When Is Boot Camp Really Boot Camp?

Over the last several  years there has been a movement towards boot camp like training in the fitness industry.  "Boot Camp" is a great marketing term,  and it sounds like a great adventure when you here a "stay at home" mom or "insurance" salesman tell you they are doing a boot camp. I run a "boot camp" myself and we have a lot of fun, we work out hard and I have seen many people transform their level of conditioning in a few months time. But just how real is "boot camp" in comparison to military "boot camp" training?

First off, I have never been in the military and I cringe to a certain extent when I tell people that I'm running a "boot camp". In my opinion, "boot camp" in terms of the fitness industry is a "marketing term" used by trainers to get people outside, running, doing pushups, partner exercises, etc. Maybe the term "outdoor fitness" or "group fitness" might be more appropriate, but from a business perspective most people are Googling "boot camp" when looking for such a program. So, I run a boot camp.

It is safe to assume that no drill instructor would tolerate "no shows",  "whining",  and the less than mediocre exercise form that comes along with fitness industry boot camps. To the drill instructors advantage, when you sign up for the armed forces, being fat or out of shape is a liability. Sharing  fox holes with those prone to pass out in situations of physical exertion isn't good for moral.  From what my military friends have told me, the out of shape, overweight, or underweight recruit are segregated and put in a separate group. Their food is rationed and they are put on a training regimen that will bring them up to speed with the other recruits. For these people, there is nobody who is going to tell them that it is "okay",  and that they "will get in shape with time".  Nobody is going to give them a seminar on "emotional eating" or "motivation".  The bottom line is they aren't up to the cut, and they will have to get their stuff in order eating the quantities of food that the military provides for them, and exercising on the militaries watch. 

Honestly, if I had as much control over my clients eating and schedule as the armed forces does, my success rate would skyrocket. I wish I had a dime for every time I heard somebody tell me that they had some chocolate cake, ice cream, desert coffee , six pack of beer, because they felt they earned it after doing a few "boot camp" workouts.  I doubt many overweight recruits in the military get rewarded "treats" for doing 10 pushups, and losing a lb of water weight. But left to their own devices, most of us "treat" ourselves to things we don't need. This is a weakness.  It would be fun to go into people's houses and burn all their doritos, and oreos cookies. I'd love to watch them have to deal with a plate of broccoli and some lean meat for their daily ration.  This would help them develop some real will power.    

As far as exercise goes, I think everybody should be able to run a few miles,  and do at least 20 pushups but depending on the group that signs up for "boot camp" it's hard to get everybody up to this standard. Some trainers have had success running "harsher" boot camps that cater to the fit, and let the unfit fall by the wayside.  A lot of this depends on the demand. If you have a decent size group of fit and committed people, you can let the slackers get in line, or go back to their TV sets, facebook pages and Ben and Jerry's.  Then you will have a boot camp that can wave it's flag high. On the other hand, from a trainers perspective, you have to make a living. So if  you have a group of semi committed people you give it your best shot, knowing that some of them may drop out, or skip a few workouts if the last one was too intense. You also know that a few of them will exercise intensely but never really get their nutrition house in order. You can let them know that their sore knees, or their inability to plank for a good period of time has to do more with their nutritional habits, and less to do with their natural ability but a lot of times that falls on deaf ears.

The bottom line is if you want a "real experience" with boot camp,  join the military or make it a point to push yourself harder. Do yourself a favor, next time you see your Navy Seal cousin at the family reunion, tell them you are doing a "boot camp" style training.

Tom Pollard

Dr Plankenstein's Fitness Training.

Having some "skin in the game" is an expression used in the finance world implying that if one is to advise a financial client to buy stock XYZ, then the advisor in turn should own a little XYZ to give his recommendation credibility.  Often times in the financial world, or in the world in general, people will tell anybody anything in an attempt to make a buck.  If a stockbroker is shortsighted he might tell his client to buy "risky" XYZ because it is a "hot" stock and one that is getting all kinds of press.  The stockbroker will make a commission regardless of what stock XYZ does for the customer.  If the stockbroker doesn't own XYZ he doesn't suffer the loss only the commission. So a good question to ask a stockbroker who recommends that you buy a stock is "how many shares do you have?". You want to see that your broker has some "skin in the game" before you take his advice. This is true outside the world of finance and the broader world of sales as well.  The fitness world is full of trends that are pushed by us fitness people that are credible or not so credible.

