Capitol improvements – Local boot camp group takes its workout to the house of Huey
The mist-shrouded river to the west, muffled bird caws sounding from a nearby lake and a flock of brown pelicans rushing loudly overhead set a pre-dawn stage for a group of dedicated individuals who gather regularly on the steps of the State Capitol—not to make their voices heard, but to make their waistlines shrink.The star of this show is Adraine Conrad, a tall Rihanna look-a-like with a tiny waist. Conrad is a certified instructor of exercise therapy and strength and conditioning. The pants, grunts and gasps of the women in Conrad’s charge are music to her ears. Those sounds mean that Conrad has the full attention of her platoon of fitness-seekers.
In age from their mid-20s to mid-60s, most work for either the state or Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, located on Bluebonnet Boulevard. When Conrad isn’t working out with her group on the Capitol steps, she works individually as a personal trainer with a few House employees and occasionally with state Rep. Katrina Jackson, when Jackson comes in from Monroe for House business.
Smelling like irony, a tantalizing aroma of freshly baked bread makes its way to the steps on this early February morning.
“I usually check the weather forecast,” Conrad says. “If it’s cold, I advise my group to wear gloves and warmups or whatever else they feel comfortable working out in. Otherwise, unless it’s raining, we don’t stop.”
Baton Rouge is, of course, the home of multiple fitness facilities that promote a large variety of classes—some geared to people who like to compose their own cardio or weight-training regimens; others that provide the easy access of multiple locations and ’round-the-clock hours of operation.
But these women prefer exercising with others. The Capitol setting is inspiring, they say, and the smaller “boot camp”-size group gives each exerciser a more personal experience.
While the lure of owning a glamorous figure like that of their leader is strong, most of Conrad’s clients are drawn together to improve their health, to tone up bodies or just to maintain their current weight.
“The No. 1 reason my students are here is to improve their overall health,” Conrad says. “The No. 2 reason is to be fit. You can actually be healthy and not be fit. Your doctor may tell you that your blood pressure is good, your blood sugar is good, your cholesterol is good. But you may not be carrying the optimum weight for a person your size or age. Overweight individuals put stress on their heart and their joints, and in the long run, they develop problems sooner than if they simply weighed less.”
A typical workout begins like most, with stretching, but that is followed by an easy jog around the statue of Huey P. Long. Then the group performs mini-circuit training that includes jumping rope, running the steps twice and doing 20 pushups followed by a plank. Unlike the Internet meme, to “plank” in exercise is to hold the body in a push-up position from the ground for 35 seconds.
Next, the group jumps rope for 45 seconds, then repeats all the exercises for 45 minutes. The last 15 minutes are devoted to abs.
“Adraine really gets in there with us and pushes and encourages us to reach our potential,” says group member Dominique Trahan. “We’re a team. We’re a family, and we give each other support.”
That support includes a rigorous, devoted approach to their routine. There are no gratuitous Bravos!, and no applause when the class concludes. These women simply go on to their respective jobs. Conrad herself puts in a long day behind a desk, fielding calls and requests on the phones of one of the busiest offices in state government, the Louisiana House of Representatives Communications Office.
In the fitness arena, Conrad is certified as both master trainer and personal trainer and is working toward international certification. She is currently producing her first workout DVD.
Conrad believes that an exercise regimen is one of the greatest things a person can do for both mental and physical health, especially for those who work behind a desk daily as she does.
“The human body is designed to walk, run, jump and dance,” she says. “We were made to move. Unfortunately, we spend a good bit of our time sitting—at a desk, in front of a TV, behind the steering wheel of a car or logged on to a computer.”
That’s why she’ll be getting up tomorrow in another mist-laden dawn to lead her platoon through their workout. Huey would be proud.
