Fitness: bootcamp

Erin Shea, 35, Beverly
Vice president, digital, at Edelman Public Relations
Lost 25 pounds, wants to lose 15 more

After ten months, 40 pounds, one baby and three seasons of leggings, T-shirts and flouncy, ass-veiling sweaters, I was done. In the week leading up to our daughter’s birth, I made a vow that the athleticism (not to mention the ability to wear denim without an elastic panel) I once enjoyed would be mine again.

Once my midwife gave me the all-clear, and after two months of moderate walking and weights, I headed to the Boot Camp Guy (9715 S Western Ave, 888-498-4777), a small fitness studio in Beverly run by an ex-Marine. Beginning in July, starting at 5am, three times a week, I was running laps, flipping tractor tires, squatting with two-by-fours on my shoulders and lifting paint pails loaded with hand weights until I wanted to puke. Or sing from the mountaintops how easily I jumped, ran and played once again.

Within three months, despite the grueling wake-up times and sacrifices to everything not pertaining to my family or my career, I lost 25 pounds and easily navigated all of my old clothes.

With 15 pounds I’d still like to lose, the motivation shifts to being a good example for my daughter. There is cause for celebration in wearing my old jeans, sure, but there is much more bliss to be had in being able to show her the beauty in challenging yourself.

The trainer says Sign up for boot camp with a friend. “Even if class sometimes feels like torture, at least you can go through it together and laugh about it after,” Mix says. Studies show that working out with a partner increases your likelihood of sticking with it.—Liz Plosser