Ladies, I’m skeptical. If I hear Glee is a hilarious television show, I will not believe until I’ve seen the football team dancing to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” on the field. If you tell me Special K bars will make me lose weight, I won’t believe until I read the nutrition facts for myself. So when my co-worker raved about the benefits of fitness boot camps, I obviously did not believe her until I tried it myself.

Working out is hard enough already – do you really need someone yelling in your face the entire time? If I want to work out, I can do it entirely on my own. I’m just fine pounding the treadmill alone. With my iPod. And without any camouflage, baggy pants, and whistles! After 7^th grade, I resigned myself to the fact that I cannot do a pull-up, and I am more than fine with that. Plus, boot camp sounded so manly – I don’t want to look like one of those guidos from Jersey Shore.

But my very persistent co-worker convinced me to try out a mini boot camp. Her friend, a certified instructor, was running it for free, which sealed the deal. And because I never suffer alone, I dragged two of my friends along.

We met in the gardens of a nearby private school. Yes, in the good old outdoors. I showed up in a pair of yoga pants and a wife beater. The more experienced boot-campers arrived with their hands taped up like kick boxers and double sports bras. Needless to say, I was a little intimidated.

And then it started.

We began with the normal stretches, did a bit of running, and then were paired with partners for the rest of camp. Suddenly I found myself lunging, army crawling, jumping rope and more, with this partner of mine. Who, by the way, wasn’t one of the friends I brought along. I was sweating, my muscles were burning and I thought I might pass out… but I was having a great time! Going from station to station kept me active and interested, as opposed to my treadmill workouts when I’m counting down the minutes until I’m done. I was also doing a ton of new and different exercises, which challenged me in completely new ways.

And as cheesy as this may sound, I loved having a partner cheer me on the entire time. Can you imagine having someone telling you how great you are, and how you just need to go a little bit farther, a little bit faster all the time? Let’s talk really effective motivation! According to an article in the LA Times, since “people are often paired or grouped for friendly competitions,” boot camps can foster “a camaraderie and support not usually found in regular fitness classes. That camaraderie strengthens with time, establishing accountability, something fitness experts say is essential for sticking with a program.”

My skepticism was nowhere to be found as I punched, jumped, and sprinted through class. I seriously loved every minute of it! I’m not starved for attention, but I was really loving the group support. No matter who I found myself holding up, whose butt was near my face, or who I happened to be carrying up a hill (no joke), everyone believed in me and thought I was strong. It made me feel that much stronger and allowed me to push that much further. Just doing the normal work out at the gym with my girlfriends never resulted in that kind of motivation!

So maybe this skeptic is a believer now. And I’m not the only one. The experts at the LA Times agree that “for people willing to put in the work, boot camps enable exercisers to see results quickly, the better to stay motivated.”

Boot Camp Benefits include:

• Being in the great outdoors
• Having an always-changing workout
• Constant motivation
• Accountability
• Feeling that you’re always challenging your body in new ways

Can’t argue with that.
Have you tried boot camping it before? Would you try it now?

There are days when not even a new playlist, the latest issue of Glamour, AND Tough Love on VH1 could make my 45 minute elliptical sesh fly by. My mind is bored, and so is my body. And when my body is bored, it’s not burning as many calories. The human body is designed to be efficient so when I do the same exercise day after day (which gets boring), my body uses fewer calories to do the same amount of work on day 30 than, say, on day 1.

The same goes for you, people.
If your mind is bored, your body is bored.

As college students, we’re bored enough sitting in lecture each day; our workouts should be something that we look forward to! And at the risk of sounding like your mom, college is the time to try new things, so why not new methods of exercise? Cross-training (varying different types of exercise or activity), also helps you burn more calories by tricking your body with new and unfamiliar movements. It can also prevent exercise-related injuries, as you’re working different muscle groups and using different parts of your body for each activity. And, taking group fitness classes is an awesome way to meet people. Studies have shown that exercising with other people increasing the level of endorphins that we release during a workout, keeping us coming back for more!  Some universities even let you take sports or fitness classes for CREDIT! You pretty much just have to show up. Good motivation if you find it hard to get out of bed and to the gym, or wouldn’t otherwise have time to exercise.

If you’ve been doing the same 45 minute elliptical workout for the past few months (or few years!) it’s time to switch things up. Here are a few ideas to add a little mix to your workout:

Spinning / Group Cycling: An intense workout on a stationary spinning bike set to upbeat music in which an instructor will take you through a ride that will get your heart pumping, your legs working, and engage your core! Cycling can be adapted to your fitness level, and helps build endurance and muscle strength. It also tones your glutes like nothing else will and is an amazing cardio alternative.

