After a startling comment made by a coworker Shawn Gorrell faced the mirror and addressed the excuses he'd been making. After 7 camps, Shawn is now an instructor at our Mercer location.
what brought you to boot camp?
I was at a conference and one of my colleagues asked me “Why have you gotten so fat?”. That made me realize that all of the fat looking pictures I’d been explaining away as “bad angles” were just excuses. I knew that it was time to make a change. Then I saw my friend Dean’s blog about OBC, and I started asking him questions about it and got up the guts to give it a try. Originally I was only planning on doing a month, with the idea of getting my own workout on track, but I got hooked immediately.
how long have you been doing it?
I’ve been doing bootcamp since September of 2008. I did 7 camps in 9 months, and then started as an instructor at the end of May 2009.
what were your goals? have you achieved them? what are they now?
As a camper, my nebulous goal was “fab by 40”, which I wasn’t entirely sure exactly what it meant, but figured I’d know when I saw it. To get there I had a couple of main goals that I’d use every month. Goal 1 – don’t miss camp. In my 7 camps, I missed 3 days, 2 where I was out of state for work, and 1 where I was stuck at work overnight. I never missed a day due to injury, illness or excuses. Goal 2 – bring it every day. What I meant by that was that I never wanted to have a day that I looked back on and found my effort to be less than the best I could give. There were days where I’d be tired, but I always gave my personal best. Goal 3 was always a time goal for the mile. My first mile at camp was just under 10 minutes, and my last mile as a camper was a 5:42. As far as my “fab at 40” goal, I knew that I’d hit that when I put an after picture next to a before picture and was shocked and satisfied.
Now that I’m an instructor my goals are always moving around. Normally they are around races, either time goals, or number of races. Before I was a camper I hated running and had never run a race. Now I’m addicted to running races and will do my first marathon this year. First year as a runner I did 12+ 5K’s and 2 10K’s. Second year as a runner, I did 12+ 5 and 10Ks, and 2 half marathons. And this year I’ll do the same number of 5 and 10Ks, 2 halfs and a full marathon. I’ve also got a goal of my first sub 5:00 minute mile this year. Next year I think that I’ll start competing in sprint triathlons. My big goals as an instructor every month is to get the best out of every one of my campers and for us to have fun at every workout. I don’t want a day to go by where we don’t have smiling campers. A workout can be both hard and fun…
what are your results?
When I started bootcamp I weighed right around 240 pounds, and at the end of my last month as a camper I weighed 193. Since becoming an instructor, I’ve never been more than a pound or two over my final camper weight and have been as light as 181, depending on my run training schedule. Looking back at the first PT test I did as a camper, I did 25 pushups in a minute. Last Friday when we did PT test I did 61.
what were you expecting? (were you nervous? did you feel better?)
Before I talked to my friend Dean about what camp was all about, I thought that bootcamps were a place where you ran around and people yelled at you. I found that idea to be totally unappealing. Fortunately he told me that the environment was positive and that nobody would yell at me, but instead would be yelling for me. That was enough to convince me to at least try it. I was very nervous on the first day or two of camp, but once I figured out that nobody was going to be yelling at me, I got over it. I was also kind of nervous that other campers who were more fit would look down on me, but I found out quickly that the other campers have the same insecurities I did and that we all supported one another.
what would you tell someone who was nervous about joining?
I would tell them what that they have exactly the same fears that I did, and that they’ll quickly find out that there is nothing to be afraid of. Nobody is out there to judge anyone else. I tell my campers that my goal is to get each one of them *their* best workout every day and have fun doing it. It’s about getting their best, not someone else’s.
what has been the most surprising?
That I got so hooked to doing something like this every day and being up before 5 to do it, and that I actually enjoy running. Before camp, I was an avid hater of running. I played sports, but the idea of running for enjoyment was inconceivable. I think that a lot of people talk themselves into “hating” running, but the reality is that they might be really good at it and enjoy it greatly if they give it a try. I would never have believed that before camp.
how have the instructors helped you?
When I was a camper I could tell that the instructor team truly cared about all of us, and they always seemed to have the right word of encouragement at the right time, when I needed it most. They also kept me accountable to my book, goals and level of effort. When I reached the point of fitness where I was at the front of the pack, they didn’t let me give less than my best.
I think that just about any place can get you a good workout, but what makes OBC different is how they treat people. In my time as a camper and instructor I’ve been to workouts at camps all over town, and what I’ve found is that the instructor teams are consistently good and have a focus on people and relationships. People come to camp to get fit, and they stay in camp because of the relationships they develop. There are people that I was with in my first month of camp that I’m friends with outside of camp 2 ½ years later. If it were just about the workout, I don’t think that would happen.
how has it impacted your life?
People wouldn’t recognize the life I have now compared to before coming to camp. Besides the weight loss and the changes that go along with that, my diet is radically better than it ever was before. I took the lessons learned at camp and made them a part of my lifestyle. Camp got me into running, and now I plan vacations and significant events around my race schedule instead of the other way around. One of the things we talk about at camp is “getting out of the comfort zone”, and I came to learn that the idea has just as much meaning in the rest of my life as it does in camp. I figured out that the best things in life are discovered when you take a risk and step farther than you thought you could, and when you quit listening to the negative inner voice that’s always telling you what you can’t do.
what unexpected things happened (emotional? family impacted?)
One of the nice unexpected side-effects of camp is that my overall stress levels have went down immeasurably. There is something about getting your butt kicked at 6am that makes the rest of the day seem much easier. Many of the things that would pop up in a day to ruin it will now just make me laugh, because I realize how trivial they really are.
what's been the most challenging?
The most challenging thing was actually just getting started. Once I started and got hooked, I can’t say that there is anything I think is a huge challenge. Sure there are days when I’d rather be sleeping in, or when I might have a flat workout, but they are the exception. I have fun at camp every day.
what's your favorite workout?
Anything with sprints or bands. My overall favorites are Full Metal Jacked or 20-20-20 for sprints workouts, and 21 Gun Salute for bands. Rifle Run is one of my favorites too.
