It’s January, the time of year when New Year’s Resolutions are kicking and FITNESS GETS HOT (at least for a couple weeks). People are looking for quick solutions to lose weight and firm up and are looking for help on how to do it through books, magazines, gyms, miracles in a bottle, personal training, etc. One area that’s gotten popular is group training also known as “bootcamps.” Fitness Bootcamps are a growing trend in the fitness industry today and for good reason. They typically are MUCH MORE affordable than personal training. They also offer more camaraderie and social support and are much more exciting while still providing expert supervision and guidance.
Unfortunately, bootcamps do have their downside. Many fitness instructors want to jump on the bootcamp bandwagon without having any of the skills or experience to design custom workouts for the wide variety of fitness levels typical in large group training. This can be flat out dangerous (not to mention a waste of your time and money) so I thought I’d offer you 10 tips on how to properly select a bootcamp that will be a good investment, get you results and keep you safe at the same time.
Outdoor Bootcamp
The Top 10 Bootcamp Safety Checklist
1.) The Instructor(s) Must Be Certified With Nationally Recognized Institutions such as the American Council on Exercise or the National Academy of Sports Medicine. There are many online pay-for-certifications where people can get a certificate with little or no knowledge of proper training methods. And many of them have book knowledge but no hands-on/practical experience. This is a big part of what gets people hurt and gives fitness a bad name!
2.) The Instructor(s) Must Look The Part And Walk The Walk. If the trainer takes physical fitness seriously and is on the cutting edge of new training methodologies, they will be fit themselves, plain and simple. After all, who wants to take advice from someone who is in worse shape than they are! I’m always perplexed at why a client would choose an out of shape trainer but regardless this is seriously an embarrassment to the industry, not to mention the trainers themselves.
3.) The Instructor(s) Must Be Experts With Exercise Progressions. Every exercise has the appropriate regression and progression based on your current fitness level. Overweight, de-conditioned beginners SHOULD NOT perform the exact same exercises as their more fit counterparts. If you ask your trainer if he/she can show an exercise modification that better suits your particular situation and they have no idea and give you a blank stare, you should leave and leave quickly!
4.) The Instructor(s) Must Make Themselves Available for 10-15 Minutes Before and After Every Session. Although a good trainer can effectively train the group as a whole and still give that personal touch, he/she must be willing to speak with clients before AND after every workout to answer questions and address any personal issues that might arise within the scope of your training or in related to other very important topics like nutrition.
5.) The Program Must Emphasize Body Weight Before External Resistance. There should be no added weight to any movements until you have mastered the key foundational body weight exercises in full ranges of motion like push-ups, squats, lunges, etc. A red flag should be raised if you are being instructed to add weight to a movement that you have yet to master with your body weight alone. This one’s important because it’s not a matter of if you will get hurt… it’s a matter of when! Too many trainers are more concerned about putting on a show and “hurting people with exercises that are too advanced” than taking the time to teach proper technique. Foundational movements must be mastered and safety should always be a top priorty.
If you’re looking for a bootcamp (or personal training) in the Charlotte, NC area, I’m confident that I meet these criteria and would love to have you join us! Our next phase begins next week. More info here.
Check back for part 2 of this post soon…
This picture is the best! Remind me not to make that face anymore though please! lolI might be scaring of potential clients of yours.
02.01.2010, 4:29 pm