I\u2019ve always been a runner. For most of my life, that\u2019s all I did for exercise, unless you count the jumping jacks and pushups before youth or high school football practices. After college, I very rarely saw the inside of a gym. If I did, it was primarily to ride a stationary bike or treadmill when the weather was too bad to run. Once in a blue moon, I\u2019d pick up some free weights for no real benefit since I\u2019m pretty sure I wasn\u2019t doing anything properly.<\/span><\/p>\n Of all people, it was my mom who said I should really get serious about adding some strength training and conditioning into my one-dimensional fitness routine. She started working with a personal trainer in her early 60s and loved it.<\/span><\/p>\n We had recently moved to Lake Oswego, and the old Providence Fitness Center was close by and on my way home from work. I joined, again mostly riding the bike and doing the free weights mostly wrong. One evening, I walked in and saw a group outside in the courtyard exercising with an assortment of equipment. \u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d I asked the front desk attendant. \u201cIt\u2019s called boot camp,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a paid class, but go try it for free.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Fourteen-plus years later, I\u2019m still going to both weekly classes whenever I can. For me, it\u2019s the perfect mix of exercises\u2014strength training across all muscle groups plus cardio\/endurance\u2014with a variety of exercises so no two classes are the same. The instructor demonstrates each exercise and refines your individual technique for maximum impact. There are side benefits of balance and concentration. The class setting ensures that it\u2019s fun, energetic, and motivating. And the bonus: they\u2019re a great group who I really enjoy seeing and exercising with!<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m a big fan of the E Gym circuit as well. Finally, no screwing up weight training!<\/span><\/p>\n At this stage of my fitness journey, it\u2019s certainly not about rocking a buff bod. It\u2019s about being healthy and staying healthy as I get older\u2014not just physically but mentally and emotionally. I can\u2019t run as much as I would like to anymore, but I think I\u2019ve finally found the right routine to keep working towards my total fitness goal. And Mom is now 87, still doing personal training, and boy, is it working for her!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Meet John Froelich I\u2019ve always been a runner. For most of my life, that\u2019s all I did for exercise, unless you count the jumping jacks and pushups before youth or high school football practices. After college, I very rarely saw the inside of a gym. If I did, it was primarily to ride a stationary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6428,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-krusewoods","category-member-of-the-month"],"yoast_head":"\n