Hooping: (As in hula.) Woooo, third grade! The hoops are bigger and weighted so that anyone can get the hang of it. Hooping builds core strength, tones the entire body, increases flexibility, and is a great cardio workout! You’ll also look sexy moving those hips!

Pole Dancing: A workout to make your Papa proud.

Belly, Ballroom, Salsa, or Hip Hop Dance: Any of these forms of dance will give you a great cardio and toning workout, while teaching you concentration, grace, and coordination!

Fencing: Fencing helps improve coordination, mental speed, discipline, and athleticism while giving you a great cardio workout. Learn to outwit your opponent and feel like a pirate. Cool? Clearly.

Surfing: Cameron Diaz attributes her body to surfing. Enough said. But really, surfing is a great workout for toning each and every muscle in your body. Legs help you up and keep you on the board, arms paddle out, and your core helps you keep your balance. Hot surf instructor also a plus.

Excursion Sports: Many schools have excursion clubs that take members on kayaking, rock climbing, and hiking adventures.  Each of these activities is a way to get some fresh air, a great workout, and an opportunity to flirt with your kayaking guide or trail guide.

Yoga (any variation): There are countless variations of Yoga classes available today, but don’t think that you need to take one with a name that you can’t pronounce to get the best experience. Good old Yoga will do the trick too. Yoga is wonderful for improving posture, flexibility, muscle strength, relaxation, strengthening the skeletal system, and releasing stress.

Boot Camp: Be prepared for pain with any boot camp! The instructor acts as a drill sergeant and will have you doing calisthenics, running steps, pushups, pull-ups, and pushing you to the limit. Be ready to work for this whole body cardio and toning workout. If your school is near the beach, the class may be held there. It’s tough, but it’s worth it!

IM Sports: Intramural sports are a great way to play the sport that you loved in high school, or to try a new one. It’s also a great way to meet people. Most teams are co-ed, and there are different skill-level options. Form a team with your floormates and sign up!

Water Aerobics: Old ladies in swim caps DOES come to mind, but it’s a great low-impact cardio workout. Resistance from the water also helps you tone without feeling like you’re doing that much work!

Circuit Training: Taught as a group class, circuit training classes can include cardio dance, cardio circuit, kickboxing, step interval, hi-lo, body pump, buts and guts…the list goes on and on! These classes combine high intensity cardio and typical weight training with small hand weights or resistance bands.

Self Defense / Martial Arts: Relieve stress, kick ass, and build muscle strength and endurance? AND be able to not only dress up like Lara Croft for Halloween but also roundhouse kick like her? Yes please.

Pilates: Tried and true, Pilates is a great toning workout for your whole body. Focused breathing and relaxation are also benefits of this low-key workout.

Every school or gym will offer some or all of these classes, so check your school’s fitness center and see what they got. Just find something you like and you’ll not only enjoy working out more, but see greater benefits, too.

Don’t get me wrong; I love Tough Love. Well, the show. I’m not quite sure I could handle someone pointing out my major flaws on national television (though I did attempt to audition for the next season…). Anyways, I think Steve Ward is great and knows his sh*t (and looks great in a pair of jeans) and really helped those women learn how to love themselves and be loved.

But don’t you think dating would be so much easier if we could all get some video feedback from the guys that we like? Wouldn’t it be magical if we didn’t have to spend hours decoding the emails/texts from the boys to figure out what they really mean? Maybe the fact that all those wonderful relationships blossomed in this fantasy land where the women knew exactly what their guys were thinking contributed to the fact that not one of them worked out in the real world…

But let’s take a step back and talk about the season finale!

There are only 6 girls left in boot camp and Steve decides to send them on overnight getaways. With boys. And they have to invite them. Most girls know who they are going to invite, but our drunk friend Natasha has no one to call. I thought for a moment that maybe she would luck out and get to take Steve on an overnight romantic getaway, but no – he set her up with someone else.

Taylor decided not to take the trip at all and to leave boot camp with a new love: herself. Awwww. Hopefully all that self love will translate into a new wardrobe that doesn’t consist of leopard dresses or turquoise bedazzled stilettos. What? I think I would love myself more if I wasn’t dressed like a tranny…

The rest of the girls take off on their adventures. All of the trips were super romantic, which left me feeling very uncomfortable watching. There were so many intimate moments that should be left to the lovebirds and the lovebirds only – like Abiola’s foot massage and Jessa’s hot tub experience – and I felt like a guy with a mustache and a white van peeping in through the window.

