It's over, and here's the tale of the tape...

• Days since OBC began: 25
• Total pounds lost: 12.8 (is 201.4, was 214.2)
• Body Fat improvement: 4.3% (is 18.5%, was 22.8%)
• Mile time improvement: 2+ minutes! (is 6:29, was ~8:30)
• Pushups: 1 more (is 43, was 42)
• Situps: 10 more (is 34, was 24)
• Dips: 8 more (is 42, was 50)

I'll spare you the photos, but I can definitely tell a difference. Now I just have to figure out how to keep this going without bootcamp...

Well, I skipped my week three update, but I thought today would be as good as any to do another update. I'm at the middle of week four now (we get Friday off for the 4th). I only have two more session left, and I can definitely tell that bootcamp's made a difference.

So far the count is twelve pounds lost, and a significant visible impact on the love handles and spare tire. They aren't totally gone yet, but they are definitely on their way out. I've also gone from almost 23% (22.8%) body fat down to nearly 19% (19.2%) body fat during bootcamp. A significant improvement and pretty impressive considering it's really only been three weeks (+ one day) since I first took measurements.

Thursday morning we'll be doing PT testing again to see if we improved on our mile time, situps, pushups and dips. I'm anticipating a definite improvement in my mile time, but probably not as dramatic an improvement on the others. The bootcamp workouts really keep your blood pumping, they don't give you any breaks at all during the entire workout (which is a good thing) and involve alot of cardio. So much so that I'm often so tired from all the running around that I'm barely able to do the pushups and other strength building exercises when it's time to do them. As a result, I'm unsure how much I will really improve on the strength PT, but I will definitely improve my mile run, and here's how I know...

Each workout has a name, some of them are weird and hard to figure out. One's called "The Caterpillar", one's called "House of Pain", and yesterday's was called "Up Down". Well, today's had a pretty easy name: "The Long Run".

The long run started out innocently enough. We were told that the workout was "a surprise", and we started our warm-up by running just like always. Then we ran, and ran, and ran, and finally everyone figure out there was no warm-up - today was the long run. Well, I felt surprisingly good during the first two thirds of the run, keeping pace with the crowd, and even moving to the front a few times. They loop the group back on itself in circles now and then to allow the people in the back to catchup, which means that sometimes you may be at the front and find yourself at the back again suddenly after a loop. My goal for the first two thirds was to reach the front again by the next loop.

Since I'd run a very similar route two weeks ago for the 5K I did in Candler Park, I could tell immediately that I was doing better this time around. I ran well beyond the point where I'd had to stop and walk during the 5K.

...but then I suddenly found myself at the front of the pack, right behind Tim (I think it was Tim) the trainer who was the pace setter, running uphill. I knew he could tell I was behind him, and I felt him pick up the pace a little. I didn't want him to get away from me, so I kept pace and sped up too. By the time we reached the top of the hill it was time for a loopback again - down the hill and back up. That was the last you saw of Cameron pushing anything. I walked a little after that, but ran most of the last third of the run.

All in all, we did about 4.5 miles in about 45 minutes, for an average of about 10 minutes per mile - not too bad for someone who couldn't even run a whole 5K (3.1 miles) without walking just two weeks ago.

Well, I've survived a week of Operation Bootcamp and week two began this morning. I've done pretty well with following the workout and diet schedule. Thursday night I made it through an APWBWGTTD (Atlanta People With Blogs Who Get Together To Drink) meetup without drinking or eating junk, and Saturday night was out at Hand in Hand till nearly midnight frustrating our waitress by repeatedly asking for waters and diet cokes instead of my usual Paulaner Hefeweizen. I did still have a serious urge to visit the Majestic Diner at the end of the night and have some Food That Pleases (oh how it does please) but I managed to make it home without my Patty Melt and Hash Browns.

The workouts have been fairly consistent and on plan as well, including a bike ride on the Silver Comet Sunday and some meaningful time with the elliptical machine at my gym.

Best of all though, my weight and body fat percentage is definitely reflecting change. This morning, exactly 7 days after my initial weigh in, here are my new stats...

Now, I don't have any illusions that this rate of weight loss will continue during the program, but it's a great jump start and makes me very happy considering all the effort I've put into this so far.

The workouts continue to be tough, and I continue to be totally drenched and exhausted by the end. The instructors do a pretty good job of keeping everyone motivated and there are enough of them wandering around that it's really difficult to cheat during workouts without hearing someone call you out by name and get you back on track.

Next week includes a "Bring a Friend Day", and I've already asked a few people to come along. We'll see if anyone's brave enough to do it...

Yup - today I started a fitness bootcamp in Atlanta called Operation Bootcamp. The specific bootcamp I'm inflicting on myself is held at 6:00AM at Candler Park, but they are also held in other locations around Atlanta. I'll be doing this every weekday morning for 4 weeks, with the first Wednesday and the last Friday off.

Anyone who knows me knows that the first challenge for me is the 6:00AM start time. I'm very much not a morning person, but I've decided that's gotta change. If I expect big fitness changes, I have to make other changes too, and waking up early is going to have to be one of them.

Another change I'll have to make during this program is to start following the Body for Life meal program again, which involves eating six smaller meals a day, and carefully monitoring protein and carb portions during the course of the day. I've actually done the Body for Life Program before, so this isn't totally new. However - considering my fridge is typically pathetically bachelor-status-empty, this will require more organized trips to the grocery than I'm use to.

So today being the first day of bootcamp, everyone does a fitness test (to be repeated at the end also) to help give some metrics on what kinda shape you're in and ultimately what improvements you make by the end of the bootcamp. I've decided to post my stats at the start and end in the same way fellow bloggers Dean Saxe and Brandon Purcell have done during their bootcamp and Body for Life challenges. Bootcamp measures reps per minute and mile running time, the Body For Life program measures weight, body fat, and before/after shirtless photo. I'm including both sets below (holding back the photo for now - you are welcome)...

• One Mile: 8:17 (or 8:47, wasn't paying enough attention)
• Push ups: 42 (one minute)
• Sit Ups: 24 (one minute)
• Dips: 42 (one minute)
• Weight: 214
• Body Fat%: 22.8 (as measured by questionably accurate scale)

Depending on how inspired I am, I may post progress per week, or maybe just at the end. Hey, whaddya want?!? This is the first blog post in like 7 weeks!