Cardio kills Carlton

Operation Bootcamp Day 5


Going into his second week of Operation Bootcamp, Carlton Hargro has learned something about himself.

He can hold his own doing push ups and calisthenics, but he said "Once we start running, it's over."

Today's workout was called Centipede. It's a follow-the-leader drill with stairs, hills, box drills and strength stations (planks, push ups, sit ups, dips etc.), said bootcamp leader Christen Lewis. She said it was a fairly high-intensity cardio workout with elevation changes -- stairs and hills -- to make it harder.

Carlton's take?

"Today was rough."

Carlton said was in bed by 10 p.m. Sunday so he could get ahead of the game, but this morning "they wore me out."


And he's okay with that.

"I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m going out there. I’m going to be really tired. It’s going to hurt," he said. "There's going to be stuff I don't want to do."

His date with Banana Republic makes it worth it.

Carlton has anxiety about working out

Operation Bootcamp Day 4



Following Carlton Hargro's experience with bootcamp illustrates why some people avoid exercise -- fear.

On Friday, Carlton completed his first week at Operation Bootcamp. I thought he would be crazy excited: he didn't quit, he showed up everyday and he didn't die.

But, Carlton said he worries about the next day's camp. He worries about the difficulty of the exercises and how much it's going to hurt.

"I'm working muscles I didn't know exist," he said. "I'm working muscles, I haven't worked in 18 years."

On Friday, he did the Top Gun workout. Everybody had a partner and they stuck together for the cardio, split into groups for the strength exercises, and met in the end zone to repeat. (They worked out on a football field.)

Operation Bootcamp's Christen Lewis says she hopes Carlton's anxiety will decrease especially now that he's done four full workouts and hasn't given up on any exercises.

"He is really doing well - he is smiling and laughing," she said. "There is something to be said for that."

Mayor kicks off Bike!Charlotte

Touting Charlotte's more than 80 miles of bike lanes, Mayor Pat McCrory kicked off Bike!Charlotte at the Dowd YMCA a few minutes ago. Dozens of cyclists of all ages pedaled the short trek from the Y to the Wachovia Atrium for the mayor's breakfast.

"Every new corridor in Charlotte, we require bike lanes," said McCrory, before the ride. "We catch a lot of heat from the automobile people saying 'Get the bicycles the hell out of the way'."

McCrory said he tells car drivers they must respect the bikes, but he also asked cyclists to use provided bike lanes.

Although McCrory wore his bike gear, those cute shorts and a tight shirt, he didn't ride. He said something about having back problems. City council members Andy Dulin and Edwin Peacock were geared up and pedaled with the rest of the enthusiasts.