With 2011 on our doorstep, I turn my attention to one of the most popular routes to New Years Resolution goals: The Fitness Bootcamp.

What is Bootcamp?

Over the past 15 years, bootcamps have taken the world by storm. These high intensity, outdoor, team-building workouts are completely addictive… to some. I’ll go into whether or not you may be one of those people later.

The first fitness bootcamps to start getting some attention in the 1990s where run by ex-military types (or people who thought they knew what military bootcamps were like from watching TV). The idea behind them was usually to thrust your body into a much fitter state over 4, 6 or even 12 weeks. These 60-90 minute sessions involved little rest and were quite often run 5 days a week.

Unfortunately, for the deconditioned population these high intensity workouts were simply to much for them. Reports started hitting the papers about injuries occuring at these camps and from that the word ‘Bootcamp’ began to be associated with negative connotations.

Fast forward to today and bootcamps are held in nearly every park around Australia. Go for a jog at 6am in the morning and you are bound to run into a group of sweaty people exercising away possibly with someone yelling at them. It can certainly be quite intimitading just running past them.

Bootcamps Today

Most fitness bootcamps out there at the moment are no longer a quick fix solution (or should I say a quick injury solution). As you know, fitness is an ongoing thing that must be continued throughout your life, not just when you are a little (or maybe a lot) overweight. As a result, most bootcamps are a lot safer and instead of pushing you to breaking point they just try to push you a little outside your comfort zone.

Of course, there is still some die hard trainers out there who run bootcamps like you are in the military. These bootcamps are really for advanced trainees only and I do not recommend them to someone just starting out.

If you are considering signing up you should weigh the pro’s and con’s first and see if bootcamp is right for you. Below I have put a few points that may sway you one way or the other.

Should I do a Bootcamp?

You should NOT do Bootcamp if:

• You don’t like putting your hands on grass or lying on grass.
• You are concerned about getting rained on or too much sun.
• You are pregnant or have had a child in the past 6 weeks.
• You want to be in a class were you can hide up the back.
• You don’t like training with groups of people.

You should do Bootcamp if:

• You want/like to be pushed outside your comfort zone.
• You are looking for new exercises and fresh drills.
• You want to get outside regularly (most fo us spend far to much time indoors).
• You want to get away from the smell, music and mirrors found in gyms.
• You want to feel the energy that comes with exercising and working with similiar trainees.

I should note that a lot of the points I made in the NOT list can also depend on the trainer/PT group. Some bootcamps have an indoor location they use when it is wet, some trainers will not care if you are slacking at the back. Which is why in the next section I will cover finding a bootcamp thats right for you for you.

Choosing a Bootcamp

Wow, this is a hard topic because the quality and style of Bootcamps can vary so much. Personally I have tried 7 different businesses that run bootcamp/group outdoor classes and I only disliked one of them.

Here are a few things I would look at before contacting them, but there is no real way of deciding without doing an actual training session with them.

1. How long have they been running? Usually, the longer the better quality of the trainer(s).
2. Go to the location at the time you are interested. How many campers have they got? Do you want to train in a class of that size?
3. Price. Usually a higher price means a more premium service or a limit on campers per trainer. You have to pick one that you can afford, not just this month but regularly.

The next step is to actually go try a session. Call up the business you have decided on and ask them if you can come trial a session. Don’t be offended if they don’t let you or if they ask you to wait for a particular week. Some bootcamps run on a set program for 12 sessions and each session requires existing knowledge learnt in previous sessions.

You will feel like you have been run over by a truck.

If you can’t get a trial than its maybe time to bite the bullet and sign up for a full bootcamp.

This is how I run my bootcamps. The reason I do this is simple; if you are not already fit, after your first session you will hurt. You will feel like you have been run over by a truck. Don’t worry this will pass, after 2 or 3 workouts your body will adapt and your soreness will become managable. If you are locked in for 4 or 12 weeks you will want to keep coming despite the pain. If however you just go for one session you may find your brain working against your body to stay in bed in the mornings rather than train.

Once you have done a session or 2 or all of them you can then properly decide if this is right for you. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Did I feel included in the group?
2. Did I feel included by the trainer? (Did you get a call after the session? Did they remember your name?)
3. Deep down, despite feeling stuffed, did I enjoy it?

You may have other points you are also looking for too. If you answered no to any of those questions, it may be time to try another Bootcamp.

What about you? Have you ever done a bootcamp? What was your experience?