Booty Camp Blog #1

A few weeks ago I signed up for “booty camp” as an experiment to see if being in an all-women’s class where I get yelled at until I exercise would be beneficial to overhauling my sorry-self. After four years of health & nutrition torture that I’d like to call “completing my undergrad,” I felt the gruelling, crawling-home-in-pain that can only be provided by an all-women’s fitness camp might just do the trick.

Let me say this: Booty Camp Fitness is so much more than being yelled at.

As Canada’s most popular (and largest) chain of booty camp classes, you could not ask for a more positive environment for accomplishing your health & nutrition goals. They provide you with nutritional support (recipe of the day, e-cookbook), an at-home DVD, and a book to track your progress over your 4-8 week course.

Well done, Sammie Kennedy. She’s created a program where for 4-8 weeks (depending how long you sign up for), you come to two classes weekly for one-hour each. During this time, you do drills, cardio exercise and strength training with approximately 12-15 other women. In addition to this, you’re expected to do the DVD at home at least once a week to get even better “results.”

Admittedly, the entire thing is kind of terrifying experience. So here’s how the first class went down:

Booty Camp Session #1: intro

I arrived 45 minutes prior to the start of the class; on your first day you’re required to have your measurements done, so be prepared for seeing your health in actual numbers.

This, in and of itself, is scary. They measure all the parts of you that you never want to know about: your thighs, your arms, your belly–they even use a caliper to measure how fatty your under arms are. They also weigh you.

Once all the “recruits” are measured, our instructor introduced herself to us and explained her role, her background and how the class was going to work. Despite being decked out almost head-to-toe in pink camo and wearing a whistle around her neck–she isn’t as scary as you think.

The class was a series of drills resting entirely on your body’s strength: squats, push-ups, sit-ups, kick-boxing and jumping jacks are just a few of the things you can expect to do.

I nearly died during the first class. Mid-squat I could feel my legs convulsing. I never realized how out of shape I was until I had to hold positions that I simply am not strong enough, or fit enough, to hold. For those of us who had never done a course before, it was really challenging.

Despite the fact that it’s now two days later and I can hardly move (and I have to go to class again tonight!) I’m really motivated to keep going. Between the goal-setting and positive encouragement, this “booty camp” might be the most positive space I’ve ever exercised in.

I’d like to think that as the classes progress (yes, they get progressively more challenging–ideally, you need to keep challenging your body to see results, otherwise you plateau) that I will, if nothing else, get stronger and gain more stamina.

The goal of the class is to decrease your body fat percentage (which you have to calculate), and to increase your lean muscle weight (which you also calculate). Even if you don’t lose weight, you should at least be able to make your butt look super hot in the jeans you’re going to reward yourself with when you finish.

That’s right. They tell you to set a goal and pick a reward that you’ll actually give yourself if you meet your goal.

Personally, I could afford to drop some pounds and get a new pair of mocassins, so I guess that’s my motivation.

Want more up-to-the-minute booty camp updates? Follow me on twitter where I regularly post (whine) about my experience.