Four Reasons Fitness Boot Camp Workouts Are Doomed To Failure
Last Friday, I went for a morning run, and after my first loop around the park, I noted a group of people of varying ages slogging their way around the short
running loop. When I made my way around, I noted the sign shown here. They were taking a “Fitness Boot Camp.” There was, quite literally, a guy in shorts and a tight black T-shirt, dark sunglasses, a black hat, and a whistle looming over them on the tennis courts. He was counting out pushups at that stage. I went on by, shaking my head in wonder. There’s no way in the world this sort of “workout” can be effective over a long period of time. Here’s why.
You Can’t Force Change
The entire premise behind this program is that the participants aren’t able to enforce change themselves. Therefore, they need someone to enforce that change for them. So, they pay someone to stand beside them looking like a drill instructor, forcing them to exercise. But that won’t work over the long term. If you don’t want to exercise, no one is going to be able to make you.
My wife and I were flipping through channels a few nights ago, and happened across a weight loss show built on the same premise. A former military drill sergeant was yelling at two women on a bullhorn. They were both obviously miserable and hating life, and he was telling them that dragging a tire through sand was the only way they would lose those last precious 10-pounds. Ridiculous.
They’re Transient
This group of people arrived around 6:00 a.m. and had this guy pushing them for about an hour. Now, there was no bullhorn, but the whistle did receive liberal use. They got their heart rates up before their day got good and started, and that’s a good thing. But any bad habits they have, from eating to smoking, will kick right back in once they walk away. Don’t expect to reap great gains from having someone bash you for an hour a day. Living fit is a lifestyle choice.
They’re Not Fun
I don’t know too many people who have been through boot camp that have come out saying it was fun. I’ve heard people say it was good for them, but never anyone who said they wanted to go back for another round. If getting out and moving is something you dread, then you should be doing something else. It may be that running just isn’t your thing, but you love to play tennis. You don’t have to wade through quicksand to reap the benefits of fitness.
No One Want To Be TOLD What To Do
How many people really want someone telling them what to do? Time and time again, combative behavior has been proven ineffective in all aspects of life. People don’t respond to being bullied. So, how would paying someone to play drill sergeant be effective at changing behavior. For someone going into the military, it works. Why you ask? Because it forces them to get in shape and they’ll be living that lifestyle for at least another four years. That’s not the case for the rest of us. We’ll walk away and do what we damn well please.
Fitness boot camp workouts are, at best, a cute gimmick to make people feel like they’re getting a *great* workout. After all, people in the military are in great shape, right? But they can’t live up to their billing, because its not a lifestyle. When you enter the military, you’ve committed to a lifestyle. That’s the price of any fitness program. When fitness and health become a lifestyle, then you’ll have made a lasting change. So why not make it something you enjoy?
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Totally agree Greg, for fitness to be successful it needs to be taken over and become part of one’s lifestyle. A 6 week boot camp may give you results, but they won’t last – just look at ex-soldiers after a few years, with out the discipline the pot belly shows up before they know it.
Yep. Too often, we’re searching for a quick fix.
Can’t agree more. Change comes from within. Very hard to impose it from outside.
Greg,
This post makes me think of two quotes that translate to just about any area of life, including fitness. The first is this “success shows up when you make a committment to the journey”,though I’m not sure where that particular quote comes from. Too many people want to lose weight without making a commitment to a healthy lifestyle. So even if they are successful, the soon return to their old self. The other quote is from John Maxwell who states something like “dream believers are common; dream buyers are rare.” There is a price to be paid for any dream, even if it is simply to be physically fit. Many people simply aren’t willing to pay the price. Thanks for your insight.
Love the quotes Jason. They’re very appropriate.
Can’t agree more… if you need someone to scream in your face then as soon as the bootcamp is over you’ll be sitting right back on the couch miserable and out of shape.
I agree and disagree.
I disagree with your premise that you can’t force change. I look at hiring a trainer or going to a boot camp as a bridge. A bridge between their current lazy lifestyle and their potential healthy lifestyle.
I agree with you that relying solely on the trainer is ultimately doomed to fail, but if the trainee is honest with themselves and recognize that they need help “getting into” fitness, the boot camp bridge can help them change their attitudes towards exercise.
I also disagree with your premise that no one wants to be told what to do. Personal trainers and dominatrixes (dominatri???) are just two examples of occupations that rely on the client voluntarily relinquishing control.
