Sweat camp
IT TAKES A COMMUNITY
Find your strength within the numbers.
A nyone who is a diehard fitness fanatic will agree that the hardest thing to do is popping in the gym over the weekend.
It makes no sense to not be in bed catching up on sleep, or better, hitting the weekend markets with the kids – but what if there was a way to get in a power workout and be outdoors with the kids?
There is strength and power in numbers: think about how many stomach crutches your abs can take in a class group session as opposed to when you are alone at home.
One of the benefits of suburban living is one can wake up and jog around the complex or estate. But thanks to the creation of parks and community centres, you now have a green space to work out in.
SWEAT CAMP WITH KABELO T
Director of photography and former Cosmo’s Sexiest Man finalist 2015, Kabelo Thathe, 33, has taken it upon himself to launch the first Sweat Camp park class last Sunday at the Zoo Lake park in Parkview. Thathe is a fitness junky and cardio enthusiast with a long line of intense routines, including appearing on the first-ever Bar One Man Challenge on SABC3 back in 2010. Having transformed his life, Sweat Camp instructor Thathe sought the assistance of Planet Fitness instructors Caryn Wilson and Malcolm Siggemann. Says Thate: “Sweat Camp Sessions came about when a good friend approached me with an idea of having a boot camp. “I was super keen as this is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. So with her new-found love for fitness and logistical skills and my love for fitness we decided to start Sweat Camp.
“We wanted it to be different from other boot camps in the sense that we focus on a lot of body-based training – meaning we don’t use any equipment but rather use our bodies. The point is to also give the participants something that they can do at home ...no excuses!”
The workout, which was publicised on social media platform Instagram, had Thate leading the proceedings to what was going to be a drooling, muscle-pulling workout.
Friends and family from all over Johannesburg met at Zoo Lake in anticipation of achieving a new fitness goal.
In his warm-up session, Thathe made mention of how intense the hour workout would be, using the phrase: “The pain is only but temporary”, followed with a grin on his face, leaving first-time participants to question their decision to follow through with the class.
The Sweat Camp is mostly an intense full-body conditioning cardio workout consisting of burpees, push-ups, squad presses, plank crawls and shuffle sprints across the field. Trainer Wilson encouraged the ladies to push themselves and not fall into the mind game that only men can do certain workouts. Her perfectly toned physique was assuring enough that even the tiniest burpee-jump could produce a perfectly chiselled abb.
Just when it seemed to be over, it was then time for trainer Malcolm Siggemann, who also left no room for doubt that it is never too late to begin your fitness journey.
Adds Thate: “In terms of my fitness journey, I have always been an active person from playing sports in high school and regularly visiting the gym, although I think I only started taking fitness seriously after summiting Mount Kilimanjaro.
“It opened my eyes to how great
The point is to also give the participants something that they can do at home .. .no excuses! Kabelo Thathe
we can be as human beings and that we constantly have to set goals and push ourselves to be better.
“So I started running (which I used to hate) and taking my diet seriously.
“It changed my life. Clothes start fitting better, confidence levels rise and you just feel good about yourself. So now fitness is a big part of my life. I make sure I set a goal such as running the Comrades Marathon – and I make sure I make time to work out, even if it means being at the gym at 4am before going to set.”
Among the workout troops was actor and producer Thapelo Mokoena, Isidingo actress Noluthando Meje and SABC1 Ses’Topla actor Warren Masemola who were all feeling the pressure to endure the pain that comes with every obstacle.