boot camp

[unpakwon]

Please set me clear on the following in bold.

There was a point after having two children that I was out of shape, unable to do one regular sit-up. Instead of getting upset about this fact, I decided to turn it into a 42-day project. I decided to make it fun and social and joined an outdoor boot camp class that met early in the morning near my house. The first day was abysmal, no sit-ups. ... After about 14 days, I was able to do a sit-up, but it was far from pretty and I still cheated a little. Each day my strength and abilities got stronger...

What is "boot camp class"? And I know what "cheat" means, but I don't know what she cheated in the above context.

Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

A boot camp is a military training establishment with very harsh discipline.

The boot camp class mentioned in your post is clearly a pale imitation of the above, where people in a locality meet to get fit in a 'fun and social' environment.

She 'cheated' by finding a way to do sit-ups which was less strenuous than the orthodox method:

... let us see how you do a proper sit up. Firstly, lie on your back on the floor. Next, bend your knees in a 90 degrees angle and place your feet flat on the ground. Raise your arms straight and keep them parallel to the ground and pointing towards your feet. While your feet and butt are resting on the floor, slowly raise your torso off the ground and towards the thighs. You can come up as far as you can. Then go reverse through all the motions and fall back again, on the back. Do the whole thing as slowly as you can, without any jerky movements. This constitutes one sit up!

(Wikipedia)


Rover

 

[susiedqq]

These exercise boot camps are quite common in the US.

They are intense workout sessions (classes) meant to get the participants in shape in a short amont of time.

To "cheat" doing a sit-up is to not do it correctly, making it easier to do.

 

[unpakwon]

I see.

Thank you all for the kind help.

 

[crazYgeeK]

A 90 degrees angle ?
As I think it should be "a 90 degree angle", am I wrong ?
If the one in the quoted text from wikipedia is correct, could you please give me more the same phrases and explain the rule?
at least I know the followings are correct: "a 23-age girl", "a 70-storey building",...
Thank you so much !

 

[Rover_KE]

A 90 degrees angle ?
As I think it should be "a 90 degree angle", am I wrong ?No. You are right.

Thank you so much !

Rover

 

[BobK]

A boot camp is a military training establishment with very harsh discipline.

The boot camp class mentioned in your post is clearly a pale imitation of the above, where people in a locality meet to get fit in a 'fun and social' environment.

She 'cheated' by finding a way to do sit-ups which was less strenuous than the orthodox method:

(Wikipedia)


Rover

:up: And the way she cheated probably involved either hooking her feet under something, or kicking her legs up first then locking the angle between her legs and her trunk and rocking - still strenuous, but less so (and more likely to do damage to the exerciser).

b