Ultimately however, the client can choose to re-assert control by simply refusing or walking away.
I disagree. A lot of people simply need to jump-start their fitness program and bootcamp and other classes are a great way to do it or vary a current routine. I have people who sign up for my spring/summer/fall bootcamps for the camaraderie, fitness and fun–some of my people come for 5-6 months straight and complain when I take the occasional week off.
Some have taken their cues from that and gone on to do things on their own–joined the gym, started running, changed their diet, etc. Some people just need the support of others to continue to stay in shape.
Wow, wouldn’t it be great if everyone was completely motivated on their own to work out–it’s just not the case for about 80% of the population so, to find a program that is: challenging, fun, outside (mine’s at the beach)–can be a Godsend.
This is weird.
After I finished writing my comment, I read about this new study involving members of the Oxford University rowing team.
The research shows that the pain tolerance and the endorphin levels of the rowers increases when they train together as a team.
The theory is that the endorphin rush during a shared experience is related to our evolution as a social species
Ooops,
Here is a link to the study abstract – http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2009/09/14/rsbl.2009.0670.abstract
@Verna We’re not saying the boot camp idea doesn’t work, but it rarely works in the long term. The reason is because for long term effects (i.e. to eat healthy and exercise frequently for the rest of your life) one needs to change their whole mindset and lifestyle.
This rarely happens from a few weeks of someone shouting at you. Once the boot camp is over people just find it too easy to go back to how they always did things.
Eliot,
If boot camps rarely work at getting people to change their lifestyles, what does?
I don’t mean to be a jerk, but there are a lot of lazy people out there. Because of their lifestyle, they are prone to lifestyle diseases like type 2 diabetes and CVD.
The average type 2 diabetes patient costs approx $400,000 in healthcare dollars during their (shortened) lifespan.
Considering the passion shown during America’s current healthcare debate, it would probably be in everyone’s best interest to figure out how to get America’s inactive majority up off the couch and into a pair of running shoes.
Boot camps may not be your fave form of exercise, but if it helps even 1% of it’s participants to develop a healthier lifestyle, it may prove to be one of the most cost effective forms of healthcare spending.
Well, what I was saying (if you read my comment) was it can kick start a program for some people–people go on to other things once they get comfortable with a certain level of fitness. And it helps to have an enthusiastic group cheering you on.
And bootcamp is not necessarily “someone yelling at you” — I certainly don’t do that to people.
Sorry if I came across rudely Verna, my issue with boot camps is not the boot camps themselves, it is the fact that no matter how much progress someone makes in 6 weeks or even 3 months, it still won’t help them in the long run (and I’m talking about the “rest of your life” long run). Not without addressing underlying habits that have been learned for many years.
If we want to turn our lives around and be healthy for the long term we’ve got to break a whole lot of bad habits and learn a whole more good ones. For most people that cannot be done in 6 weeks, probably not even done in 6 months – the process for me has certainly taken so much longer than that.
Of course this is my $0.02 only. I’m sure there are exceptions to this, but it seems to be fairly consistent in my experience.
Elliot – definately people have to “break a whole lot of bad habits” to start living a healthy lifestyle but, if you have taken any psychology, you realize that the first step is the desire to change. It might start with a scare like a stroke or heart attack to make one realize they need to change (and I’ve had many of those walk through my gym doors)… it may be reaching a certain age… whatever… then what?
One of the best ways to be shaken out of a sedentary lifestyle is to join a group and get active–and, in my experience of leading bootcamps for the past 3 years, bootcamps are a way to do that–get outside and enjoy the beautiful outdoors (and not a stuffy gym), learn some basic fitness principals, build endurance and core strength, etc.
I’ve definately seen people turn their lives around after being in bootcamps–mine and others. And, whatever it takes for people, it’s agood thing–everyone has their own path–I’m sure not everyone will be following whatever yours is.
Wow. That’s a lot of assumptions made about the people at the boot camp.
I love group exercise classes. I love to exercise outside. I love boot camp classes (indoors or outdoors) and used to attend one regularly when it was at a good time and place. In exercise, I love being told what to do — I don’t have to think. Most of the exercising I do isn’t “fun” in the classical sense, but I love doing it.
I am highly motivated, exercise 6 days a week, eat well, don’t smoke or drink and have my second triathlon coming up next weekend. And yet if I was at that boot camp that you ran by, you’d be shaking your head at me in judgement. Be careful who you judge.