“What the hell am I doing to myself? “ That’s what I was asking myself Saturday morning at the end of an intense workout session.
For some reason – still unknown to me – I agreed to ride my bike down Longboat Key just to attend a Beach Bootcamp on Lido Beach.
My pal Katie G and I set out for the ride at about 7:15am knowing we had only 45 minutes to get to Lido Beach…12 miles away…in time for the 8:00am bootcamp.
We were riding pretty fast – and I felt like I was dying during most of the ride. My legs were burning & I was out of breath! Katie didn’t seem to be having any problem though & she sailed ahead of me for most of the ride! (I may or may not have called her a bitch several times for this…)
Surprisingly though, I managed to maintain a pace in the 16-17mph range almost the whole time, even against a pretty serious headwind! (Yes, Longboat is always windy & I know to expect this now…)
We even turned out a nice SPRINT at the end of our ride!
Once we got to Lido we racked our bikes & headed towards the sand for a plan old ass kicking workout on the beach courtesy of this lady:
She may be small…but Sweet Jesus she is MIGHTY! She had a course set up for us that we tackled three times through:
- 1 minute plank with knee touches + 25 jumping jacks
- 15 squats with an 11lb medicine ball (squat til the ball touches the ground & then lift it overhead when you stand)
- 5 pushups + 10 mountain climbers, x 2
- run through little hoops (simulating a tire run)
- 10 high knees + 10 “butt kicks”
- 10 twisting pushups (1 pushup, twist to side plank, 1 pushup, twist to other side plank)
- 10 sumo squats (1 squat = left side + right side)
- High Plank with “toe-to-hand” twists
- 10 mogul jumps (1 jump = jump left + jump right)
I swear…I. Nearly. Died. Three. Times.
I was absolutely amazed at how HARD this course was. It’s painfully obvious to me that while I may be fit when it comes to running and cycling, I am severely lacking when it comes to functional fitness (or what I call functional fitness anyway).
The squats were really the only thing I didn’t struggle with. I had to modify the mountain climbers because they hurt my lower back, had to do knee pushups because I don’t have the strength for regular pushups, had to skip the toe-to-hand high planks and wanted to die during the mogul jumps.
And Katie G once again schooled me during this part of our workout…she’s evil I tell you!
When we were done we cooled off by floating in the water & then grabbed breakfast.
This was definitely an eye opening experience for me – Even though I was questioning myself during the workout, I think it’s safe to say I’ll be adding more bootcamp-like classes to my fitness routine!
WHAT ABOUT YOU: Are you a fan of bootcamp style classes? Or do you prefer to keep your cardio & strength training workouts separate?
Bootcamp is rough, bootcamp on the beach sounds even rougher and then you thought you bring it up a notch by riding to bootcamp… You are one tough chick!!!
I wish that made me a tough chick! But all of the breaks I had to take offset the bad-assed-ness of riding there.
I must really like torture, because that sounds like the best Saturday EVER.
It really was a great morning – I just felt so out of shape it made me feel like I was not going to survive!
OH! You are close to Longboat Key?! That’s where we are going for our anniversary in March. We rented a condo for the week.
Once the time comes closer, we should figure out a time to get together.
And I’ve never taken a boot class camp, they terrify me! But I do my own cardio + strength intervals. I rarely just have a strength or cardio workout, I always mix ‘em together.
Oh-em-gee!!! Yes, I live about 20min from Longboat Key!! (I’m on the mainland by the island just north of Longboat, Anna Maria Island.) I ride Longboat just about every weekend because it has 10 mile uninterrupted bike lane – and gorgeous scenery to boot! I would love to get together while you’re here – I was actually telling my husband (while making the “fire balls”) that you & Babyface were on my “must meet” list!
I took an 8-week bootcamp about a year and a half ago & loved it – but then couldn’t afford to do it anymore. I think I’m going to find a way to make it work now – especially because I never do circuits on my own.
SQUEE! That’s so exciting.
And I’m so happy to hear that Longboat Key is bike friendly. We just kinda randomly picked a nice looking condo in a non-spring break-y area. Our plan was to drive down, park the car for a week and rent bikes and bike everywhere.
You definitely picked a non-spring break-y island! You should be able to park & bike all week with no problem. There are shops all along the island & if you don’t like cycling on the road, there’s also a sidewalk the runs the entire length of the island!
You know, this “functional fitness” thing eludes me. I’m pretty sure I’m heart/lung healthy (since I run 3-4 times per week), but when it comes to weights and muscle strength, I’m hit or miss. I think bootcamp is a good way to keep that element included in the workout. My biggest problem is that I have trouble getting up early for bootcamp on weekdays.
So instead, I’ve got a personal trainer (through my gym) who is pretty awesome (and kicks my bootie).
It probably didn’t help that you biked 12 miles in 40 minutes before the workout – I bet your leg muscles were tired! Still, if you’re going to torture yourself with bootcamp, you picked a beautiful place to do it! And a quick dip in the ocean sounds like a great reward! Nice job!
That dip in the ocean just might have been the best part of the day!
I definitely have trouble getting up early for workouts (ANY workout) – my workout partner Katie was laughing at me because I was just getting out of bed when she got to my house. I was all groggy and barely awake & she was super perky! I’m SO not a morning person!
I love boot camps because they push me 100x harder than I would push myself! But I never did such a long bike ride beforehand!
Ah, I love bootcamps. So much fun- and I always feel able to just keep pushing, especially when there’s a competitive element.
Never been on a bootcamp, but I would LOVE riding my bike on Longboat Key. I envy the scenery down there.
Bootcamps are my favorite type of workout