Why Bootcamps are Bollocks!
It's been a while since you truly moved like any form of a fitness enthusiast.
General life stress has taken on a whole entity of it's own. House, mortgage, kids?, work, and now as you rise one morning to see a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, you say to yourself; this is not the body or the discomfort I dreamed of having when I was younger (or just the sound hmffff!)
Then you get this spark of enthusiasm as you gulp down your first coffee of the day. Maybe I'm overweight and tired because of a boot-camp deficiency??
A local dude (lets call him Chas) is running an outdoor early morning wake me up, get my life back boot-camp. He guarantees you will lose 5kg in the first month!
This sounds exactly what I need . I don't mind losing an extra hour of sleep to get up and get yelled at. I'M IN!
I must say at this point, the big motivator for this whole idea for general population (gen pop) is a support group of like minded people, who have not been moving enough and now have an accountability appointment with a hunky young Chas who may actually enjoy this game.
Does it work?. It depends on what you call working.
The calories in / calories out model is simple at the basic onset. If suddenly you are burning 200-600 more calories 3 times a week, surely the body must adapt and get thin right?
Of course, as long as your food calories remain the same as what they were or you even try to reduce them a little.
There is this funny thing called "working up an appetite" just so you know. The harder you work, the more your body wants to refuel for the next onslaught.
So you better hope will-power and discipline stay with you for the next 50 years.
So why do I hate this term Boot-camp?
Maybe a bit of history would help.
A Bootcamp has origins back to the Spanish-American war in 1898. The Military recruits in the US wore leggings known as "boots". So their training camp was then known as Boot-camp.
All the way into the 1980's it became a fitness fad to treat people like military soldiers. Work hard as a team, get strong, get fit, become resilient as a group.
By the 1990's it reached the gyms and was a regular on the class timetable or the early morning park schedule.
So why are you being treated like military meat as middle aged gen pop?
For those that are a little younger, please also take heed of my warnings.
#1
You are not military grade ready
#2
Burpees will probably kill your back (running will trash your calves, pushups will hurt your shoulders, early mornings will torment your soul)
#3
You will never sustain this class long term
#4
You have not been assessed for personal body requirements
#5
It is not educating you on posture, body awareness, joint control or safety
I still believe it can be fun to work hard in groups and get fit. The problem I have is the bigger picture.
This is one of my strong beliefs:
You should not be going to a workout with the main intention of burning calories to gain success.
Have a think about who Bootcamps benefit. Soldiers who need extreme toughness, extreme fitness, extreme strength and the resilience to cope with war.
Are you sure you are ready for that stress?
Go back to why you may be out of shape, tired and pained.
Instead of looking at research or stories of groups of people who adhere to these sort of programs and try to find the key links to success (Most actually do not create long term success), Try instead to look at the person you would like to be.
Emulate people who you could see yourself as for life.
This is where the Holistic plan come into play:
How do well people eat?
- They have a plan
- They have specific coaches who educate them on realistic lifestyle plans
- They track their food to some degree
How do well people move?
- They understand general daily non exercise activity habits (NEAT)
- They have had coaching from a movement expert
- They only take part in exercises they love
- They are realistic with sustainable routine habits
Do your values include an enjoyable realistic, sustainable, yet fun and challenging fitness lifestyle?
Do your values include a yo yo effect of laziness followed by 2 months of extreme exercise based more on discipline rather than passion?
I have rehabilitated way too many gen pop clients to count, who have been treated inappropriately.
If your main goal is to lose a few kg's, try a novel idea and create a bloody calorie deficit. No running required. (Maybe talk to a more qualified health coach)
If you would like to get in better shape, and by this I mean gain some muscle (Toning does not exist ladies), increase mobility, produce real life strength and feel great, there are lots of great ways to do it.
You must fall in love with learning, moving, eating, and caring for yourself.
You will then understand that beating yourself up with Bootcamps are not necessarily the correct way for you.
I have helped numerous people create long term health success with clever balanced lifestyle programs.
The last case that comes to mind ended up with a week that looked like the following:
- A 5 minute morning breathing routine
- A varied work station for daily movement success
- Evening walks post dinner (at an enjoyable pace)
- Weekly gym posture class and mobility class
- A personalised gym routine twice a week for strength (only 30 minutes)
- A Food plan with an emphasis on a protein goal and getting the family to create fun meal ideas.
- Methods of measurement that coach and client were happy with (Tracking app, scales, tape)
- A promise to allow much higher caliber workouts when it is appropriate and the body is ready.
This type of plan can create a sustainable, realistic model for success.
This out of shape issue has taken more than the 6-8 weeks to create. Don't expect a boot-camp to fix you. You are not broken!
Listen to your AMAZING
Play the long sustainable success game
✏️
Tony Small
Health Coach
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