“We could all use a little more SELF LOVE.” This was the email we received from U of T Sport & Recreation last week in honour of its special day-long event titled “Love of Self Day” on February 12. 

In anticipation of Valentine’s Day, U of T Sport & Rec invited students to join for a day of virtual classes to do something positive and end our week on a high note. Whereas U of T Sport & Rec usually hosts three to four classes per day, on February 12, it hosted a class every hour from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

It was the same structure, format, and Zoom link as usual, just with more class offerings so that people could find one that fit their schedule. 

I decided to try out Boot Camp at 9:00 am because I had a bit more energy this week and had not yet tried Boot Camp. In all honesty, I hadn’t tried it yet because I was a bit anxious about an intense workout in the morning as I am not usually a morning person. Inspired by “Love of Self Day,” I decided to push myself and try it out because I knew the extra movement before work would put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. 

Sheela from Hart House welcomed us as I finished my first coffee to “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga, so I was already feeling energized. She got right into the workout, and the high-energy music was great throughout the 45-minute class. I often found myself dancing rather than doing the instructed moves. 

The class is a high-intensity workout, and I can attest to that: we jumped right in with a warmup to “TiK ToK” by Kesha before moving into a circuit of elbow-to-knee crunches and jumping jacks.

We did planks and lifts to “Genie in a Bottle” by Christina Aguilera, runner’s lunges to
“Promiscuous” by Nelly Furtado, c-crunches to “What About Us” by Pink, standing oblique crunches to “Rain On Me” by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, and more. We ended with a stretch to “Circus” by Britney Spears. 

Overall, while I still think morning workouts may not be for me, I loved this one — especially the playlist — and had lots of energy to start my day after Boot Camp. I would definitely take this class again!