Getting and giving the boot(camp)

Fitness training is by its very nature a trendy business. People pay trainers to help them "look good" although some will also say that the de-stressing benefit of training is also worth every penny, but let's face it: we want training to make us into "new hotness"

Well, I'm noticing that the latest trend in fitness seems to be based on the grunting soldier-in-training style of workout known as a bootcamp. Just as with the Marines, "bootcamp recruits" are put through the rigors of 4-12 week programs emphasizing strength, endurance, and speed. (What about flexibility, you ask? Not so much...afterall, who needs flexibility to run in combat boots...according to most bootcamper leaders, that yoga-stuff is for girly men.) Bootcamp trainees at Boston's Ultimate Bootcamp may not learn to do full-on bodyweight pullups in just 4 weeks, but they do learn to rise and shine at 0500 hours. Meeting at the running path along the river, the local HS track, or the nearest jungle-gym playground, similar early morning bootcamp groups are popping up everywhere. And there's usually not a celebrity-style trainer dressed in camoflage to lead the group. Nike tights and New Balance shoes are much more de rigeur. The typical bootcamp instructor, unlike in the armed forces formal bootcamps, has no megaphone, no pointy brimmed hat, and no combat boots. You may not even get called "maggot". So what are you paying them to do?

More on that next time...