Scrolling through Facebook, an ad for a free bootcamp class at D1 Cincinnati appeared in my newsfeed, so I shared it on the udandi fan page asking if anyone had a recommendation. While I didn’t get feedback, Cindy offered to try it with me. We finally got a date on the books and showed up not knowing what to expect.
I watched a few of the bootcamp videos beforehand and convinced myself I’d have to be rolled out on a stretcher because I saw sprinting and jumping and that’s far outside my comfort zone.
We were told to arrive 10 minutes early to fill out a waiver, we didn’t see any personnel but we found the waiver and eventually met Coach Izak (or Ozzie as Cindy misheard), who got the group started while pointing out the facility to us. We joined in on laps, introductions, mobility drills and stretching. I made a grand impression by accidently kicking a classmate who walked behind me while stretching. She was probably thinking newbie tree truck legs doesn’t need a wide berth and *bam* there’s my leg.
At the far end of this 60-yard Astroturf field was a whiteboard with the whole workout written out and nearby we saw boxes of various heights, medicine balls, and kettle bells. The workouts are full body, but broken into several chunks, which I find helpful since I have a hard time remembering what’s next in addition to remembering to start right, not left (I’m left-handed). In between sets, we ran the field and once I got the hang of that, I could react a little faster and move aka not look like Slow Cousin Jimmy bringing up the rear!
As for the actual workout, I don’t remember it all but to start it was two rounds of box jumps, pistol squats, Supermans and slow mountain climbers on the medicine ball. There was enough equipment that everyone found a spot and didn’t have to wait for a turn. Cindy and I may have been the last to finish because we took that 2-second pause on Supermans and slow mountain climbers seriously. Or we were just slower than the regulars who admitted to attending 4 times a week and knew what was going on.
Cindy is a marathoner, I do cycling and some lifting (but not fast or timed), and we completed the whole hour workout with minimal modification (we did girl push-ups) so I was pretty proud of us!
Would I go again? Yes! They also offer a 6am-7am bootcamp so if I was able to alter my work schedule slightly, I would really consider it, if the price was right. Do I know the pricing structure? Not a clue. But a quick search on Google shows me at one time they had a Groupon-type offer.
Friends have asked me of all the gyms and studios around Cincinnati that I’ve shared, am I honest? Yes! The workouts, instructors or studios I haven’t liked, I’ve haven’t blogged about.
If you’re really curious, show up and do work!