Or when Jody and Shane started making out on the strip and she basically ate his face. Awk.

When the girls finish their dream dates, they return to the mansion to say their goodbyes to Steve-o. He puts them all in the hot seat to talk about their experiences, but he did do a little grillin’ with Jacklyn and her love triangle. Now, I’ll never understand Jacklyn. I’ll never get why guys like such a moron, why she lines her eyes like that, or why she would ever (ever, ever, ever) choose anyone over Brock. Did you see that bangin’ body?

Steve tried to get her to choose the right guy and she made a pretty good case for herself that she would, but homegirl gets off the plane and takes the ring from her scrawny Southern ex. And loses Brock. She learned nothing from Steve and really was only obsessed with getting married – even to someone who said such hurtful things to her. I don’t know why she spent the entire dinner party last week explaining to her ex why he wasn’t right for her only to go back to him, but it doesn’t matter now. She made a crappy decision, and now Brock is out there for the taking.

Along with the rest of the Boot Camp Boys. Not one of those relationships panned out which means only one thing. No, not that Steve’s approach doesn’t work. It means that a trip to L.A. is in order.

I don’t really need Steve’s Tough Love; I just need all those leftovers.

Following in the footsteps of VH1′s The Pick Up Artist, comes a similar You-Suck-At-Dating-So-Let’s-Fix-Your-Flaws-Before-You-Start-Throwing-Birthday-Parties-For-Your-Cats show. This time, we watch as GIRLS get some harsh reality about what we do that turn off the MEN. Hosted by the ever beautiful and brutally honest Steve Ward, a master matchmaker and easy-on-the-eyes male, this show follows eight single ladies looking for love as they journey through a “Tough Love Boot Camp.”

Each episode will revolve around one theme and include a Dating 101 class, a field exercise (a date!), and end with a group therapy session where one girl is chosen for doing the worst. Unlike The Pick Up Artist, nobody gets booted off, but the worst contestant will get an embarrassing critique during therapy. This is good news for us viewers because we get to learn some lessons along with the girls (finally, a reality show that’s actually useful!), but thankfully don’t have to do it on national TV!

With issues ranging from trust, intimacy, communication, ex-boyfriends, and the infamous text-aholism, Steve works with these ladies to break their bad habits in hopes of finding The One. Each girl has a classic case of Chase-A-Guy-Away-itis and is nicknamed for their main issue. I’m sure we can all find one girl we relate to the most, so I challenge you to follow your sistah’s progress. Learn some lessons along with your favorite gal and root for her to find love. So, which girl are you?

Abiola (Miss Picky) – The self-proclaimed Princess whose standards are so high that she critiques guys based on a 10 point scale. Props to her for being an independant diva, but will she learn to give guys a chance or continue to write them off before even learning their last name?

Arian (Miss Party Girl) – A former stripper and hardcore partier who dates by a “two week” rule, this chica is dealing with some daddy issues. Claiming that all men are unfaithful, she protects herself by immediately airing her dirty laundry in hopes that a guy will stay with her despite her flaws. Her penchant for TMI and overly-sexual nature keeps decent guys at arms length.

Jacklyn (Miss Wedding Obsessed) – This 23 year old, small-town, wannabe bride is terrified that her “clock is ticking” and hopes to be married by 25. Having already chosen her wedding dress, centerpieces, invitations and photographer, this commitment-minded Southern Belle scares guys off like Jennifer Aniston!

Jessa (Miss Too Much Too Soon) – This insecure textaholic smothers guys with her obsessive nature. Taking pics of them in their sleep, over-analyzing every word and stalking their Facebooks have the men running for the hills. Will she take Steve’s advice and finally learn how to enjoy the moment?

Jody (Miss Lone Ranger) – This 30 year old has found total success in the workplace, but has no one at home to share it with. Too much focus on work and no play has left this hard worker alone and lonely. Although a wonderful role model for goal-oriented girls, can she stop obsessing about work and make time for a real relationship?

Natasha (Miss Fixing The Wrong Guys) – Suffering from the Nurse Curse, she is attracted to men with issues and hopes to be the one girl who can change him for the better. Being too nice and caring, she allows these hot messes to walk all over her.

Stasha (Miss Ball Buster) – This former Playmate’s alpha female attitude and constant bragging intimidates every single guy she meets. Her harsh, critical and upfront demeanor are her way of putting up walls to keep out “losers.” Can this self-proclaimed “sheep in wolves clothing” let down her guard and let in her match?

