AUTOBOTS! TRANSFORM! Well okay, Egan’s Fit Body Bootcamp may not transform your body as fast as Optimus Prime can turn himself from a cab-over truck into a giant robot, but Bootcamp has transformed a lot of bodies in a short amount of time. It has also transformed my outlook on my capabilities from the first day I began working out there. I continue to be surprised every day I show up at their Honolulu location located on S. King Street in Mo’ili’ili.  As a working mother of two boys, I was looking for an early morning workout group. I searched the internet and found Egan’s Fit Body Bootcamp, which is owned by professional athlete Egan Inoue and his wife, Marcia Inoue who is also a former competitive gymnast. After reading a few articles and reviews I decided to check it out and took advantage of their unlimited 21 days for $49.95 which is still being offered.  I used to be a runner, but running at 5 am in the dark wasn’t something I felt safe doing by myself.  Much to my surprise, I found more than a safe place to workout.  I found a positive environment of other working parents, singles, and seniors who come to sweat, challenge one another, and grow together, not just in strength and endurance, but also in character. It doesn’t matter how athletic or experienced you are, it’s suitable for all ages and levels.  There is even a keiki bootcamp on Saturdays.

On Day One, Shortly after Brielle, my tour guide for the morning, showed me around the gym, the room was filled wall to wall with early risers ready for class.  Wow, I never knew so many people woke up so early!  Every 5 am class has about 40 to 50 members in attendance.  On this Monday, Egan Inoue, the man himself, set up various exercise stations.  Twenty minutes into the 30 minute session, I had to rest or pass out.  It’s been a while since I’ve taken an excercise class.  A basic sit-up, jumping jack, or a push-up is pretty much just used as a break.  Now all these are done in combination with something else.  For example, doing a sit-up into a tuck jump or combining squats with jumping jacks.  At 5 am, it kind of works the brain too.  Towards the end, I was on the punching bags and exhausted, but, my neighbor said, “We only have 10 more seconds. Finish strong.”  Those words motivated me to finish harder and faster in those last 10 seconds.  Egan also went around supporting and challenging everyone, “Don’t stay comfortable!”  I made it to the end of my first session.  It was a challenge but I felt strong and thought that maaayyyyybe I could do a pull-up before the end of this year.  We shall see, but, just the fact that at the end of my session I began to think of the possibility that I could be strong enough to do something that I could never do before was a transformation that made me start to see that the only limits are the ones we place on ourselves through our thoughts.  I already intellectually knew this and used it as an affirmation, but now I actually started to FEEL IT and BELIEVE IT!

So, after Day One, I was hooked and really excited about the rest of the week and, if you can imagine, feeling quite happy and tough with all my muscle pain. I’m not sure what “tabata” means, but to me it means SUCKING WIND!  Just when I thought it couldn’t get harder than the first day, this high intensity workout on my second day led by the managing trainer, Kimi Morton proved me wrong.  Even when Kimi is saying stuff like, “the cure for pain is more pain, ” or threatening penalty burpees, she is a ray of sunshine!  She is always challenging us with a smile!  The best feeling though, is at the end of class when you look around and everyone is happy they made it through and congratulate each other with a traditional round of high-fives. I was also able to enjoy a class with trainer Kyle Higa.  Like all the other trainers, Kyle is a lot of fun but sets the bar of expectations high in the sky, the sky’s the limit afterall.  Each day is not like the day before.  Kyle said we are doing “The Big Twelve.”  I was clueless, I won’t go into the details of “The Big Twelve, ” but I will say that I knew it would be another ass-kicking challenge when a veteran member said, “I’m scared.”  On this day we were working as a group to get through a series of exercises and couldn’t move on until everyone was done.  I used to hate group work in school, but this activity really united the group, not only did I feel great that I had made it through the workout but that there was this added bond because we were all helping one another complete the challenge together.

Their no-diet system was also not what I expected, but when explained, made total sense to me. Marcia suggested that I keep my current eating style but just change a couple of things. In my case, I get to eat more. I learned a little about metabolism and we decided to try adding more protein and eating a little earlier in the morning before my workout.  This simple act will raise my metabolism and keep it raised throughout the day.  I was able to let go of that guilty feeling I had for eating a very creamy and cheesy gourmet meal at the new Koko Head Cafe just the day before.

Egan, Marcia and their ohana at Egan’s Fit Body Bootcamp have created a very unique environment to strengthen the body and mind. Most of the workouts are just 30 minutes. What I love about this training center is that it’s safe, fun, and challenging. The schedules are perfect for those of us who work and have families. There is a support system here that is not available at other gyms. Here, everyone encourages one another like a team mate.  Most of all, no one ever gave me a high-five at other gyms or when I used to run around Diamond Head. Check out their website for more information on locations, schedules, and testimonials. I also highly recommend signing up for the newsletter where there are great tips on how to get the most out of the workouts, recipes, and current promotions. Egan’s Fit Body Bootcamp