The Get Fit NH Bootcamp finisher… is supposed to finish you! Both last nights and tonights Finishers were not for the faint. Of course by the end, the lack of oxygen to the brain may have made you faint! It’s always a good class and entertaining at Bootcamp when someone ‘boots’ (their dinner) though 
Just kidding!
No really, one of the girls tonight was aggravated after the finisher. She is frustrated that she cannot make it through the finishers. That’s ok! it means you’ve worked to your capacity. Those of you Newbies, shouldn’t be ‘breezing’ through the finishers… and really even us ‘seasoned’ shouldn’t be having an easy time of it. If we are… we aren’t working hard enough, or fast enough. Yesterdays planks/plank jacks/pushup holds/pushup jacks, should have had you feeling it in your abs and legs today… ‘yes Cindy-Lou Who, there really is a muscle there’. Todays jumping jacks/squat thrusts/ calf bounces/ star jumps/more jumping jacks, was a sucking wind, leg burner the first time through. The second time, was the feel your heart in your throat, quivering- you thought you were going skiing tomorrow, can’t feel my legs finisher.
While talking to Kathy, she did everything right. She was able to make it through the first round, but had to stop half way through the second, caught her breathe, and finished the rest of it. The key there is to rest a couple of seconds and get right back into it and finish!
But, that’s how we should attack the whole workout, not just the finisher. Dean and Nancy will always tell you not to push past or through the pain but, to take a 5 second breather and then go back at it. Or they will tell you to do a different variation of the exercise, especially if there is pain. Every exercise has low, medium, and high impact variations. It’s up to you to determine which is best for you. I am the Queen of Variation… you will notice an array of colored bands at my feet, or several different weights and kettlebells surrounding me.Variety is the spice of life, and I’m all about spice! I push myself… so like a demented demon, I start with heavy weights/bands until the muscles quiver, then knock it back a notch depending how long the timing and how many reps. Sometimes I knock it back a couple of notches, tonight in fact. I started overhead presses with 35′s, then 30′s, then 25′s… come on, 40 seconds doesn’t sound like a long time til you are pressing it over your head repeatedly. Not to mention the threat of dropping a 35 pound weight on my noodle, didn’t appeal to me. How do you know if you need to knock it back? If you’re really struggling and your form is wavering, knock it back. If Dean or Nancy say ‘go lighter’, then, do it. Otherwise, you atleast gotta try increasing the load or you aren’t doing YOU any favors. Incase you’re new to this concept… it is all about YOU!
Ok, it’s time for this Extreme Queen of Variation to get off her soapbox now. Go Big or Go Home! 
Blog you later.
gretchen
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