The term “boot camp” brings up images of hardcore training and a drill instructor style coach yelling at a line of people to work harder and get that sweat. There’s an intensity about it, which is part of both the appeal and the intimidation. If you’re signing up for a fitness boot camp, you’re doing it because you’re looking for that intensity, either to get you started on a fitness path or to heave you back onto the path you fell off of.
It doesn’t matter what your background in fitness is, a fitness boot camp offers a focused push to get you moving in the right direction. Here are four things you should expect from a fitness bootcamp.
4 Things You Should Expect from Fitness Boot Camp
1. You’ll get a full body burn
Part of what makes a fitness boot camp so remarkable is the full body burn you get from this kind of exercise class. At the core of these programs is a combination of strength training and cardio exercises. This gives you a full body burn that pushes you. You’ll challenge your muscles, pour with sweat, and your heart will feel like it’s pumping out of your chest. That intensity is part of the point.
The regimens here are all about compound exercises that promote functional fitness. What we mean by functional fitness is exercise work that makes your everyday life easier. Unlike training that’s meant to sculpt your muscles or allow you to run a marathon, functional training develops muscles for things like bending, squatting, carrying, etc. These movements are necessary for real people in the real world, where we use our whole body to get things done every single day in mundane ways.
ASD’s bootcamps incorporate heavy bag work and kettle bells to maximize the workout and keep it interesting. These help to shred fat and build muscle from your head to your toes. Your muscles are challenged with each class, mixing up your workout and pushing your limits. The whole body training in a fitness bootcamp leaves you with a satisfying feeling that makes you feel alive in all the best ways.
“ Shred fat and build muscle
from your head to your toes! “
2. You’ll get way out of your comfort zone
When you step into a fitness boot camp class, you are stepping out of the normal world and into one that is focused just on you and what your body can do. Everyone has a tendency to fall into the comfort zone of the way their bodies feel, no matter what their fitness level is. We become accustomed to the way that our muscles feel and move. Fitness bootcamp pushes you way out of that comfort zone, both in the way your overall body feels and in the specific ways that your individual muscles feel. It’s not just physical though, because you’ll get out of your mental comfort zone too. So much of who we are in our workouts is limited by our patterns of thinking. Changing those thinking patterns will change those body patterns.
Make no mistake – it is uncomfortable to go this hard. Fitness boot camp should push you right to your edge. Not over it, but right up to it.
3. You’ll turn your brain off
Part of this process includes giving yourself over to the program. It’s actually one of the more appealing parts of a fitness boot camp. You don’t have to think, you just have to put your faith in the instructor and go along with it. The intensity of the workout means you don’t have time to think about those thousand other things that are generally pulling at your brain. There’s a meditative quality going on here when you get in the zone.In fact, this aspect of programs like online or in person boot camps are one of the reasons they’re so appealing. It’s not so much that you enjoy having someone ordering you around in this intense and rigorous setting, but that you can trust someone to tell you what to do and then follow their expertise to the results you want to get.Military boot camp is all about new recruits surrendering to the military training, building their skills while becoming part of something bigger. That same mentality is going on here, only the something bigger that you’re becoming part of is your own physical and mental progress.
One thing to note here is that fitness boot camp is all about you. You can totally ignore the other people in your class – how fast they’re going or how much weight they’re carrying. It’s never about them, it’s about you and what you’re doing. The only person that you’re challenging is yourself. The instructor is there to help you put that laser focus on you, guiding you so that you can do instead of think.
4. You’ll feel like a superhuman
The driving intensity of a fitness boot camp experience is amazing. Once you finish one of these workouts, you’ll feel like you just climbed a mountain and can do anything. It’s hard going, and there’s no escaping the reality that it is brutal while you’re in it. Once you’re done though, you can see how much you’re capable of.
There’s a major discomfort in the first few sessions, especially if you’ve been off the wagon in your exercise prior. The soreness and feeling of not wanting to move at all will linger for a few days. On the other side of those feelings is the feeling that you made it through and that you are a superhuman. You’ll be asked to push hard by your instructors, past what you think you can do. You can do it though!
To help you get to that place, be sure to hydrate before and after your workout. You need carbs to refill your energy and protein to fuel your muscles. Recovering between bootcamp workouts effectively is as important as showing up to class.
All that being said, if you make smart choices along the way, then you’re going to get to that superhuman feeling at the end.
Boot Camp is a powerful workout experience, no matter what your level of fitness. It’s a perfect way to kick your fitness into high gear and to push yourself towards your full potential. It’s a great feeling!
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