Fit City Bootcamp is Scottsdale and Phoenix's premier fitness Bootcamp! Please visit our site for more information on bootcamp classes in Scottsdale and Phoenix or to inquire about personal training in Scottsdale and/or Phoenix.""Drop and give me 20!"
If you're familiar with the phrase, you likely survived military basic training or got on the wrong side of your high school gym teacher.
Or, you've joined the latest fitness craze: boot camps.
The military-style exercises featured in boot camp workouts are becoming popular with those who seek camaraderie and quick results. Offered by fitness centers across the Treasure Coast — and the country — boot camp workouts take their name from exercises used to get new military recruits in shape for the rigors of combat.
They are not for the faint of heart.
The workouts are intense, typically lasting between 20 and 40 minutes, and can burn hundreds of calories per hour,.
"Most of the people are burning between 500 and 700 calories," Bonnie Pfiester, co-owner of Longevity Fitness in Vero Beach said. "It depends on how much the person weighs, their heart rate and fitness level."
These workouts are a far cry from the days of Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda. They often still incorporate music, but that's where the similarities end.
"Training has gotten a lot more purposeful and intense because today's consumer not only wants to feel in shape, they also want to see that they are in shape and know the work is paying off," Pfiester said.
Today's boot campers grunt and groan their way through regimens that can include jumping jacks, running, push-ups, squats and sit-ups. Each program establishes its own routine.
Vero Beach resident Robb Falana, 39, said he joined a boot camp class at Longevity Fitness because, along with the cardiovascular and muscle-toning benefits, he enjoys the camaraderie of being in a class setting and having the encouragement of others.
"I'm one of those people who just cannot work out by myself," Falana said. "I get bored easily, but in boot camp you're focused and there's somebody telling you that you need to do something in a certain amount of time."
There is no one age group or "type" of participant. Pfiester said people as young as 16 and as old as 74 have been through Longevity's boot camps.
Boot camp training first made the list of top national fitness trends in 2009, according to a study by the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that provides fitness certification, education and training to fitness professionals and consumers. The number of gyms and other facilities on the Treasure Coast offering the workouts has increased and even includes one local government."
Article reprinted from TCPalm.com.
