Five reasons why bootcamp is a great way to lose weight

Many South Africans would have vowed to get their fitness back on track in 2017, but January most likely saw many of them falling off the wagon. 

Eat less junk food, you said. Workout more, you said. But two weeks into the new year you probably gave up on that resolution?

You either got annoyed pushing your way through January’s usual New Year’s gym crowds, or you got bored running on a treadmill like a hamster on its wheel.  

Before you retreat to your favourite sofa in defeat and become a couch potato for the rest of the year, there is something a little more exciting than your usual gym routine.  

Fitness bootcamps have been taking place across South Africa for years now, but many people are only now starting to realise how much fun they can be. 

Losing weight has never been this exciting, and bootcamps have been known to bring out your inner superwoman or man! 

International celebrities like Kim and Khloe Kardashian are major fans of bootcamp-style training.

Here in South Africa, former Miss South Africa Vanessa Careirra, singer Kabelo Mabalane, and fitness junkies Sbahle Mpisane and Nonhle Ndala are also big on outdoor fitness routines.

Personal trainer Geoff Sa Joe says bootcamps are a great way to lose weight, and have become popular for a number of reasons. 

• Affordability: Much cheaper than one-on-one personal training.

• Competitiveness: People by nature are competitive, so they'll tend to try harder.

• Variety of exercises: Large number of exercises can be performed.

• Outdoors or Indoors: People may prefer to train outdoors.

• Training in a group: Group training can be more fun than training alone in a gym.

Many fitness rookies are reluctant to take up bootcamp workouts because they think they won’t be able to keep up with the perceived military style training. 

But Geoff, who runs his own training programme in Durban called “Shapeshifter Bootcamp”, says he has found that beginners actually find going to the gym more intimidating than bootcamp. 

“Go with an open mind. We are all at different fitness levels striving to get fitter and stronger. Just remember, we all had to start somewhere to get where we want to be. The most important thing is to take action and give bootcamp or exercise in general a go. Humans are designed for movement,” he told us. 

Geoff added that he wholeheartedly believes in the value of body-weight exercises. 

“My classes focus on simplicity and effectiveness and this is where the body-weight exercises showcase their true value. Body-weight exercises such as squats and push-ups will get the heart-rate going and challenge various muscle groups in a single movement. So, participants can expect to do plenty of weird and wonderful body-weight exercises. I will also make use functional equipment such as kettle-bells, dumbbells & medicine balls. Crusaders Sports Club has plenty of hills and steps, so those will be thrown into the mix as well. Classes are designed to engage as many muscle groups as possible in a 45min session, so expect to shred at least 350-400 calories per session. Form and posture is vitally important to me, so I keep the class numbers manageable, 15-20.” 

His eight to 12-week Shapeshifter Bootcamp programme is running from February to March. 

What are you waiting for? It is time to get those 2017 fitness goals back on track! 

* NB: It is always best to consult your doctor before starting any new exercise routine.

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