I would say today was a bit of a turning point, although it was still hard. I did learn a lot of new exercise names like "burpee", "superman", "plank", "mountain climb" -- and they are all very difficult. I have never felt so uncoordinated! We did a 1/2 mile warmup and then a series of about 6 circuits (high knee jogging in place, mountain climb, jumping jacks, steam train (or something like that), toe kicks and of course...burpees...which are hard) Then we did lots of pushups and situps and planks. Hurt, but it has to be changing my body, right!

I felt better though, but my back is still hurting -- al the planks and various other "core" exercises will hopefully help that. I would add to my goals that I want my back to stop hurting....that's probably more important than any other aspect!

I found this description of how to do a burpee:
To perform a Burpee:

Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you.

Kick your feet back to a pushup position*.

Immediately return your feet to the squat position.

Leap up as high as possible from the squat position.

Repeat, moving as fast as possible. You should maintain a fast pace for this exercise. Strive for maximum height with each jump. Most athletes will average between 12 and 15 repetitions per 30 seconds