Fight the flab, army style!

Get a little help losing that muffin top with a military boot camp. By Sian Claire Owen

Summer holidays are looming, and so is the challenge of shedding those extra pounds for the dream beach bod! I want to wear my bikini with pride, but like most people I want all the gain with no pain. Of course this is impossible, so perhaps a short, sharp shock to the system is the next best thing. And the New You Boot Camp fitness days could be just the tonic. Running around a park with hunky army types whilst getting fit sounded ideal, so I signed up!

 

The New You Boot Camp, or NYBC, run week-long military boot camps where women are frog-marched to within an inch of their lives, and they drop a dress size in a week. Spending seven days sprinting up hills carrying barrels of sand may not be everyone's cup of tea, so instead these fitness days are a great way to kick-start your exercise regime back into action. And we're talking kick-start with a capital ‘K'.

 

Drop down and give me 20!

 

On the day, I arrived at the designated time and place in Richmond Park in London. I was greeted by two stern-looking sergeants and a group of anxious-looking women. They came from all walks of life and were there for all kinds of reasons. Some wanted to get into shape, some aimed to lose weight and some were there to gain confidence. But everybody was there to have fun. Even better, one of the trainers was the spitting image of Star Trek actor Chris Pine, which put everyone at ease. For the time being at least.

 

And after a brief introduction, including the low-down on how to stay safe while exercising, we were off. The warm-up was easy, just a light jog around the park. The sun was shining and the deer were grazing, it was a really lovely day and suddenly the notion of intense exercise didn't seem so bad! However, all NYBC trainers are serving officers and they know a thing or two about putting people through their paces.

 

Before long we were made to jog in formation, and one foot out of line resulted in ‘Punishment by Press-Up'. After about 50 I didn't think I could lift a pencil, let alone spend an hour boxing, but that's what we did next. Surprisingly it was great fun, and we certainly gave Rocky V a run for his money!

 

After the boxing came the jogging, then the sit-ups, then more jogging, and before long the morning merged into one big exhausting blur. Fortunately each session was no longer than 45 minutes, and the staff were so encouraging that people began to surprise themselves with what they could achieve. I know I certainly did!

 

There's no "I" in "Team"!

 

After a short lunch break the day got more interesting. Have you ever strapped a mini-parachute to your back and run around a field at top speed? How about tap-dancing over ladders to improve your fancy footwork, or weight-lifting with water-filled netballs? If not, you should try it! The afternoon was like a fun school sports day for adults. We ducked and weaved through an ‘army attack simulation' exercise, raced up and down hills, and even had a tug-of-war competition. I think I may have pulled more muscles laughing than anything else.

 

Everyone was so busy having fun that we forgot to feel exhausted, and just when we reached the point where we thought we could do no more, we realised that we could. Once the penny dropped it became easy. And eventually we left Richmond Park, tired and hungry, but proud (and relieved) that we survived the day.

 

So did I shift the pounds and get the beach bod? Well, not immediately! But even though I was out of action for the following week with stiff limbs, I got some great exercise ideas for toning up which I'll definitely put into practice.

 

Rain or shine, the NYBC fitness days are a great if you fancy doing something different, and you're guaranteed to gain inspiration to get fighting fit. What could be better?

 

Find out more

New You Boot Camp fitness days take place in various locations in London and Manchester. Prices start from £55 per day. Visit the NYBC website for further details.

 

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