Shape Your Booty: Mission accomplished

Editor’s note: This is the final piece in a three-part series tracking the progress of Lakewood Ranch Country Club resident Maria Smith as she participated in a six-week pre-holiday boot camp. To read the previous stories, click here.

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Despite the morning chill, Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club resident Maria Smith perched at a picnic table at Greenbrook Park waiting for the rest of her exercise group to arrive.

The grassy field beyond soon would become her gym, and Smith couldn’t be much more excited to get started.

“I met my (fitness) goals,” Smith said with a grin. “I was so excited. I can tell a big difference in my strength and endurance too. I feel like a totally different person. I feel fabulous.”

Under personal trainer J.D. Doyle, director of Shape Up Sarasota Boot Camp, Smith and a group of women have been meeting three times a week at Greenbrook Adventure Park since Nov. 2 for Doyle’s Pre-Holiday Boot Camp.

Since then, Smith has lost 4.5% body weight, dropping nearly 6 pounds and a total of 11 inches from her arms, legs, waist, abs, hips and rear end.

“I feel like it should be more than six weeks to see (such) dramatic results,” Smith said. “I’m going to keep doing this.”

Smith already is planning to sign up for Doyle’s next boot camp, which will start Jan. 4. In fact, she’s hoping to sign up for the whole year, she said.

“She did amazing,” Doyle said of Smith’s performance in the camp. “Her attitude was amazing through the whole thing. She was our biggest cheerleader. She’s been a lot of fun to work with.”

Smith and her fellow boot campers have braved heat, cold and rain to stick to their program, which combines interval, cardiovascular and resistance training into each session. Some of the women, including Smith, have even come out regularly for Saturday morning workouts at another location, Doyle said.

Although Smith has had many friends encourage her to join them at various gyms, she said she’s never given considered breaking away from her current exercise program.

“This works for me,” Smith said. “J.D’s constantly switching it up. It’s never boring, and I see the results.”

Smith said she’s already fitting back into many of her old clothes, which was one of her primary motivations for getting back into shape.

And as she sticks with the program and keeps on track with her new eating habits — more whole grains and vegetables and more frequent, smaller meals — she expects to see her body transform even more.

“I think where I’m really going to see the results in the next six weeks,” Smith said. “(The fat is) all going to melt away.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

THE RESULTS
Measurements        Nov. 2                 Nov. 23                 Dec. 18
Arm                         13 inches            12 inches              11.5 inches
Waist                       36 inches            33 inches              32.5 inches
Lower Ab/hip           40 inches            39 inches              38 inches
Butt                          43 inches            41.5 inches           42.5 inches
Mid-thigh                  24 inches            23 inches              22 inches
Calves                     16 inches            15.5 inches           14.5 inches
Fat weight                61.5 pounds        58.7 pounds          52 pounds
Lean weight             101.5 pounds      101.8 pounds       105.5 pounds

SPOTLIGHT
At the end of this boot camp, Doyle’s “Camper of the Month” award went to Amanda Panico, who lost 11 pounds and 7% body fat.