Take the toning shoe craze that Skechers pushed a few years ago.  Wearing these shoes was supposed to help "tone" your legs. However, wearers of the shoe ended up having similar injuries and discomforts that perpetual wearers of high heels have. Eventually Skechers parent company Reebok faced lawsuits.  Maybe Reebok should have had some of their employees walking around in toners for awhile before they were brought to the market. Having their employees, or better, the CEO and board walking around in the toners might have shown more "skin in the game".

I have seen a few personal trainers who spend too much time on up selling their clients on supplements. These supplements can be expensive and I doubt that many of the trainers who sell them consume them on a regular basis. Personally, I wouldn't have a problem selling a multivitamin, b12 complex, or protein powder because these are all things that have worked for me. I have "skin in the game" with these nutrition aids.  On the other hand, if I were to push a client to buy "white bean extract" because it's the latest and greatest in weight loss supplements, I'd be full of it.  I've never used the stuff, so I have no clue if this stuff works or not. However, I have managed to keep decent body fat level, eating well most of the time, controlling portions, and exercising,  so that is what I preach. There's 1000's of supposed weight loss products at the health food stores and I get emails every day from supplement companies who recommend that I push their product on my clients.  Now, other trainers might look at these supplements as opportunities to up sell their clients and create bigger "revenue streams". 

The health and wellness world is full of people pushing you something. I had a chiropractor propose a $1600 plan for each of my kids that addressed every health issue that we addressed on the waiting room forms. Do they do $500 adjustments on each other for runny noses, attention problems, etc?

How about the constant pharmaceutical ads that show you some sad face turn into a happy face, and that you should ask your doctor about their drug.

Another area where people in my profession should have some skin in the game is in prescribing exercises. If a trainer is going to charge you $70 an hour to improve your golf swing, they should know the actual mechanics of hitting a golf ball. I don't golf much but I know there is a lucrative market for trainers who work on exercises that improve the golf swing. I could prescribe a couple rotational exercises that might help somebody get "torque" on their swing, but I don't think it would help my credibility if I worked with a golf pro and after a couple of months the golfer saw no real difference in their game. So anybody, charging a customer $70 a workout to improve their golf game, should know the mechanics of the different swings, know where to see the imbalances in the swing, and where weaknesses can be improved. Charging somebody $70 an hour to do a couple sets of woodchoppers isn't legit.

Also,  if I were to make my clients do 1000s of pushups and burpees until they puked while walking around with a beer belly and bull horn, I'd have a credibility problem. Sure some clients will get progress in this environment, and they might not question the trainers girth. However, at some point they might question the trainer  if every workout they are so drained, or hardly drained at all, and they might look elsewhere. If you don't know what a workout "feels like" yourself you could run your client into the ground. Running  50 yard dashers in a 15 minute period might not sound like much on paper but if you done it before you know that you can be exhausted at the end of the workout. Watch out for the trainer with no "skin in the game". The trainer who runs you into the ground while the text to their buddies about what night club to meet up at night. So, iIs the trainer able to do the workout they prescribe? Or has the trainer lost all interest in health and is just going through the motions throwing routines at clients to pass the hours?

 I have seen some popular fitness programs that utilize the Olympic lifts, but after watching some of the videos on you tube you'd question if any of these programs spent any time going over proper form with a client.  Telling a 45 year old woman, to power clean 95 lbs as many times as possible in a minute because it's intense and will build up explosiveness isn't smart training.   I love the Olympic lifts but I wouldn't spend too much time doing them with novice clients who are just looking to get in shape.  If you're going to teach the lifts, you should know how to do them right, otherwise your clients will end up with degenerative injuries over time.

The most important thing I can do as a trainer is to show observable progress with every client. If I wanted to just sell whatever to make money, I'd sign up with Amway. I love seeing people push their limits, turn back the clock, and get in tune with healthier way of living. I try and follow this myself, when I'm not training I'm working out, trying new exercises to see what works and what doesn't.  I look forward to training more clients down the road.

