Just about any boot camp will have you go through a number of exercises but you’ll probably need a lot more than that. Every body responds differently to exercise and is quite unique, so you should experiment with it to understand its capabilities, all while constantly working towards making it as fit and healthy as possible. Here’s how you can find the best exercise boot camps to meet your specific needs.
Most fitness boot camps last anywhere from 30-60 minutes training 3-6 times per week. They include resistance training consisting of equipment as well as body weight. Some exercises might include push-ups, running, lunges, core exercises, squats and partner or team exercises. Each fitness boot camp begins with a warm up and ends with a cool down, which incorporates stretching exercises. Try to find exercise boot camps, which give you all this, and more. Choose a specialized boot camps such as weight loss boot camps or sports specific boot camps, in order to meet your specific goal. Consider the 5 tips below carefully before zeroing in on a particular boot camp.
TIP 1. You must find out how closely the boot camp suits you. Since workouts are done in groups find a bootcamp that puts a limit on the number of participants. No matter how good an instructor might be, stay away from boot camps that exceed a 15 to 1 ratio (participant to instructor). This ensures that you will be able to get enough of focused, individualized attention and the instructor can be sure everyone is on task and make necessary adjustments.
TIP 2. You must find out how encouraging or how intimidating you want your instructor to be, according to your goals and your personal flexibility. Some boot camps have instructors who have military backgrounds and take somewhat of a “hardcore” approach. The newest trend of boot camps has little or no military regimen but takes more of an energetic and fun personal training approach. Both however are a sure fire way to get results.
TIP 3. A qualified fitness instructor or personal trainer with recognized certificates and or a relevant college degree should be leading any reputable bootcamp. A medical clearance and private fitness assessment should be mandatory before beginning. This will give you the chance to ask the trainer any questions or concerns you may have.
TIP 4. A high-quality bootcamp trainer should answer all of your questions and by no means ask you to ignore bodily pains or injuries. Make sure to equip yourself with proper knowledge and not blindly follow your trainer. Most people are looking for a milder version of the traditional military style boot camp, which is encouraging and never pushes you to pull your body beyond its limit.
TIP 5. Any reputable boot camp should offer some sort of trial period. You should have plenty of time before or after these sessions to talk to others so use this time to find as much as you can from the instructor and existing members and discuss their results. If you feel uncomfortable doing this, pay attention and listen carefully in the beginning and you should be able to get a feel for things and quickly determine if the particular boot camp is one you would like to continue.
The Author is a Kansas City Fitness Expert and Personal Trainer. Brandon Carrier and Brittany Katz are the owners of a 21 Day Rapid Fat Loss Kansas City Boot Camp called Boot Camp 21 located in Overland Park/Kansas City area. To find out all about what their Kansas City Boot Camp can do for you, stop by their web site at www.BootCamp21.com.
