Fall is my favorite season, even though I live in north Florida and weather-wise, we don’t really get a Fall; it’s all about the image of Fall!  From back-to-school to football season, Fall has always felt like the start of a new year to me. Sure, it’s still August, and the temperatures are regularly in the 90’s with insane humidity, but the FEELING of fall is here in all its glory. Every new football season brings hope for the next national title for my favorite team, the Florida State Seminoles, which also brings long Saturdays of tailgating and friends—which I just love!  Unfortunately, I also LOVE tailgate food & adult beverages! Old habits die hard, but maybe, just maybe, they can at least wither-down some if not completely die.

Last weekend I was out of town, celebrating both my anniversary and the 40^th birthday of a good friend. I completely over-indulged, some with intent, some just because…and I paid the price! My tummy was not pleased for about 2 days…so I guess that means my body really is adjusting to the healthier & smarter changes I’ve been making the past few months. Eating rich foods and too many adult beverages really threw me off my game! Lesson learned! Not that I was totally bad, the hubby and I did start Saturday morning with an hour and half walk through the small historic town we stayed in—which was great.  Then the grill and snacks took over! C’est la vie! When I returned, I jumped back on track and attended my 6am bootcamp class Monday morning. I have learned to not become despondent after such things, just get back at it. It’s a minor setback at best.

This week will mark week 4 of 8 for Tabata Bootcamp and I think my halfway assessment will be positive. Clothes are fitting better, my muscles are sore, but starting to show themselves, and getting through those 6 am classes has definitely made me more productive the rest of the day. The struggle to make my upper body un-weak is a daily battle, but I feel just a wee-bit stronger every single day and this pushes me forward.

 Sharing the Fitness

I am 15 days into my 8-week Tabata Bootcamp and I have learned, that while I remain optimistic, I sure do have some seriously weak areas...like my shoulders, and my knees…. and my core! <insert semi-painful smirk here>  However, YES!  I am still powering my way through the workouts, maybe not at as full-intensity as I’d like—the jumping-stuff is still a challenge, but I try! One of the things I really like about this class is the size of the group. Large enough at 20 people to help “push” myself  but small enough to feel like a team sharing the hard work and results and even some fun!

I am also trying not to cross the fine line of pushing to gain strength vs. pushing and causing myself injury! Which is a small miracle considering I currently know three people in boots for various foot/ankle injuries!

What I am taking away as I enter week 3 of 8, is that I am far more aware of my physical self; I’m definitely drinking more water and I am making better food choices. It helps that my husband has a killer garden going right now!  There are also some muscles in my arms that I think are coming of out years of hibernation—hooray! That Seminole chop might look a lot better this season without a jiggly arm!

Surprising new development—a few friends that are not part of my bootcamp classes have asked me to workout with them! If that doesn’t scream results, what does? Here I am, being inspired by so many other people at various levels, it somehow didn’t occur to me I might be inspiring someone else myself! How cool is that?

Whats the big deal about The Big 4-0?

Apparently 1972 & 1973 were awesome years! WHY? Because it appears every good friend I have has hit the big 4-0 this past year or will before the year is out! Of course, not a one of them looks a day over 30, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! I remember when I was just a young thing and my opinion on turning 40 was very different! It seemed so OLD and now that I am in my 40’s I’m can hardly believe it. How did this happen? How come I still feel all of 30? I thought I would be in a different place in life, but apparently life had other plans for me! Of course, times are also different, but I still truly believe my friends are aging pretty darn well.

Now, it might be due to a certain resistance to aging! Sure, we all have the grown-up responsibilities of family, work, kids, etc. However, we can still out-tailgate most 20-somethings—we just have a wee bit longer recovery time! It all comes down to attitude, there are a ba-zillion sayings on aging, but truly, you are only as old as you feel.

Check the news, there are 60-70-80-year olds hitting the gym daily, starting new romances, & learning new technologies! It’s a wonderful thing to embrace your age and use the wisdom & experiences of life to live a full life as long as possible! I definitely plan to stick around long enough to annoy the next generation, do you?