Tom Pollard

Dr Plankenstein

All one needs to do is walk around Wal-Mart, or eat at a fast food restaurant, to see that obese people are everywhere.  The citizens of the USA spend about $40 billion a year on diet products. That is about $130 a citizen. Judging by the muffin tops and crammed airplanes, these diet products aren't doing the job.  Adding confusion to the issue is the fat acceptance movement which wants obese people accepted as if they're a minorities with rights who have no choice in their body make up. This is a flawed movement because it doesn't address the health problems that accompany obesity, i.e.,  type II diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis, poor posture, heart disease, etc. It is accepted that some people have higher amounts of fat cells than others, and that they might be more inclined to put on weight, but few people get obese eating a healthy diet and exercising. The truth is too many people are fat, and a lot of these people aren't doing enough in terms of nutrition and exercise to make a big change. You can watch all the Dr Phil shows, read all the books, sign up for every exercise group and nutrition seminar, start a "pat yourself on the back" support group,  but if you're not burning more calories than you're consuming you will continue to be fat, or worse - get fatter.

What is obese?

The National Strength and Conditioning Association defines obese for a male at 30 percent BMI(body mass index) and 35 percent BMI for women. However, BMI is not the best indicator of body composition given that muscle weighs more than fat. A Football player could be classified as obese by his BMI and actually have a low percentage of body fat. A body composition analysis is the most effective way to measure body fat. This can be done with a variety of methods as simple as a body fat measuring hand held device, or as complex as being weighed underwater on an expensive scale. All body composition measurements have their limitations but if you use the same devices to track body fat percentage over time you will be able to track fat loss.  

I've tried many things but have not had results.

So you have the total gym in the garage, the p90X dvd's in the closet, a juicer in the cabinet, and a shelf full of trendy or once trendy diet books.  You are making the fitness industry rich but not having any success.  Most neighborhood fitness facilities survive on having about 3000 plus members but about half or more rarely workout. These people who slip through the cracks of fitness are a huge part of the fitness industries financial success.  A lot of these people are dipping their toes in the water of fitness but never diving in. A lot of times they are looking for "fast food" fitness. At worse, they end up with "shake weights" or other meaningless contraptions.   There are some great workout videos, books, and exercise classes available to everyone but if you have a history of dropping out  or "just putting your foot in the water" you will never have any success if you don't change the pattern.  If you have gotten to this point, I recommend sitting down with a fitness professional for a consultation.  A good consultation consists of going over exercise and nutrition habits. The consulted should also be weighed and measured for body fat composition. Finally, if the consulted wishes to hire the trainer, they should set some mutual goals. The client and the trainer both accept that being in the obese category is a problem that needs to be solved. You agree to track weight loss and the trainer will make it a point to inquire about daily food consumption. This is why one on one training is more successful  than group training in helping a client get off the obese list.  Often in a group setting, everybody is made to feel accepted in order to keep the group working out together.  Trainees are more likely to skip group workouts, and be less committed to maintaining a good nutrition plan.  From a trainers perspective, it is easier to spend 5 to 10 minutes with one client going over what they should and shouldn't be eating, or how they might have strayed from the plan, than it is to discuss those topics in a group setting.  One on One training is going to cost more than group training but the success rate is higher which might make it more cost effective in the long run.

So if I'm obese, what is the first step in losing 50 lbs?

So if you need to lose 50 lbs, and you've tried many different things with no success,  hire a personal trainer.

You Need to Get the Nutritional Plan in Order.

Someone who is 50 lbs overweight needs to cut out sugar (alcohol included) and flour consumption. Initially, They need to get their calorie consumption under 2000 a day and more depending on their target weight.  They need to learn how to measure their food. If a serving is one cup, then they need to make one cup. They need to start looking at the labels on the food.  The need to go into a restaurant prepared.  The trainer can help them with this.  If a new client gets their calorie consumption down, and drops the flour and sugar, within a week they will start losing weight. It's not uncommon for a client to lose a few lbs between the consultation and the first workout  on diet change alone.

Start Walking

The average person burns about 100 calories a mile. If you walk briskly you can burn up to 400 calories in an hour. For an obese person, walking to burn calories is a low impact no brainer. To lose a lb of fat you need to burn 3500 calories. So you've removed the junk from your diet and that amounts to about 500 calories a day or 3500 calories (1 lb of fat) a week, now throw in four hours of walking a week minimum to burn another 1600 calories.  Now you're burning about 1.5 lbs of fat a week.

Working out with the trainer.

