Hi Gram,
Today was the first day of our fitness camp and I’m exhausted! 😴 I woke up early for our morning run, but luckily everyone wanted to walk. It was a quick pace and we went up and down a lot of stairs and hills, but overall I enjoyed the experience.

It’s a great group of people who welcomed the newcomers and chatted amicably the whole time. At one point, we rounded a corner and saw a set of stairs up to a temple that made David and I both think “oh, we’re not climbing up there are we?!” As it turns out, yes we did. I stopped to rest a couple times, but I reached the top then worked my way back down. That was a total of 128 steps.

I counted on my way up and verified on my way down. Monkeys lined the streets and walkways, providing entertainment as well.

Back at the facility, we consumed our morning batch of yogurt, oats and berries and washed it all down with a few glasses of ice cold water. Next up was an hour of calisthenics which nearly killed me, I’m sure. The coaches tempered the workout to each of our abilities, and everyone was just supportive. There was no shaming or anything negative, which made me want to try that little bit more. After a brief break, it was time for yoga. Our instructor was funny and entertaining as she led us through our routine. Her English wasn’t that good, so it was a lot of watching her and trying to mimic her actions, but she walked around and focused on each of us to help push a little further into a stretch or correct our posture.

Class ran over a little, so we all shuffled over to the cafe next door for a delicious curry chicken and brown rice lunch that they’d prepared for us. After lunch, I headed back to my bungalow to finish the questionnaire that I’d started the night before and took the chance to rest a little. The time flew by and suddenly, we were walking back to the gym mat. A HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) class was next on the docket. The veteran students told us that it would be a brutal 20 minutes, but not to worry because “it’s only 20 minutes.” The class consisted of 4 exercises. We alternated between the first 2 exercises four times, 20 seconds each with 10 seconds in between to switch between lying on our backs and standing up. A minute of rest in between, then we started the next two exercises in a similar fashion. Once that was done, we started over at the beginning. The exercises were relatively simple, a full body crunch and jumping jacks, then a leg rotation and running in place. It was absolutely brutal, though! We were all glad to be done and hopped in the pool to cool off and relax.

We had a little over an hour to lounge in the pool before having to dry off and head to our next class, my least favorite. Muay Thai training, a good cardio routine, was this last class of the day. Anxiety set in as the instructor wrapped our hands with a cloth tape, then fitted us with boxing gloves. I don’t like hitting things. I don’t like punching, I don’t like kicking, I don’t like having my hands bound up limiting my dexterity. I dislike machismo aggression, yelling, and acting tough. This was set to be an hour of all of that, with heat and humidity to top it off. I set my mind to just going through the motions and pushing through it. I gritted my teeth and practiced punching the bag for a while, wishing I could be anywhere else. The instructor called me to the mat and had me go through a routine with him of punches, kicks, knees and elbows that I managed to do with a little gusto. When my turn was done, I went back and half-heartedly punched the bag some more until a different instructor tried showing me a kick. When he sent me to the bag to practice, I gave it one attempt that sent a rage and hatred of the class and situation pumping through my veins.

Faced with the option of displaying my anger to my classmates and the teachers in an act I may not have been able to undo or walk away, I chose to strip off my gloves and wraps and get the hell out of there. I steamed off to my bungalow and worked to regain my composure. Recomposed and a little embarrassed, I joined my friends after class and explained why I’d chosen to leave. They understood and brushed it off as no big deal, making me like the place that much more. David and I did our check-in weights and body composition scores, then reviewed the reports with Klaus. I was happy to hear that my numbers are in the normal range for my age and weight, although I plan to increase the muscle and reduce the fat percentages over the next few months. I’m starting from a good spot and shouldn’t have trouble improving. Satisfied with the results, we headed off to dinner with our new friends. Chicken with tomatoes and spinach, and a slightly spicy dipping sauce filled our plates, and we were both glad that it was less spicy than lunch had been. Conversation was light, everyone tired from the day, so we said our goodbyes and I headed back to the bungalow for a quick shower and bed.