Get prison-style workout at posh hotel
For non-fitness buffs, exercise can often feel like cruel and unusual punishment — especially when you're trying to squeeze in a workout while traveling for business or play.
But one Boston hotel is taking inspiration from its law-and-order-associated history — and the kind of solitary exercises practiced by prisoners in jail cells — to institute a new workout program that helps guests painlessly fit in fitness even while staying in smallish spaces, like a hotel room, and using minimal props.
Personalized “prisonstyle boot camps” will debut at Loews Boston Hotel this weekend, says general manager Robert Rivers. The imposing limestone hotel, which inhabits the former Boston police headquarters in Back Bay, has partnered with local trainer Bron Volney of BronCore Fitness to create the unique 60-minute, full-body program, which will be made available to sweat-seeking guests by appointment.
To debut the concept, Loews will host a group class today at 9:30 a.m. on the patio of its on-site restaurant Precinct Kitchen + Bar. The workout will be followed by healthy bites from the eatery; tickets ($25) are available via eventbrite.com.
To create the boot camp program, which will be offered through one-onone training at the hotel's fitness center or in individual guest rooms, Volney researched the fitness practices of actual prisoners, studying the inventive approaches used to build lean bulk and keep up cardio fitness even while stuck in a cell.
“When you're in a space that has little more than a sink and a toilet, a lot of it has to do with using your own body weight,” said Volney, whose exercises include “prisoner squats” against a wall to work the legs and glutes, tricep dips using a bed, and incline pushups and core-toning side planks with a chair.
Said Volney, “My exercise philosophy is simple: zero boredom, all sweat.”