For an obese client, I recommend working out three times a week. If the intensity level is right, the client will burn about 600 calories or more a workout. You do this by mixing different exercises with small rest intervals. Weights and bodyweight exercises are all done with good form. (Another reason why people fail with the videos is form).  A good trainer enables the  client to execute the exercises with good form without killing the intensity of the workout.

Muscle

The trainer is going to help you with your workouts by making sure that you maintain good form, intensity, and focus. The trainer should also see signs of when the body might need a break from the intensity and modify the workout as needed. These are all aspects of training that are harder to do with exercise dvd's  and group training classes.  The trainer needs to  get you to confide in your daily caloric intake. It does the trainer and the client no good for the client to lie about what they don't eat. Often times confiding in someone else helps a client avoid eating crap food and gets them to realize just how much junk makes up their daily caloric consumption.  The client needs to be held accountable if they are not sticking with the plan. You cannot out workout bad nutrition.

As the client progresses, the trainer will increase resistance and intensity during the training sessions. The trainer might also prescribe more intense cardio exercise for the client to do on their own time.  The healthier the client gets the more likely he or she is to pursue more productive hobbies. Choosing to do a home project over sitting on the couch gets a lot easier when you're fit.  The trainer should measure the clients success, through body comp analysis, and the clients own greater satisfaction with body image and general health. The client needs to be reminded of how they felt and looked then and how much better they feel now.

What is the Bottom Line?

If you have every exercise gadget, tried all the dvd's, purchased all the fad diet books and you still need to lose 50 lbs, something needs to change. How much would you spend if your roof had a leak, or the tires needed to be replaced on your car? How much do you spend at fast food restaurants when you could be making healthier meals for half the price. What do you need to change in your life? What if hiring a personal trainer, and working out hard for a half year to burn 50 lbs of unhealthy body fat makes you less risk averse to colon cancer, type II diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis, etc.  The risks definitely outweigh the costs.  
Tom Pollard

Twenty Minute Squat Workout

Take a weight that you can handle (60 - 70 % of your one rep max if you're doing weights) and see how many reps you can get in a twenty minute sessions. Repeat this workout every couple of weeks and always aim to beat your previous max. I do this with squats, and pull ups. The squat workout will boost your metabolism like crazy.  

Sprints

This one is affordable but not easy. Pick a distance, it could be 50 yards or 100 yard. You want to jog the first one, run the second a little faster and by the third or fourth sprint you should be hitting a good stride. You want about 1 minute or 2 of rest between each sprint. Maybe a bit longer for the 100. Keep the sprints going as long as you feel you have a chance of topping your best time.

Drop Sets

I'm not a HIT guy but I like to throw in a drop set here and there. One set and go for broke. Do a heavy weight 4 - 6 reps, and then take 20 -30% of the bar and rep out. This is a good way to get in another exercise without using up to much time.

Bodyweight

Get outside, do some lunges, pushups, etc. Do a handstand against a tree, run some stairs, whatever comes to mind. This will keep you from being tight and a good way to motivate yourself to stay lean. The leaner you are the more bodyweight exercises you can do.

Compete at Something

Find an event and enter it. It could be as diverse as a  bike race, 5k, 10k, weightlifting/power lifting contest, or team sport. Golf and bowling don't count. Make your workouts compliment something tangible and athletic. If working out is just something you do because your doctor told you, or you think it will make you look better, you're not really "getting it". Put yourself out there in an environment where you are having fun, but pushing yourself harder. That isn't going to happen if workout dvd's are the pinnacle of your athletic existence.

Just a few ideas to start with, more to come....
Tom Pollard

P90x and Insanity have been successful in home video fitness training programs. Both products are made by Beach Body and chances are if you haven't done the workout, you've seen the infomercials late night during an insomnia attack. Many people have had success using these two programs. I have done all of the workouts in the P90x series and I will try Insanity sometime in the near future. I like a lot of the ideas on P90X.  The basic formula of taking two or three resistance exercises and doing several sets with limited downtime is proven winner as far as building lean muscle and burning fat. The ideal P90x trainee is someone who is enough condition to do keep up with the exercises but maybe needs to lose a little body fat to get "the look''. What I mean by the look, is the after photo in the before and after shot you see on all their advertisements. For women "the look" is 18 - 20 % bodyfat, with lean muscle and good posture. A woman at 18 - 20% bodyfat is what you need if you are a leading lady in Hollywood or want to look like one. For men, we're talking around 10 % or less bodyfat. This is where you see the six pack abs. A lot of guys had this look when they were in high school playing all kinds of sports before the onslaught of beer, fast food, and desk jobs. One of the draws with P90x is "the look". Even one of the male trainees in the p 90x infomercial says "don't you want this" after taking off his shirt for the camera.

