess isn’t our thing so, you know, stop trying so hard.

Luckily the Boot Camp Fitness Test didn’t involve any mile runs, but pull-ups did happen.  Sigh.

So here is the break down! I want to make it public so that I will be accountable for the next time we do a fitness test in Boot Camp. I imagine it will probably be around December or so, so I’ll update then!  At that point y’all can either go “Woo yay you!” or “Stop being a sloth!” depending on how the numbers go.

The format of the fitness test was to do as many repetitions of each exercise in a minute or thirty seconds, depending on the exercise.  The instructor also emphasized proper form rather than speed, so I made sure to really concentrate on my form which kept me moving a little more slowly.

So, here is the breakdown:

1) Push-ups, one minute. I did 12 “real” push-ups and 21 “knee” push-ups
2) Squats, one minute. I did 45 squats.
3) Tricep Dips, one minute. I did 40 tricep dips.
4) Sit-ups, one minute. I did 20 sit-ups (bleh, need to work on that!)
5)Alternating jumping lunges. I did 45 lunges.
6) Plyometric push-ups (push-ups where you do a little hop off the ground during the push-up), thirty seconds. I did 19, but had to do most of them on my knees, lame.
7) Box jumps (jumps where you bring your knees up to your chest, or as high as they will go), thirty seconds, I did 20 box jumps.
8 ) V-Ups. A Pilates-type move where you lift your upper half and your legs and balance into a V. Thirty seconds. I did 10 V-Ups.
9) Squat jumps, one minute. I did 39 squat jumps.
10) Pull-ups. No time limit on this. I did three but I was assisted by a buff manly type who sort of supported my feet. None of the other girls in my rotation group could do an unassisted pull-up either, so it is definitely a future goal!
11) Arm raises, I had about 15 pounds on the bar, thirty seconds, I did 15 arm raises.
12) Rows, I had 20 pounds on the bar, one minute, I did 30 of these.

And that’s it! The instructor provided pens and paper so we could write everything down. I’m excited to stick with boot camp and do this test again in a few months. I hope to see an improvement!

PS:  I drove by a Jenny Craig the other day and saw Carrie Fisher’s latest picture (she’s their newest celebrity rep).  She’s lost 50 pounds and now weighs 130 and, of course, looks great.  She’s going to be at Dragon*Con and I cannot wait to see her in person.  She has a lot to be proud of!