Working out in the discomfort zone (From Gazette)

Working out in the discomfort zone

2:10pm Saturday 16th January 2010 in

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THERE’S nothing worse than the crushing realisation that, actually, you’re not as physically fit as you thought you were.

For the past six months, I have made a concerted effort to exercise, telling myself I enjoy hauling myself out of bed at 6.30am each morning for my 45 minutes at the gym, pounding the treadmill or sweating it out on the cross trainer.

In fact, I secretly just like the hobble home, knowing I’ve done my health bit for the day.

But I have fallen into an exercise rut, doing the same routine most of the time, and never really pushing myself beyond my comfort zone.

This is where boot camp training comes in. Colchester Boot Camp offers challenging outdoor exercise sessions, run by personal trainers, and a tailor-made food programme for weight loss.

I went along to Abbey Fields, in Colchester, last week to be put through my paces in the female boot camp.

As I stood shivering in the snow-covered field, where in the distance, muscle-bound soldiers from the nearby barracks lapped the track with ease, I started to question my sanity.

Dan Thompson, the charismatic 26-year-old instructor, told the group of regulars and me to stand in a circle.

He explained the first part of the session would focus on working the glutes – the butt muscles to me and you. This is because it is the biggest muscle in the body and the more we work the area, the more calories we would burn. Result!

We started the training to music, and counted down in sets of squats, lunges and climbing mountains (press up position moving alternate knees to elbows).

This was the point when I realised I had no stamina for weight-bearing exercises.

After what felt like the thousandth set of squats, I was flagging and around me were women of all ages, happily working away without too much effort.

I turned to my side and Charlene Clarke, a regular member, gave me some words of encouragement to keep going. She has lost more than two stone by going to the boot camp and following Dan’s food programme.

“It’s great to train outside and the women aren’t all skinny – it’s more about getting fit and having fun together,” said Charlene.

I decided to get on with it, by which time we were ready to move on to the next part.

Just when I thought my shaking legs were going to get a rest, we were told to do some more sets of squats and then sprint to a nearby tree, more squats and run back and repeat the process ten times.

“Anyone can come along to a boot camp, whether they are ten or 20 stone, because they can train at their own level and I’m there to help them progress,” explained Dan.

“More and more people are getting into boot camp training because it’s a chance to do something different and get outside to exercise.”

By this point, my legs felt like they were going to drop off, the snow had made running a problem and the cold air buried deep into my chest as I huffed and puffed.

Eventually, the squats turned into jumping jacks and as we continued to run, I gradually got into the zone and found I was one of the first to finish the exercise.

By the end of the hour-long session, I felt energised and rosy-cheeked from the experience.

All of the women were in good spirits, especially when Dan told us: “That’s it girls, you’re all done – now you’ll be burning calories for the rest of the day.”

The following day, when my legs were screaming out in pain from all the squats, I realised I haven’t had that achiness for a while because I haven’t really pushed myself.

I now know that training cleverly is more effective than repetitive exercise or faddy regimes.

As a result, I have made a promise to myself to start mixing up my routine a bit more and to continue pushing myself so I progress.

For more information, visit www.colchesterbootcamps.

co.uk