Monday, July 20, 2009
Day 1
Up at 5:30 – pitch black and a mild 80 degree morning!

Today’s schedule:
- 6:15 am Meet
- 6: 30 am Hike
- 9:30 Breakfast
- 10:15 Lecture on calorie burning
- 11:45 am Stretch class
- 12:45 pm Lunch/break
- 1:15 pm Workshop on calculating calorie burn
- 2:00 pm Intro to circuit training
- 2:30 pm Circuit training
- 3:30 pm Step class
- 4:30 pm Aerobics in the pool
- 5:30 pm Dinner
- 6:15 pm Lecture on calories/carbos/protein

Hike
The meeting was like a first prom – everybody comparing water bottles and checking out each other’s Camelbak water irrigation systems – but after a briefing on the route, we were off in vans to the foothills. The actual hike was great – 4.5 miles – first couple of miles a fairly gentle climb but undulating so you got to catch your breath every so often on the down side; the last couple of miles however, was a 1,0000 ft climb straight up. I managed a respectable 1 hour 15 minutes with Betsy not far behind for us both to finish in the top third. The scenery of course was spectacular and it was great chatting to everyone that you walked with for a while and either passed or fell behind depending on the pace. There were guides all along the way making sure that you didn’t get lost and it was great to see that final guide at the top of the ridge.
Most people walked part of the way back down the hill (some ran both ways, but we’re ignoring such crash displays of health and energy) and then vans took us back to Fitness Ridge. Breakfast was scrambled eggs and ham on an English muffin with a bowl of fruit – 400 calories. Notwithstanding the exertion, it was surprisingly sufficient.

Lectures/Workshops
The lectures on burning calories and the calorific content of most foods was sobering (well it would have been had we had the good fortune to be drunk). A bit depressing to realize the amount of effort that has to go into burning up all those calories, but we all know it. We all know that 30 minutes on the treadmill burns off only about 100 calories which is much less than glass of orange juice you consume immediately afterwards. One of the trainers had an interesting saying – lose weight at the dinner table; gain fitness in the gym. So, keep exercising but if you really want to lose weight, you really have to eat less.

Exercise Classes
The hike turned out to be the easiest part of the day. The Stretch class was the hardest for me – I’m just so inflexible (as those who have worked with me can attest to) and it didn’t help having india rubber girl as the instructor – just where did her leg go, and will she ever be able to restore it to it’s rightful position in the universe. The Circuit Training was intense with effort spent on 30 different pieces of equipment in one hour. The disco-isn’t-dead Step Class was a hoot as well as John, our Bebe clad instructor, but why does the endless loop of Gloria Gaynor/Donna Summer cover versions have to be so loud? The Water Aerobics class in the pool at the end of the day was great just because we were in the pool, but I had absolutely no control over my legs and arms under water. Have you ever tried to do reverse jumping jacks in the deep end.

Close
Lunch was something on a tortilla. Dinner was chicken and a mysterious sauce over whole grain couscous which Betsy had to miss she was so exhausted and narrowly missed throwing up in the pool, a social faux pas that would have been hard to recover from. I hope that after a long night’s sleep that she’ll be fine for tomorrow.
It’s an interesting experiment: 1200 calories and 6 hours of exercise a day but we’re determined to see it through. My biggest fear is that we’re going to be incredibly boring when we get back. If you thought Prius owners were smug, wait until you meet Fitness Ridge alumni.