BOOT CAMP: Get fit without breaking the bank
Exercise, fun and friends
When you think of a boot-camp workout, an image of a military drill sergeant blowing a menacing whistle pops up in your mind, shouting for you to “drop and give me 20 push-ups”.
But, for a group of local fitness enthusiasts passionately leading the charge of outdoor fitness boot camps, this picture couldn’t be further from reality.
With the escalating cost of just about everything in the consumer market those put off by the cost barrier of traditional gym membership fees are opting for free, or minimally priced outdoor training sessions.
The idea? “To get more people active and introduced to healthy living”, Shain, 33, who is one of 30 instructors at the Free GetFit Bootcamp community in Gauteng.
The trainers hold boot camps in areas around Joburg – welcoming everyone, regardless of levels of fitness and strength.
Their classes are broken down to four core exercise disciplines such as flexibility, cardio, strength and endurance.
“Of the people coming to the bootcamps, 90% wouldn’t necessarily go to gym. But the point was to get people doing exercises they could actually do at home, just with the camaraderie
of others. A lot of the exercise info one could find online but people just don’t like exercising alone, or they don’t have the necessary commitment”, he said.
But, the drop out rates are also high – as with gym membership and attendance.
Karien van der Wal, a bootcamp instructor in Mpumalanga attested to the “feelgood effects” of the social element that boot camps added .
She runs a boot camp specifically targeting women and their fitness needs – charging them a nominal fee of R350.
“In 2013, I started training by myself because I wanted to lose weight.
“Then two of my friends who are Muslim ladies and, for religious reasons, couldn’t gym at a club with men also present, joined me. They invited their friends and it snowballed.”
What started out as “proper bootcamp-style training”, limited to no training equipment and using basics like two litre bottles filled with water for strength training, has grown to incorporate more squats, lunges and other usual high intensity weight training.
“I found the atmosphere with training women was more motivational… And it’s not just about the training, but it’s a safe space where they can share what’s happening in their lives,” Van der Wal said.