When she was 18, Christina Lucy applied to work the front desk at a gym in Phoenix. By chance she was asked to teach, and has been involved in fitness and nutrition since. She helped her ex-husband, John Spencer Ellis, develop the Women's Adventure Boot Camp in Southern California, and in 2008 opened her own Code Pink Boot Camp.

When Lucy decided to open a camp in Honolulu, a friend referred Tseshani Amadedoti to her. “;I flew to California for a week to train, then I showed her my program and she approved it,”; said Amadedoti (whose first name in his native Cherokee Tsalagi language appropriately means “;healer”;).

“;I start with a warm-up and stretching, then I do some cardiovascular activities, then some strength exercises, then a cool-down and some stretching again. Your muscle fiber begins to deteriorate after 72 hours, so I have a three-day regimen where you're working a major group and a minor group each day (chest/biceps, back/triceps, legs/shoulders), incorporating abs every day.

“;In the middle of the class we do some hard running to get their heart rate up—I mix it up with some jogging—but throughout the entire session we focus on controlled breathing, elevating the rib cage, and keeping your head up so your windpipe is open.”;

Amadedoti, 31, feels the physical exertion is worth it—he says he's never had a cold or flu, though his daredevil ways have landed him in the hospital 32 times, with 550 stitches, 57 staples and injuries to his vertebrae, jaw, sternum and skull.

Involved in athletics since he was 4, Amadedoti comes from a Cherokee warrior wolf clan in Asheville, N.C., and has the tattoos to prove it. He has two bachelor's degrees (mathematics and physiology), and has completed the course work for a master's in biophysics.

From 1996 to 2004, he rose from infantry to sergeant first class in the Army, and was tapped to be a trainer in the elite Combat Task Training Force. He returned to the North Carolina reservation where he grew up to help care for his mother who had cancer (she died in 2007), then took a variety of jobs in California, Southeast Asia, Guam, the Philippines and New Zealand to help pay for her medical bills. Amadedoti came to Hawaii in May 2008.

What's so special about the Code Pink program?

“;You can take classes anywhere that are co-ed, but there aren't many opportunities for women to take classes with other women where they don't have to feel embarrassed, they don't have to feel ashamed, so the intimidation factor is largely decreased,”; Amadedoti said. “;That just increases a person's confidence level and positivity, so you'll get better results. The focus is on individual growth.”;

Also, it helps to have someone pushing you.

“;I don't care who you are—myself, if I'm working out by myself, I'm only going to push to a certain point—but having someone else there to give you that extra little boost is what takes you past that threshold of comfort. If you want to grow and achieve more results, you have to push past that threshold.”;

And, no shame—women from a wide variety of backgrounds and fitness levels are in the class. “;A couple of the women are of average fitness, one is outstandingly fit, and some are unfit, but motivated—and that's the key,”; said Amadedoti. “;Given the opportunity to change your life, you have to commit.”;

Brandy Chang of Salt Lake said the attention she gets goes beyond class time. “;Tseshani texts me or e-mails me during the week to remind me to stretch, and to offer words of encouragement, so I feel like he is really vested in our success.

“;I get bored really easily, and the pace is such that I don't have time to get bored. We go from one exercise to the next, and then before you know it, class is over.”;

The early hour is hard for Ala Moana resident Uktena Teesateski, “;but once I get there and get going I feel real good about myself, and it is really pretty to see the wide open sky and the stars are still out.”;

And Kailua resident Maura Mastriani says, “;I'm energized for the rest of my day. I'd recommend it to anyone.”;