Your Fitness Boot Camp Is Tough, But Is It Safe?

Inspired, in part, by reality TV show, "The Biggest Loser," fitness boot camps have become a large growth segment of the fitness industry. But, does good TV equal a good workout? Television needs dramatic tension to draw viewers and "The Biggest Loser" uses in - your - face trainers barking commands like militant gods, demanding more sets, more reps, and in effect, imparting more drama to keep us watching. As voyeur-ship goes, this is good stuff and we're on the edge of our seats to see who gets sick, who crashes and burns, and who prevails to the cheers and tears of their family and friends. But, are we watching a good workout, applied with appropriate intensity levels and exercise science, or just a circus of activity designed to separate the nuts from the shell?

As a fitness professional, I'm well aware of the danger and risks involved in asking a 350 pound out of shape couch potato to sprint uphill on pavement. However, the effort needed for such a feat sure appears noble. That sentiment doesn't make it a good idea for our overweight fitness hopeful, however. Do you have the sense that your boot camp is brutally hard just for the sake of being brutally hard? Is there a method to the madness, or is it just plain old mad? And, how does a boot camp participant tell the difference? After all, the instructor is supposed to be the expert, and they're running the show. One has to trust that it's not being conducted just to "show" the group how unfit they are! With hundreds of thousands of people flocking to fitness boot camps every daybreak, perhaps a little sanity imparted to boot camps instructor's plans needs mentioning. Before dropping down for a hundred push ups to please said instructor, exercise your free will for a moment and consider the following suggestions.

First off, does your boot camp allow for a warm up beyond the obligatory run? A warm up jog does not adequately provide improved circulation to all the muscles and joints. Make certain you have the opportunity to move all the major muscle groups in light, rhythmic activity in several directions for an additional 3 to 5 minutes minimally. A body ready to train trains more effectively and at a reduced risk of injury.

Secondly, the fitness activities should resemble a bell shaped curve where intensity is concerned. Are you asked to perform at break neck speed immediately after the warm up? A better plan is to begin with easier, less complicated exercises, drills and maneuvers as these type fitness movements require less demand on the nervous system and proprioceptive circuitry, (body awareness). It is yet another avenue to a safer boot camp. Balance training, light agility drills, calisthenics, and bodyweight exercises work well here during this phase.

Next, is there any wiggle room for the lesser fit individuals in the group? Is everyone required to put up or shut up while knocking out jump squats in the parking lot? Older folks, people with knee or hip prosthetics, and exercisers with any lower body impairment aren't best served by plodding along on a surface harder than their weight bearing joints. As a 30 year veteran fitness coach, I would not recommend anyone make a habit of popping up and down on asphalt, regardless of what we see on TV! The best fitness boot camps provide modifications in their programming to allow for the oldest, youngest, and most and least fit, even if it's not convenient for class formatting. Is it reasonable to expect a 62 year old female to go toe to toe with a 28 year old male chugging through 50 burpees? Hardly, but I've witnessed it many times mystery shopping fitness boot camps over the years.

Fourth point that needs mentioning is this bravado that prevails in making sure people feel it the day after. I call this mentality the 2 by4 mind set. The notion that one needs to be sore, (and the sorer the better), is plain and simply, bogus! If the purpose of training, (and putting together a fitness boot camp), is to make people believe that the workout was a good one using soreness as a barometer, then why not just beat people with a 2 by 4? The analogy is ridiculous, but no more so than the approach. This measuring stick is dangerous if only because it motivates marginal trainer's to employ navy seal tactics to make certain you will "feel it" and be damn sure where it came from! It is perfectly natural to experience mild discomfort after beginning an exercise program, or deviating from your normal fitness routine. That said, it is not normal to gauge the effectiveness of a fitness boot camp, or any fitness program based on how sore it leaves the participant! While we're discussing what is inappropriate, one can include the BYOB workout, as well: Bring Your Own Bucket workout. Sorry! It might make you sound like a super-hero to perform until pasty, but in the world of exercise physiology, that kind of response to training is just wrong! Does this argument really need defending?

Intensity is everything! That has been shown extensively in human performance studies for improving fitness, burning body fat, building strength and improving heart and lung function. However, too many fitness boot camps have run with that idea and embellished it to dizzying heights, literally. Whats more, many boot camp instructors fail to plan adequate rest periods in their workouts for fear of appearing soft or not impressing their classes with how tough their camp is. That old 2 by 4 notion gets in the way of common sense and good exercise science, to boot. Rest is a critical factor in good training. One cannot bring quality effort or form to training unless they recover form the previous exercise or activity. Trainers need to be prudent in providing rest periods not only to ensure safe workloads, but to give their clients the best chance of actually getting fit! Rest between workouts and during workouts are essential for maximal results. Timed sets training is built on that platform, and it is that same technique that is re-writing the text books for conditioning. So, rest may appear soft to the TV fitness show director and the "hard-core" fitness boot camp instructor, but it is paramount to the success of the fitness consumer.

And, after all, isn't that what fitness training is all about: the end user?

Bo Crosby runs fitness boot camps in Naples, Florida and the surrounding areas, and has helped hundreds of people burn body fat and build lean muscle tissue. If you would like to learn how to lose maximum body fat and build lean muscle as quickly as possible, get your copy of 5 Critical Training Tips for Burning Maximum Body Fat and Building Lean Muscle here: http://www.bosfitnessbootcamps.com