Rise, lift and shine article from the Daily Camera

By Katie Nelson

For the Camera

The Spring Fitness Challenge at Balance 2B Fit, Paul Derda Recreation Center, 13201 Lowell Blvd, Broomfield, 720-232-8976 or balance2bfit.com.

Instructor: Shari Lesser has been a personal trainer and boot camp instructor for 15 years. She specializes in full-body functional training.

What is the workout? An early morning boot-camp class that hits you to your core.

Lesser describes the workout as timed intervals that work all systems of endurance and all plains of motion.

“”It’s) designed for strength, flexibility, mobility and endurance,” said Lesser. Lesser sets up each exercise and goes through the movements, breaking down the technique. For more complex moves, she has everyone practice the exercise. Each member of the class then picks a station and completes the circuit of exercises multiple times.

Lesser focuses on building muscle and working on muscle endurance. It’s not just lifting heavy weights a few times — instead, it’s repetitive movements for a specific amount of time.

“I work a little bit more on form and the posterior chain, so we are working a lot more back body,” said Lesser.

What’s different? It’s clear Lesser puts a significant amount of effort into planning her exercises. Many boot-camp classes are organized by an over-arching organization, like Les Mills. Lesser choreographs all of her workouts and each class is different. Even if the exercises are similar, she’ll switch up the machines or will throw in a stability element, offering variety.

She gets creative with her workouts and incorporates functional exercises, like assisted pull-ups. Some movements, however, require mental gymnastics to get the timing and control right. For me, balancing on a Bosu ball while doing a single-leg weighted toe touch was outside my skill level. It was a huge challenge to keep my balance while trying to not lose the weight and touch my toes — once. My stability clearly needs work.

Cost: The session runs from Jan. 28-March 20 and is $180 for non-residents, $155 for residents and $105 for recreation center pass holders.

Level: This was a physical challenge that was easy to scale. The class was small and Lesser kept an eye on everyone. Since it is an exercise series, she has the time to get to know her students and their limitations. At the start of the class, she had alternative movements ready for specific students.

When: 6:30-7:30 a.m. Monday and Wednesday.

What to prepare: Athletic shoes, water and workout clothes. All equipment is provided.

Muscles worked: The class is a “full-body with core emphasis” workout, said Lesser.

She’s not kidding. There wasn’t a major muscle group left untouched. We worked our backs and core the most, but she threw in arm and leg exercises.

What I loved: Lesser’s attention to detail and well-thoughtout exercises were great. Some workouts were new to me and others I hadn’t performed in the particular way we did in class. Lesser likes to keep the body guessing, something instructors often overlook in classes that are overly formulaic. Workouts are repetitive when pulling from the same laundry list of exercises, so it’s good to switch it up.

What I didn’t like: I am not a morning person — at all. Not only am I whiny about it, I tend to get nauseous when I work out early. An afternoon option might be a good idea for people like me who morally oppose getting up before the sun.

How I felt after the class: I was ready for a nap and it was 8 a.m. This made me realize that I’m turning into my father, but he’s retired and I have no such excuse.

Shari Lesser twists and slams an exercise ball to the wall. Lesser is the instructor for a Spring Fitness Challenge exercise series at Balance 2B Fit class at the Paul Derda Recreation Center in Broomfield.

Photos by Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer

Source:  dailycamera.com.