Working as the sports editor at The Daily Illini is not exactly conducive to staying in shape. Class takes up my mornings and afternoons. The DI gets my evenings. And finding time and energy to work out is tough.

So when the Mettler Center, 616 E. Green St., asked us to participate in its month-long fitness challenge, I jumped at the opportunity – and almost pulled a hamstring.

Yes, it had been that long since I worked out.

Two girls from WPGU, two fellow DI-ers and I participated in a twice-a-week, small-group training program at Mettler to see who would prevail as the most improved after one month. Improvement was determined by evaluations we were given before and after the program.

Small-group training was like junior high gym class meets boot camp. We did burpees and push-ups, wall-sits and crunches. But we had fun with it. It was a very happy medium between going to the gym alone to wander around aimlessly and working out with a personal trainer breathing over you every second.

The day after our first session, my legs were so sore that I barely made it up the stairs at the DI. But it would get better as the weeks wore on. It also helped that Smoothie King hooked us up with free, healthy smoothies after each session.

Our Mettler fitness guru/sergeant/gym teacher Aaron pushed us to our physical limits in each of our eight sessions. And I felt like a new person after the experience was over.

So did I win? No, but I improved in all categories on our evaluations. I lost three pounds and more than an inch off my waist, and my body fat decreased. But those were not my proudest accomplishments – those came in two other categories.

In the push-up test, in which I had to do as many push-ups as possible before keeling over, I got 45 in the first evaluation. But like Roger Maris chasing Babe Ruth, I ripped off 61 in my second evaluation.

And then there was the sit-and-reach – the test that has haunted me since elementary school when I had to repeat it a dozen times to complete the presidential fitness award. I’m just not that flexible.

At least I didn’t used to be. Our extensive stretching in the class turned me into Gumby. My sit-and-reach skyrocketed, and if that had been my only improvement, it would have sufficed.

I’d recommend small group training to anyone who wants to get into shape and have fun without breaking the bank. Just warn your legs what they are getting themselves into.