I have heard of a few success stories from people who knew somebody who lost a lot of fat with p90x, I have also come across a few people who are "doing" the p90x videos but they hardly look like the people you see in the infomercials. I think there are a few reasons for this which I will go over.

No Accountability

P90x suggests that you train an hour a day for six days a week. So what happens if you start skipping a few workouts here and there because you overslept, had errands to do, etc. No different than some of the excuses that come up in bootcamp, or other less expensive training systems. Tony Horton isn't going to call you up personally and tell you to get out of the Dunkin Donuts drive thru and get back to working out.  With a trainer or training partner at least you have some guilt if you start missing sessions.  Guilt is a powerful tool. If you are out of shape, have time to work out, and skip workouts  YOU SHOULD FEEL GUILTY BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO EXCUSES. So the P90x trainee who gets their before and after pictures on the website is the one who did the workouts religiously 6 days a week with no excuses.

No Form Check

Partial, lazy squats, barely lunging lunges, half pushups, falling and collapsing on the floor and waiting it out for the time to expire are all things that can happen on the other side of the screen. Many people do the home exercise videos with poor form. I have a client that tweaked something in her back doing a Jillian Michaels home dvd because she felt like she wasn't doing it right. If she slips into bad form now working out with me, we take the time to correct the form. NOBODY SHOULD GET INJURED DOING EXERCISES. INJURIES FROM EXERCISE FOR THE MOST PART ARE DEGENERATIVE. DOING THINGS THE WRONG WAY OVER AND OVER AGAIN WITH NO CORRECTION WILL GET YOU INJURED. I would also suggest watching the home exercises before doing them. Twisting your neck around to watch what the trainer is doing  is not great for exercise form.

Nutrition

If somebody tells me they're doing P90x I will always ask them what they think of the nutrition plan. Many times people tell me they just do the workouts.  The workouts are great but when these people also talk about wanting to be lean or ripped they look a bit glum when I tell them that the nutrition plan is what is going to get you in the after photo. Only someone with a really great metabolism, and  working construction job, can do an exercise program on the Cracker Barrel diet and get lean. The P90x nutrition plan is the basic eat good foods, lower the calories, program that is basic sensible nutrition. So don't expect to get "the look" by just struggling through the videos. Nutrition is key if you want to get leaner. YOU CANNOT OUT TRAIN BAD EATING HABITS.

Workouts Might Be Too Hard For Some.

I take issue that on some  of the before and after shoots you see people who are obviously obese in the before photo because the P90X fit test suggests that obese people might not be ready for the program. One of the workouts calls for a lot of plyometrics where the heart rate is high and there is a lot of impact placed on the body. Whether it is too hard or not  is up to the trainees judgment, but my guess is that a lot of these people who had success going from obese to lean did so using the modified versions of exercises and maybe had to go through the program a few times. I would not suggest P90 x for anybody who is obese and has little recent history of exercise. Walking an hour a day along with basic resistance exercises and a "shock the body" with low calorie diet is way to get an obese person in the right direction. Doing split squat jumps with Tony and his crew might be overwhelming and discouraging for the obese client. Sure you can hit the pause button but how much do you want to be hitting the pause button while you're working out?

Here's who I think might have success with the P90 x plan, single, or empty nesters who have the 6 hours a week to do the workouts. . Maybe they are slightly overweight but have some athletic ability. Maybe you're the guy who played sports in college, and now you have been out for a year with a desk job eating Panera Bread take out two times a day. You now have a little roll around your belly. However, you can run a couple miles, do some pull ups and pushups.

Overall, I think the home videos have been good for fitness. They have taught people that you don't need a ton of gadgets to get in shape but once you start missing a few workouts, doing the exercises half assed, eating lots of junk, and lying on the floor half of the workout, don't be surprised if your results are compromised too.

Tom Pollard

My latest video. Just goofing around showing you how to get a workout without going to the gym.

Dr Plankenstein