Eliminating Your Exercise Excuse

Signing up for a 30-day group fitness program might help kick to the curb any exercise excuses you’ve been muttering—maybe the gym is overwhelming or personal training is out of your financial grasp. Or perhaps you’ve plateaued and need to change up your workout for better results. This is where fitness programs, such as Winnipeg Adventure Boot Camps, Sustainable Fitness Boot Camps for Women or Moksha Yoga’s 30-Day Challenge come into play, offering up workouts that provide proper training for all sizes and ages and just happen to be fun, convenient and affordable.

Boot camp reminds me of a few recent reality TV weight-loss shows. If you have ever envied the woman on your TV who has lost 13 inches off her body, it might be time to fancy yourself a reality star in your own mind and put yourself to the test.

After waivers are signed and an assessment is done, the dreaded measurements are indeed taken. Goals for camp include burning fat, developing muscle and increasing stamina and strength.

Camps range from three to five days a week, for four weeks, at a cost range of $180 to $299. All that’s required is proper garb, water, a yoga mat and a set of five to ten pound dumbbells.

Gear in tow, I walk up to my first boot camp trial, thankful for the outdoor location on this warm evening. Boot camps operate outdoors in summer and take it indoors mid-October.

Riverside at Fraser’s Grove in East Kildonan, I fall into line rolling out my yoga mat, eyeing up about 20 women of varying fitness levels—from the skin-tight spandex-bearing athletic folk to the softer, curvier ladies.

Instructor Sergeant Sandi (Sandi Knox) and Sustainable Fitness owner Allan Zimmer, inform me later that classes tend to be made up of “newbies” and “repeat offenders.”
“There are people who have never worked out a day in their life to marathoners and triathloners,” says Knox. “It doesn’t matter if you’re fit or unfit, boot camp is an option.”
The hour starts off with a run or walk, depending on your skill level, and proceeds with a circuit of seven stations targeting legs, triceps, biceps, abs and obliques. Just when you think you can’t do another tricep dip, or hold your squat, Knox calls out for campers to change stations. Intermixed with the muscle targeting stations are cardio-focused stations to get your heart rate back up.

The women sweat and laugh and this group, being in their second week of camp, shows an obvious camaraderie and subtle support for each other—a major benefit to group workouts.

Knox is consistently making rounds, correcting positions and curbing any slacking. For every exercise a modification is offered, so all fitness levels are accommodated.
The content of camp changes daily and weekly. Knox says participants get a wide range in their workout.

“Cardio, calisthenics, plyometrics,” she lists. “You’re getting everything.”

Sustainable Fitness owner Allan Zimmer says the whole focus in establishing the camps was to create a realistic workout for women.

“It’s a sustainable solution, fun, social and you can mix it up,” says Zimmer, also noting a benefit for newbies. “It’s a kick-start to get somebody into a regular routine.”

The hour flies by and caps off with an ab workout and stretching.

Angie Hughsman, a 43-year-old hailing from East St. Paul made way to the boot camp alongside her sister Diane Hnatiuk.

“We’ve gone to the gym and we felt like we weren’t getting anything out of it, a little but not much. Not like here,” she says. Hughsman says the motivating environment beats the gym and the instruction makes a huge difference in her workout.

The next day I make way to a first-week evening class in Assiniboine Park with Winnipeg Adventure Boot Camps.

Company owner Jason Brown has been teaching all his camps for six years, offering up three- or five- day-a-week camps with meals plans.

About ten minutes into the workout, sweat was pouring down my forehead—likely from a combination of glaring sun and Brown’s choice of opening exercises.

Exercises are done in sets of three and mixed up so you are constantly moving. Brown also throws in bits of running to help keep the heart rate up.

The workout was intense and there was a definite sense of accomplishment, and maybe relief, when it was time to stretch and end the hour.

“He always changes it up, always does something different,” says 23-year-old Brittany Erickson about Brown. Erickson, a second-time boot camper, says she works out on a regular basis but signed up for camp last winter and now to pump up her routine. “I just wanted to try something different—something more motivating.”

Brown says boot camp offers something for every skill level. “Boot camp is excellent for anybody getting back into exercising,” he says. He also says the rounded workout is beneficial for people who are heavily focused on one activity, such as running.

“They’ll have a different imbalance and want to do some cross-training,” he says, explaining all campers will see a fairly large increase in their strength.

Brown’s meal plans are simple but he works with each camper to personalize them. During my hour at his camp, I believe I heard that beer was off the menu—sorry ladies!
“It’s about portion control and getting all your food groups,” he says.

There is no doubt in my mind that if you did these workouts five days, or even three, a week you’d be doing some serious good for your body. And if you can muster energy for the 5:45 a.m. camps, an argument could be made you harbour superhero skills. All camps run pre- and post-business hours.

Another type of 30-day program is Moksha Yoga’s 30-Day Challenge. For those who like the calm and quiet approach to physical wellbeing, this challenge forces participants to take time for themselves as they commit to 30 days of hot classes including moksha or hot flow.

Stella Shirtliff had been a regular participant in Moksha’s hot yoga classes—where yoga is done in a humid room reaching about 35 C—before signing up for the 30-day program.

“About a week in, it really became a challenge. Even just scheduling the time,” says the single mom. “Then you pass that hump.” Shirtliff saw big improvements in how toned her muscles became and how she felt all around. “I just felt stronger. And the mental clarity, being able to sleep better.”

Ryann Doucette, co-owner of Moksha Yoga Winnipeg, says the challenge is just as much mental and emotional as it is physical. “It’s really a place where people can go and get what’s missing—a community gathering place that’s not home or work.”

Doucette says apart from the relationships people form during the challenge, the benefits from taking that hour a day for yoga helps keep stress at bay and detoxifies your body.

The cost of the 30-Day challenge is $150 and each week accomplished brings a reward of sorts, such as live music during yoga, or a karaoke party.

The benefits of a group environment are so conducive to motivation. The skill levels of participants are varied, so you tend to compete with yourself as much as you are competing with anyone else. Being in a group environment takes away that cheat room you’ll often give yourself when working out alone.

Taking on one of the challenges is a completely realistic way to gain the tools needed to get you used to a regular fitness regimen. Consider this a head start on winter—a regular fitness routine will up your energy and help to ward off the winter blahs.