10 POINT BOOT CAMP SAFETY CHECKLIST.
Fitness Boot Camps are a growing trend in the fitness industry today for good reason. Typically they are much more affordable than personal training and they also offer more camaraderie and social support, are much more exciting, and have many more convenient time slots than personal training while still providing expert supervision.
Unfortunately, boot camps also have a downside. Many personal trainers want to jump on the lucrative boot camp 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. Here are 10 tips on how to select a boot camp that will get you results and keep you safe at the same time:
The 10 POINT Boot Camp Safety Checklist
1.) The Instructor(s) Must Be Certified With Nationally or Internationally Recognized Institutions.
There are many online pay-for-certifications where people can get a certificate with little or even ZERO knowledge or experience with proper training methods. This is a big part of why people get injured and gives fitness bootcamps a bad name!
2.) The Instructor(s) Must Look The Part And Walk The Walk.
If the instructor takes physical fitness seriously and knows his/her stuff, they will be fit and strong, plain and simple. Who wants to take advice from someone who is in worse shape than they are!
3.) The Instructor(s) Must Be Experts With Exercise Instruction and Progression.
Every exercise has the appropriate variation based on your current fitness level. Overweight, de-conditioned beginners SHOULD NOT perform the exact same routine as their more fit counterparts. If you ask your instructor if he/she can show an exercise modification that better suits your particular situation and all you get is a blank stare, leave the class!
4.) The Instructor(s) Must Make Themselves Available 10-15 Minutes Before and After Every Session. Although a good instructor can effectively lead the group as a whole and still give that personal touch, he/she must be willing to speak with clients before AND workouts to address any personal issues related to your training or other very important topics like nutrition.
5.) The Program Must Emphasize Full-Body Movements, NOT Isolation Exercises.
There should an emphasis on key foundational body movements in full ranges of motion like push-ups, squats, lunges, etc. A red flag should be raised if you are being instructed to do exercises that work single joint movements like curls or tricep presses. Single joint isolation type exercises are a waste of time compared to mutli-joint compound movements.
6.) The Training System Must Focus on Strength Training and Cardio Interval Training.
It is critical that the program contain both the strength training and cardio intervals since the goal of 99% of fitness enthusiasts is fat loss.
Lean muscle burns calories even at rest and an increase in lean mass will increase your metabolic rate so that you’ll burn more calories when you aren’t exercising, even in your sleep. High-Intensity Interval Training is scientifically proven to burn 9x more fat than the aerobic training alternative.
Most people are seeking for the lean, athletic look of a men's health or women's health cover model. This is easily accomplished with the proper combination of strength work plus high intensity interval training.
7.) The Program Must Provide Nutritional Information.
Nutrition is the biggest obstacle for most people in their weight loss battle. If your nutrition isn’t dialed in, your program is incomplete and you are wasting time and money since there is no amount of exercise that can compensate for poor dietary habits. People are too busy, and frankly too lazy, so the nutrition program needs to be clearly outlined and easy to follow.
It should provide both Quick-Start Nutrition Guides for you that will have you eating to support your fat loss goals in 5 minutes or less. Plus, a cookbook with a bunch of tasty and healthy done-for-you recipes should be provided to keep you on track!
8.) The Program Must Have A Website AND An Interactive Web 2.0 Social Network.
Bottom line, if the boot camp program in question does not have a website in this day in age it is not worth your time and money. Personal training is not just about "training," it is a business and it needs to be approached that way.
But more than that, social support must extend outside of the boot camp workout. There are several web 2.0 interactive social networks (e.g. NING) that offer member profiles, blogging, and a forum where instructors and clients can interact with each other for FREE, so there is no reason not to set this up for boot camp clients.
9.) The Program Must Have Social Proof And Raving Fans.
If the program works, there should be proof in the form of client testimonials. Current and previous clients should have results and be raving about all of the benefits that they have received from the program. Ask for before and after pictures and written or video testimonials of their services before signing up (again, this should be made available on the bootcamp website). And remember, it's NOT just about the weight loss. Benefits should also include, improvement in things like increased energy levels, dress/pant size reduction, improved health profiles, increased strength and flexibility, less joint pain, etc.
10.) The Program Must Offer A FREE Trial or Satisfaction Guarantee.
If the instructor is confident about what the program, then they will let you come in and try it for free or they will guarantee your satisfaction or your money back to completely eliminate the risk on your end. A results-based programs wants to minimize barriers of entry for prospects into their boot camps because they know that once the prospect experiences the benefits of the program firsthand they will surely buy!
