July 30- End of Week Four- Wiegh In Day

So today was weigh in Day....9.5 pounds for a grand total of 30 pounds. I miss my companion from last week Rosie and I am so happy that she did so well. I have realized that it is not all about the weight. The weight means nothing if one is not happy and content with themselves. Learning how to say no to people and not worry if they will be mad at you is a difficult concept but one I need to embrace. Today I woke up with bad shoulder pain and my hip replacement side has developed some inflammation of my piriformis muscle...really painful. I took an epsom salt at 6am prior to my weigh in. Today boot camp was brutal. It was just me and Molly with John. We had a series of stations that had a very thick heavy rope and two 40 pound kettle bells then I rode my bike home. I had PT with Sarah and she decided to make it leg day. She makes me do alot of jumping. I had to jump on a tire and not a little car tire but a truck tire and then she makes me do lateral jumps over some bars. I tried to explain that large men should not be jumping over things she just smiles and says keep going. It was a long day and I was grateful for my massage and then my toughest workout with Halah the therapist. Bottom line is I survived another day and I am growing in certain ways that I hope will pay HUGE dividends. Thanks for all the support.

Saturday July 28- Rosies Last Day

Today is Rosies last day. It was nice to have a friend here that was going thru this with me and someone who competitively motivated me. Rosie took the morning off to pack...lame excuse....lol I had a brutal beach boot camp followed by a 16 mile bike ride and then Core foam rolling. I do not know if any of you have ever foam rolled but that shit hurts. They say that it is good for you but it hurts more then the damn bike ride... Anyway Rosie wrote some parting words...So I survived my week at "Camp Kill Yourself" and am in the Tampa airport waiting to return home. I lost 4 pounds and 4 inches this week (2 around my waist which is nice) and found that I am not that far off from my optimal weight and fitness level. I also found out that: I like kayaking, I am good at pilates, kick boxing irritates my back, there are bicycle seats that don't hurt my butt, food choices make a huge difference in how you feel and perform, I can survive on 1200 calories a day, I really like having a chef prepare all my meals, epsom salts really work, I can easily adapt to weekly massage, I remember how much I love to play tennis, was turned onto cross fit training and many other things too numerous to itemize. The primary takeaway though was a great deal of respect for Ira, what he has undertaken and how committed he is to achieving his goal. Getting up at 6:15 to work out everyday was not on my vacation wish list and I could've easily slept in many days. But, Ira encouraged me to go to all the activities and participate fully. He was signed up for more activities than I was and attended them all. Did I mention how hot florida is in the summer? I am not sure which is worse, the blaring sun until 9 pm or the relentless humidity (who am I kidding they both suck). But exercising under those conditions for 6 hours a day is torture. Yet he didn't miss a single session and he diligently stuck to the meal plan. I was starving most of the time and accosting the other campers for their extra food (I still can't believe Ira threw out that oatmeal!). It was one of the more rewarding, educational (and costly) vacations I have ever taken. But it was great to challenge myself, succeed, feel better and have more energy. One week was plenty for me. Don't know how Ira is going to make it through 6 weeks! If anyone deserves to achieve their goal its him. Get there! Stay there

Friday July 27- The end of Week 3- Weigh In-Monday

I am actually feeling stronger today after a slow start. I woke up not feeling well and was going to take the am off but after the van left I was able to rally myself and drive over and participate in the beach boot camp. We then went swimming and due to my shoulder all I can do is the breast stroke but I figured it would be harder just to kick with a kick board. I ended up doing 400yds (40 laps) and then I had PT with Doug.The most relaxing part was Yoga. We do restorative yoga which is very relaxing. We had a nice cooking class and I learned how to make spagetti squash. Then Rosie and I went shopping. My weakness is ice cream so when Rosie went to get ice cream I went to the car and put on the air as it was hot hot hot. Then I had to come back for a session with Halah. She is my toughest workout as she taxes my brain. I think that she is helping at least I hope that she is. Anyway I am excited as I will be having dinner with some great friends tomorrow but I am said that Rosie is leaving. My next guest is Dr Aaron Solomon who arrives on Tuesday. Big weigh in on Monday...Wish me luck.

July 25-26 Shoulder Holding up

Thanks to all those who contacted me regarding my shoulder. Thank God for Emily my massage therapist. She worked her magic on me and I am still going hard. Wed and Thursday have been very hard. Rosie and I are the only ones attending the majority of events so it like have having personal trainers all day long. Wednesday am we had a beach boot camp and learned what a "slush pipe" is. I can assure you it was not pleasant. Our beach boot camps are rough. I have never been a person who could jog and with a hip replacement you are not supposed to but do you think my trainers give a shit.....hell no but tats ok as now I can do interval jogging...not much but it is still progress. After boot camp we went on a 14.7 mile bike ride and then my favorite restorative yoga. What a relief but I fell asleep the last 15 minutes..it was really nice. Then we had pilates my favorite class...not. That shit is hard but Rosie was a natural at it. Then I had PT with John you know how those military types are they do not take no for an answer. Then back to my room for Emily to put me back together again and keep me going...what a blessing. Thursday is our late day and then we meet with Gay the nutritionist and we work out in the afternoon. I had PT with Doug. He likes numbers lots of them....He gave me 6 stations and told me I had to do 300 reps...yes I said 300 reps. But I did survive. Then we had kickboxing and NO ONE showed. Rosie needed a break so it was back to back PT with Doug. That's right 1 1/2 hours of personal training. We then went kayaking and needless to say my kayak was not behaving and I was out there for a long time but I guess it was worth it. I did get to kayak near some dolphins. Came back for Cardio Tennis and since it was only Rosie and I we got to have a little fun while still getting a great workout. Needless to say I am still hanging in there and am nervous about my Weigh in on Monday. Time for a epsom salt bath... Thanks for all the support you have no idea how much it means.

