Military-grade outdoor fitness, anyone?

A boot camp in the park

With gyms still no-go areas for now, outdoor fitness classes are on the rise. But will lifestyle assistant Precious Adesina be converted?

While I find solace in exercising alone, working out with other people can be motivating and more fun, especially when I’m spending more time by myself than I would usually.

And, right now, outdoor workouts are the big thing. Group fitness classes have been allowed to take place outdoors since 1 June, and Be Military Fit (BMF), which runs outdoor group fitness classes in 80 parks and open spaces across the country, has reported that almost a tenth of its members are new sign-ups. These classes are predominantly led by former or serving members of the British Armed Forces, and judging by the people I met it has a cult following, too – one member told me he had been going for 11 years.

With gyms deemed high-risk for spreading Covid-19, and with people perhaps reluctant to return when they do reopen, the interest in open-air workouts looks set to continue. So, I decided it was time to get involved – and try out BMF for myself in my local London park.

It sounds quite intense…

That’s because it is. When I work out on my own, I usually give myself a rest between each set, but these workouts move from one exercise to the next without much of a break – and if you stop at any other time, expect to be encouraged to keep going by both the instructor and your fitness buddies. To help you, the classes are tailored to different fitness levels and are colour-coded: blue for beginners, red is intermediate and green is advanced.

What sort of workout is it?

BMF is famous for five phases: one, the warm-up, which focuses on activating and mobilising the muscles; two, strength training, where you can expect squats, press-ups and mountain climbers; three, anaerobic, which is the most intense and works on speed and power; four, aerobic, jogging, for example; and, five, the cool down.

What about social distancing?

That wasn’t forgotten. We all had designated cones so we knew our area to stay in, and there were just six of us in the class including our instructor, Jel, instead of an average of 20 to 30 people (or even up to 70 in bigger classes) pre-lockdown. The rest of the class followed the workout at home via Zoom.

Are the classes friendly?

It seems BMF is designed to be a community as well as offer workouts. Everyone knew each other well, and passers-by greeted both the instructor and members by name. One of the participants told me that, prelockdown, members regularly met up for drinks. And, after class, we all grabbed a quick (takeaway) coffee.

Will you keep going?

Probably, I loved it. Though I do also like to use my workouts as a time to reflect, which is hard to do when you’re gasping for breath and being shouted at for having a sneaky rest. From £34; go to bemilitaryfit. com to find your local class