A tight body in no time
Bootcamp… Aren’t those fanatics who let themselves be tortured in the grass for an hour by a trainer? You can, but bootcamp is for everyone. And thanks to the combination of cardio and strength exercises, you will be fit quickly and have a toned body in no time. Plus Health tested the training.
In the run-up to summer, a toned body sounds very attractive. We also want to experience whether such a bootcamp training is really suitable for everyone. Time for a trial lesson from The Bootcamp Club on a rainy Saturday morning in the Griftpark in Utrecht.
Three training sessions start that morning from The Bootcamp Club: a beginner, a regular and an 8 week 2 Superman boot camp. The beginners and regular groups mainly consist of women, becoming superman is really a men’s goal. Each training group consists of approximately twenty people. We are going on the road together with trainer Boris and a lot of other ‘beginners’.
To work
The training starts with a warm-up. Running in circles, lifting knees, heels buttocks and then a short round with some exercises for the abdomen, arms and legs. So far fine to do, but we are especially conditional – as a fanatic runners – also used to something.
The second part is a circuit. Do two 30 second push-ups, sit ups, jump on a platform and sit against a wall. In itself doable, but it became clear that we do not use all muscles equally. Then we run on looking for a field with not too much duck poop and do a round abdominal exercises.
Legs, legs, legs
The focus during this bootcamp was clearly on the legs. In a six-minute killer exercise, the acidification occurs considerably. It is a combination of sprinting, lunges, jumping and mountain climbers. Definitely the toughest part of the lesson.
We finish with a two arm exercise using a wall and a bike rack and the infamous burpees. You then start squatting with your hands on the floor. Then jump back into push-up position and back again. Finally, jump upright as high as you can with your arms outstretched.
Variety motivates
In short, a fun and varied training. We do everything short and that makes it good to stick to it. Training in the outside air is wonderful and because you keep looking for a different part of the park, time flies. Conditionally we did not find the training that challenging, but it is certainly nice for strength training. And the muscle aches were present the next day!
As a beginner, the explanation during the training is sometimes quite fast, especially if you are not familiar with the exercises. Because the bootcamp is given in quite large groups, there is not a lot of personal attention. It is therefore important to persevere yourself, because there is room here and there to cheat a bit. For example, the countdown for the 13 burpees went so fast that we had trouble performing the exercise correctly.
It’s probably going to be a lot easier if you do it a little more often. The content of the boot camp is not the same as training, but the exercises often come back. If we are to believe a number of fellow bootcampers, you build up strength fairly quickly. And if you find the beginner training too easy, you can move on to a higher level.
The Bootcamp Club: The Social Network that makes you sweat!
Bootcamp Training is offered in different levels. There is a group for beginners but also for the advanced athlete.
In addition to the regular bootcamp classes, they also offer training programs for fixed groups in combination with nutritional advice such as ‘8 weeks 2 Fabulous’. More information about rates and locations throughout the country can be found at thebootcampclub.nl.