Tuesday July 24- May Not Make it

Rosie and I had a tough day today but we both survived. It is funny watching her survive on 1400 calories. I have re-injured my right shoulder. I have known for a long time that I need to have my AC joint scoped and I continually put it off. I am in some rough pain and I am hoping that it does not cut me short of my goal. The therapists have done a great job keeping me going and I will see how tomorrow goes. Sorry for such a short post but I am tired and in pain. Good Night

July Monday July 23- Start of week 3

Hello everybody. Today I have no written my blog but rather have a quest writter. My new camper is an old frind from HS Rose Marie Abate Moeller. I am sure that you will enjoy her posting. I asked Ira if I could write the blog this evening so that his followers can get a fresh look at what he is going through down here through someone else's eyes. Earlier this year when I was speaking to Ira about the journey on which he was embarking, it sounded great to me, just what I needed to kick start my goal of giving myself the gift of great health and good form for my 49th birthday. So I signed up for a week. After all, how hard could it be for me? I work out regularly, eat right, and drink plenty of water. So this wouldn't be a huge departure from my normal life. Maybe I'll even learn something. Well I did learn something that I am not as fit as I thought I was! Today was my first day. It started at 7:15 with a 4 mile bike ride to a local park, where the trainers (who arrived at the park before us because they drove) had ample time to devise a series of circuits that would challenge every part of our body. Not only did the circuits challenge muscles in my body I didn't know existed, but, do you have any idea how hot it is in Florida in July? Hot enough to make you hurl up your breakfast (which I did after lugging 2 huge kettle bells back and forth across the park, and threw a 25 pound medicine ball against a wall while doing squats, pushups, dips, etc.) The torturous work out was followed by a 4 mile bike ride back to the camp (against the wind), 1 hour of aerobics, then an hour of weightlifting and finally a break. 30 minutes for lunch when they give us our ration of 300 calories and then back to work doing various forms of strength and aerobic training and then stretching through 2:30 when they gave us another ration of food. Did I mention that meals are: breakfast at 6, lunch at 10:30, dinner at 2:30 and then you get a protein shake at 6 pm? I was so hungry after lunch I convinced another camper to give me the leftover food she had in her refrigerator. When we got to her condo, we found that the cleaning staff had thrown the extra food away so everyone can stay on their 1200 calorie a day diet. I gotta give Ira a lot of credit, he did even more training than I did and several other activities that I didn't. I have to admit that I had trouble keeping up with him in the morning during the boot camp. As I sit here icing my shoulder and back and licking the cup that holds my protein shake so I get the benefit of every single calorie I am entitled to, I must say that I have a newfound respect for Ira and what he is putting himself through. The program is grueling, unforgiving and continuous. His commitment and determination are inspiring. I am hoping I make it through the next few days; I can't imagine doing this for 6 weeks like he is. Time for bed now, so I can get up at 6 am and do it all again!

Sunday July 22- 3 Weeks Done

It is Sunday morning and I am sitting in an Epsom salt bath resting my sore aching body. As many of you know I am competitive and do set goals for myself. I have a lofty goal while here at Core. I would like to lose between 45-50 pounds, so the trainers are pushing me hard. I realize that whatever I lose makes me a winner but it is nice to have goals. I have not written since Wednesday as I was just beat. Thursday is our late day as we have nutrition in the morning and we end with cardio tennis. I decided to do an extra cardio session(45 min)not knowing that no other campers would show up to kick boxing and I would have a private session with Doug. He just plain kicked my ass. After that I had a PT session with Sweet Sarah whom you know by now is not really sweet at least in the gym. Then I decided to attend water aerobics. I said to myself how hard could that be.....needless to say Sarah was teaching and she never got in the water just barked orders like a drill Sargent. So needless to say after two PT sessions and two cardio sessions and water aerobics and then 2 hours of cardio tennis I was ready for bed. Friday was more of the same. Saturday I woke up sick and could barely eat breakfast but I did and I went. We started with a beach boot camp. I have now graduated to a 30 pound kettle bell as my BFF. We had a series of drills that included suicides ( yes I did run) and squats and a whole host of things. The trainers are creative as it is tough to keep coming up with creative workouts without getting bored. They do a great job. After that workout we had a 15 mile bike ride. I did finally get sick and lost it. I found out latr that my trainers had a bet on whose exercise I would "Lose it" with. "Sweet Sarah" was the winner. Estée from Brooklyn left Saturday and Maria from Curaçao and Jackie from Tampa leave on Tuesday. We got one new camper Rosie. Today if my bones will allow I will get a little culture at the Dali museum. Thanks for all the support.