Taylor (Miss Gold Digger) – A get-what-I-want Daddy’s girl, this unapologetic bitch won’t settle for anything less than “the finer things in life.” Claiming that guys are intimidated by her looks and the attention she gets, she lets her shallow standards do the talking.

Can you relate to any of these ladies? If not, congratulations, but some of us may still be wondering why we’re single. Though these girls do have great things to offer, their issues are stopping them just short of finding true love. Let’s watch as they break down their walls, correct their mistakes and let Steve use an electrocution device to zap away their bad habits. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride…

(Show airs Sundays at 10PM, so watch and come back Monday morning for a recap!)

How do you know when the world has gone too PC?When someone puts Santa on a diet.

In a shopping center near Dartford, England, Mall Santas are being put through a “month long boot camp” to help them lose weight before the Holiday season bombards their laps with little kids.

“There’s nothing wrong with Santa being the size that he is,” explains property manager Tim Holland, “we just want him to have a modern day makeover to reflect the realistic demands of being the world’s most renowned delivery man.”

Throughout November, shoppers have been able to watch 12 commissioned Santas put through the wringer by a personal trainer. While this Santa slim-down screams marketing ploy! to me, a spokeswoman from the British Heart Foundation claims “Creating a 21st Century Santa is an innovative idea encouraging children and adults to get into better shape.”

Teaching kids to eat healthy and stay fit is a great idea, but changing a beloved icon to get the idea across—an idea that’s already all over children’s television and snack foods—is a little insane.

Cut the jolly old fat man some slack! What’s so bad about his stomach jiggling like a bowlful of jelly? He’s hundreds of years old; if he wants a few extra cookies at Christmas time, let the guy have his damn cookies.

In all honesty, there’s a fine line between teaching healthy values and sucking all the fun out of everything, and putting Santa on a diet is definitely walking that line.

Besides, if you’ve got a kid who decides to idolize Santa, you’ll have a lot more to worry about than him gaining a few extra pounds…like that army of flying reindeer he wants to cultivate in your garage.

Not that it is hard to come up with a list; I have so many things in my life that I am so fortunate to have. Things that I should really appreciate more year round, come to think of it. Things that I should not come to expect, but should rather feel lucky to have.

This is a problem many of us have – wanting more and appreciating nothing – so I thought I would take this opportunity to get all of you in the spirit of giving thanks by sharing with you just a few of the things I am more than grateful for this year:

1. My DVR: I know this shouldn’t come before family, but my DVR really is there for me when no one else is around. Like really early on a Saturday morning when I can’t sleep due to some interesting sounds coming from upstairs. Or after a long day of work when I want nothing more than the wisdom of one Ms. Oprah Winfrey.

2. My Family: I have put them through a lot these past few years; from my post-college depression to my spur-of-the-moment move to NY and then my spur-of-the-moment move back home. They are supportive, funny, loving and all around the best people I know. But they are still not willing to sit with me at 6:45 on a Saturday morning. Hence their number 2 spot.

3. My Dog: No matter what, my pup is always willing to cuddle up next to me for a nice nap, share a dish of ice cream with me, and kiss me in the morning no matter how bad my breath is.

4. My Boot Camp Instructor: This guy is definitely on some super strong crack (he has an obscene amount of energy at 6am on a Monday), but whatever he is doing it is working for me. His energy and music selection inspire me to get to the gym by 6am and jump around, sprint and do far too many push ups. And my arms are looking daaaamn good for it.

5. My Friends: Staying close to my best friends has been hard since college ended. We are all across the country! But every time we get together for a reunion – or even just chat on the phone – I realize just how lucky I am to have them. They are my rock. They are my support. And they are really f-ing funny.

6. Target: Fabulous clothes for cheap. How can you not appreciate that!?

7. My Strength: Not my physical strength – even though my arms are filling out quite nicely! – but my emotional strength. The first few years out of college are rough, which is why I am so grateful for the strength I have found to get through it. I had many down days along the way, but I fought through and have found a new level of happiness. I couldn’t be more grateful for that.

8. Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener

9. Coffee (Namely, Pumpkin Lattes): My bosses are also grateful for this as it is the only thing that gets me through the day. Mmm. That smell, that taste. When it hits your lips….

10. CollegeCandy: I know it seems so cheesy, but I feel so lucky to have this outlet to express myself. Writing is my passion; besides coffee, this is the one thing that gets me through a long day. So, I am extremely grateful to have such a wonderful place to put my words on “paper.”

I have so much more – I am one lucky girl – but this isn’t about me. What about you; what are you thankful for this season