Day 1 of finals week began with a fitness evaluation.  The finalist signed up for a 4pm, 530pm or 7pm session at the Ice Forum in Duluth, GA.  I was in the 7pm group.
 
Fitness evaluation day was designed to establish the physical fitness level of the finalists.  Led by Atlanta Thrashers’ trainer Ray Bear, we participated in a challenging but doable fitness evaluation.
 
During our warm up, we use a ladder painted on the floor to get our heart rate up.  Ray Bear had us perform various drills targeting our coordination and agility.  I know… a ladder painted on the ground does not seem like a big deal, but that was the most intimidating ladder I have ever seen!  At any given moment there were people (myself included) trying not to fall off the ladder, struggling to stay in the lines and even tripping on the lines which, once again, were PAINTED ON THE FLOOR!  Who said dancers were coordinated?!?!
 
After making it through the terrifying warm up we began the evaluation.  Ray Bear divided our group in half; and each group had a series of three exercises to complete in four minutes.  My group started with a core challenging exercise, pull ups and running as fast as we could on a treadmill with a 12% incline.  Each exercise had multiple repetitions and forced us to push through the shaking and the burn.
 
Are you asking yourself,  “How did they run as fast as they could on a set treadmill?”  Let me tell you.  We all learned on that day that treadmills do not have to be plugged in to work you out.  The equipment was preset on a 12% incline and then turned off.  We had to make the treadmill go with our own power…no help from electricity. Although we only did this for 5 seconds with a 25 second break (5 times) we all agreed that 5 seconds never seemed so long!
 
The second set of exercises started with quick feet on a step about 1.5” off the ground, one minute of push ups and lunges with a knee lift on a Bosu ball.  Again each of these exercises had several repetitions and challenged our cardio, strength and core stability.
 
When it was all over, we were all still standing and smiling!  No one got sick or fell out and Ray Bear expressed that he was impressed with each person’s fight and determination. 
 
Congratulations to all the finalist on a great fitness evaluation!  It was a great start to an intense uphill week.  Stay tuned for the boot camp and dance class update…that is if I can move my arms to write after it is over….