Visions of climbing walls and swinging from ropes over muddy puddles of water might be your idea of a boot camp, and they are probably pretty accurate if considering Armed Forces basic training. However, fitness boot camps, for civilians, would more closely be described as just plain old hard. Sure, there are plenty of military overtones in many of them, and Marine Corp themes abound what with the camouflaged exercise attire and exhausting routines at the hands of drill sergeant-like instructors.But, these group fitness programs don't require a 3 year enlistment to participate, only a strong stomach, a high pain threshold, and maybe a little over zealous penchant for self inflicted misery. A casual observer of a fitness boot camp in a park or athletic field might ponder: Is that a workout, or just a work-over?
                                           
As a fitness trainer for close to 30 years, I have witnessed the advent of many trends in the industry: aerobic dance, step classes, sport specific training, pilates and even hot yoga. Most recently, with much well documented research showing the superior effects of strength training and especially interval based workouts on fat loss, the fitness boot camp format has become a favorite of those attempting to resurrect their bodies. But, are fitness boot camps following the tenants of sound methodology given the latest findings?
                   
Intensity rules the day if the purpose is maximum fat loss and muscle gain. Unfortunately, pushing clients in a boot camp setting becomes overkill when well intended instructors never pump the brakes. A law too often overlooked states that muscles need to recover if they are asked to repeat, (and survive), high intensity training. This is what high intensity interval training is all about.

Long routines with no pause get sloppy as they foster poor exercise form. Just as significantly, these programs stifle optimum results because they don't allow adequate recovery, and a fatigued muscle cannot produce enough effort to demand adaptation to occur. That adaptation to exercise is called fitness.               

Entitled HIIT for short, interval based training is just that: brief doses of very difficult exercise, repeated after a break, either as long, or slightly longer or shorter depending on the effect the training is designed to create. For example, if fat loss is priority one, then shorter rest periods are allowed between work intervals. If muscle building is in order, work to rest ratios might expand so that twice the time is spent recovering. This is the beauty of HIIT. It can be massaged to meet specific goals.

Most recently, with much well documented research showing the superior effects of strength training and especially interval based workouts on fat loss, the fitness boot camp format has become a favorite of those attempting to resurrect their bodies. But, are fitness boot camps following the tenants of sound methodology given the latest findings? 

A boot camp that asks its' participants to never let up on the throttle reduces both the quality of the workout, and the effectiveness of the training. Long routines with no pause get sloppy as they foster poor exercise form. Just as significantly, these programs stifle optimum results because they don't allow adequate recovery, and a fatigued muscle cannot produce enough effort to demand adaptation to occur. That adaptation to exercise is called fitness.               

When clients are asked to endure long spells of redundant drills, for example, 10 push ups combined with 25 yard sprints, only to repeat another 10 sets of the same torturous duo without rest, intensity is diluted by the sheer volume of the repetitions. Intensity and volume are at opposite ends of the workout continuum. If a drill is very hard, it cannot also be very long; after all, if anything is hard to do, it cannot be done a long time by the very nature of the task. One can walk 2 miles, but could never sprint the same distance.
                 
The rest intervals provide two essential components to a fat loss workout. First, they allow the energy systems of the body to rekindle the fire, so a maximum effort can be generated again. Quality of exercise form and force production are mandatory to ensure safety and effective training. Secondly, the frequent starting and stopping of high intensity effort creates a phenomenon called "metabolic disturbance."

This is key to fat loss because it sustains a high caloric burn rate long after the workout is over. A boot camp that asks its' participants to never let up on the throttle reduces both the quality of the workout, and the effectiveness of the training. Long routines with no pause get sloppy as they foster poor exercise form. Just as significantly, these programs stifle optimum results because they don't allow adequate recovery, and a fatigued muscle cannot produce enough effort to demand adaptation to occur. That adaptation to exercise is called fitness.
                   
So, although the frenetic pace of a boot camp may be impressive, bordering on lunacy, (how many of those 100 push ups are done well, anyway), a better approach would be one where participants are awarded the time to recover from very brief, albeit very hard, bouts of exercise. This on again, off again mechanism is imperative to ratcheting up the fat burning process even while sleeping. The bottom line, which is great for your bottom period, is that it is not important how many calories the workout burns, but rather, how many it burns the other 23 hours of the day.

First, they allow the energy systems of the body to rekindle the fire, so a maximum effort can be generated again. Quality of exercise form and force production are mandatory to ensure safety and effective training. Secondly, the frequent starting and stopping of high intensity effort creates a phenomenon called "metabolic disturbance."

This has been supported via human performance studies by Trembley and Tabata and others, and their findings have been used to fashion the fitness protocols by the best trainers world wide. Unfortunately, the fitness boot camp is often mired down in old standard military influence, and techniques are invented to be just plain old hard, with little thought given to tempering the exercise plan to be just plain old better!
                     
Another benefit to HIIT based boot camps, is the time it saves the consumer. After all, what is given as the number one reason why people do not exercise? That answer is time! A fitness boot camp, conducted properly with the rules of engagement described above, could be as short as 30 minutes. In fact, the Tabata study briefly eluded to earlier demonstrated impressive results in less than 20 minutes total conditioning time per week.

Granted, the intensity of the training was severe, however, wouldn't you agree that the brevity of the workout time invested is remarkable, as well? Five weekly, four minute workouts under Tabata's supervision produced better results in both aerobic and anaerobic conditioning than a five day, 60 minute workout, or a total weekly time investment of 300 minutes workout per week.
                   
Fitness boot camps can learn a lot from these studies, and hone their craft of group training to reflect a better model of conditioning. Training hard is fine if done with a governor that makes sense physiologically, and one could argue, psychologically, too. Nothing is so demoralizing as working your tail off without actually seeing it get smaller. There is a better way than just pushing onward because it's boot camp and it's not meant to be pretty! That kind of thinking is just pretty... stupid!
                 
Work hard, rest, recover and work hard again. This is the surest road to fitness in a boot camp, regardless of whether there are ropes dangling over mud puddles on that road, or not.