Congratulations to all the BHIPers who made it through 12 weeks of pain, sweat, and tears! This has been an amazing journey, from Day 1 of wobbly legs and inflamed muscles, to today’s toned and strong muscles, increased endurance, and overall better health.
Before starting BHIP, I had three very specific goals in mind:
1) To lose lots of weight
2) To improve my health status
3) To be in the best race-ready shape ever for my favorite hobby, Dragonboat racing
Midway through, my goals were revised:
1) To get through a workout without any modifications -- specifically, a burpee and a pushup
2) To run a mile without stopping to take a breath
3) To improve my numbers, timing, amount of weight I can lift, etc. on the fitness routines
I did meet most of those goals, but not without drama. ... Read Shelley's complete post here.
Workout of the Day: Rescue the pilot of a plane that crashed. Accomplish this by completing different exercises that simulate shooting at the enemy. If you stop, you risked being killed. ... For me, this was the most intense workout to date. ... The first task was to climb Janss Steps, then go down and up the adjacent sidewalk, then down Janss Steps — this horseshoe pattern three times. ... Next, go up and down the grass alongside Janss Steps. The first time, bear-crawl up, then walk/run down. 
My busy summer has started, and unfortunately it pulls me away from UCLA for a series of conferences, workshops and experiments, ending with a month-long stint on the East Coast. Therefore, I must withdraw from the BHIP program. It is a fact of this professor’s life that there is no consecutive 12-week period in which I am in residence at UCLA uninterrupted by experiments on the road, research trips, seminars, conferences. ... I am sad to be leaving BHIP. I will especially miss the coaches and the camaraderie. I enjoyed exploring my physical limits. My fitness has improved, and I am becoming stronger physically and mentally. While the scale has not budged much, I have taken off an inch each on my waist and hips. I ran a 5K on the 4th of July. 
There’s changes in town, and it’s called the BHIP miracle. BHIPsters feel it. Our squats are just a little bit deeper, we run just a little bit harder, our pushups are a little bit stronger. The workouts no longer seem impossible, at the same time getting increasingly challenging. "Can't" has been removed from our vocabulary. ... Did you ever think on Day 1 that you could deadlift a barbell with weights? Or when you started Week 2, could you see yourself on the Drake steps? WITH A SANDBAG???I think not. Progress, my friends, progress! 
I was an exerciser in my pre-BHIP life, but now I question the quality and quantity of my efforts — in other words, how the hell did I ever call what I was doing a real workout? ... For instance, I used to do a half-hour lunchtime run around campus now and then, feel really proud of myself, stretch, shower at the Wooden Center and be done with it. I didn’t run fast. Some people walk faster than I ran. But I got sweaty and tired, so I called it a workout and patted myself on the back. 
I listen to the talk at 6:15 am. How do we feel? Have we lost weight? Are we stronger? I can generally feel the aches and pains, but I haven't been losing weight or my clothes haven't been feeling looser. But today, my BHIP buddy told me that she could tell the difference. An unsolicited observation that made my day! ... I've learned a lot about myself this week. I've been reading “Mind Gym” and have been working from the inside out, starting with the most out-of-shape muscle — my brain, my mind, my attitude. I've started curbing the "I can't" ...