Should I go on a Boot Camp?

I need to get fit.
I need to lose weight.
Is a one week Boot Camp the answer?

I could go on a one hour, one day BootCamp, say on a Saturday. In the company of strangers, sweating the weight off...

Dropping those extra pounds and toning up can be a daunting task on even the best of days but with our boot camps you get the support and results you are looking for. Here's why our fitness boot camps are proving to be so successful:

* Great camaraderie and motivation when training as a group
* We have fun so what's usually a tedious ordeal becomes enjoyable
* Only the latest cutting edge exercises and equipment are used to speed up your results
* Personal Training instruction at a fraction of the cost

For more information or to express your interest visit This si in London but there must be similar versions throughout the UK.

Not quite the one week version like wot I saw on TV...

Well, there's the Geordie Bootcamp. Usual story, 'fat guy becomes thin and then seeks to pass on his knowledge...'

(Not too hot on spelling either)

"Hour upon hour of low intensity workouts such as jogging, various aerobic classes and spin cycling is nothing short of POINTLESS when it comes to fat loss! SERIOUSLEY."

But these are only 'sessions':

"Here’s More of what you’ll achieve in only 3, 45 minute sessions a week over 4 weeks"

I want a one week Bootcamp with unlimitedpain/exercise...

Maybe Ultimate Boot Camp...

Why them?

"UBC is a new breed of boot camp. Designed by women for women, UBC offers more than
just a short-term fix. During your stay with UBC we'll help you kick-start the campaign to a new you with an intense week of exercise, plus nutritional, health and wellbeing advice. We've teamed up with the best in the business to offer you first-class support throughout.

First up are our Marine Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) who are working EXCLUSIVELY with UBC in the UK. At the peak of physical fitness themselves, our boys won't shout or humiliate you, but encourage and inspire you to work hard to achieve your goals.

Secondly we're working with a team of coaching experts to offer you the chance to invigorate your mind and soul as well as your body at UBC. Respected mentor Jeremy Milnes is on hand to offer confidence, communication and assertiveness training, so you can start your new life with a positive outlook - which will make all the difference to your ability to keep achieving the results you want. Yoga and meditation will also be made available to our recruits.

And thirdly we have our own in house nutritionist who has devised delicious healthy and nutritious menus exclusively for UBC to ensure your body gets the fuel it needs to train to its full potential for the entirety of your stay. Your food is prepared and sourced locally and organically as much as possible."

Ahh - by women for women. That excludes me then! The motivators are all hunky men too...will they help you lose an extra 300 calories?

Fit Start is a new venture by Nicki Waterman. In theory this has everything - high profile, excellently designed site - go look... Horrible font but beautiful venue. But...this is for very rich people:

"The price of the week's retreat, which includes all food, accommodation and all of the exercise, nutrition and cookery classes as well as your personal lifestyle consultation, is usually £2,000but for all of February and March we are offering all this for only £1,750 for a private room or £1,500 if you are happy to share."

Maybe a back-to-basics bootcamp?

They guarantee the results (but put in an asterisk so there must be a disclaimer) and offer a slightly different approach:

"We have found that by combining military style workouts with modern mind techniques such as Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Change Energy Routines, Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching - significant and long lasting changes can be made to people’s lifestyle habits and choices."

It's about £600 but look at this statement:

"We guarantee our results* If you have over 2 stone to lose and fail to lose a minimum of 4 lbs we will give you your money back!!! "

4lbs can be lost by reducing your portions and walking 30 minutes a day!

There's the New You Boot Camp - a Daily Mail article said:

"There is significant risk on a low-calorie diet and heavy exercise regime like this that, as well as burning off fat, you lose muscle mass. As you go back to a normal calorie consumption the weight will go back on and more quickly than before because your body's engine is now smaller."

Why are they different?

"Not only do we consistently get proven weight loss and amazing fitness results time after time, but you will see from our testimonials and success stories that this is only half of the New You Boot Camp journey.

There is a reason we are called ‘New You’ Boot Camp. A week with us is your first step to the path to discover a New You, develop a New sense of self worth, unbreakable self-esteem and confidence as well as a New found psychological strength that you can transfer into all you do once you leave boot camp.

At New You Boot Camp we pride ourselves on making the difference in You that makes a difference in YOUR life. Our Promise to YOU is that you will leave New You Boot Camp knowing that you can do and achieve anything if you put your mind to it!"

Much the same then!

What about the Apples and Pears Retreat?

It's about £780 a week - and they have this video:

Others, like the aggressive-looking DNA Bootcamp also have their own video...

Their upcoming events page is seriously out of date, though...

Then there's the Total Boot Camp - its unique selling point is:

"During your stay you will have exclusive exposure to Marisa Peer's life changing method, specialising in eating disorders and weight related problems including nutritional information, which will be conducted by either Marisa Peer or Kate Fitzpatrick. Additional workshops may include style and colour consultant Mary Errington (7 Day Camps only) or body language and confidence expert Lianne Young, who has carried out work for television, radio and magazines."

Cost is about £700 for 5 days and you can also get...

• Spray Tanning (£15)
  (Using Fantasy Tan, lasting 7 days. Natural
  colour, no streaking)
• Indian Head Massage (£15)
• Full Body Massage (£35)
• Back Massage (£20)
• Eyelash Tint (£5)
• Eyelash Perm (£25)
• Eyebrow Tint (£5)
• Teeth Whitening (£150)

Another business, nubeginnings, offer:

"Our unique approach combines a programme of nutrition, exercise and hypnotherapy - we will help you to change your relationship with food and yourself. Our weight loss program is designed to really get results during your stay and when you return home."

Again, same as...

Fees are about £1700 a week though!

There's FitFarms but it's women only (must be a big market there!) and it's about £1400 a week.

As one would expect, the Tesco retreat is cheap(ish) and looks good...and the sample week is not too strenuous...

Week-end Residential Bootcamps are held here by yet another organisation...

There are personal trainers in Oxford (couldn't find the fee structure though...)

To return to weekly sessions etc BMF do seem to be the best...if you haven't got the discipline.

"We are the UK's leading outdoor fitness provider. Operating in parks across the UK, we offer the best way to get fit and lose weight, whilst having great fun with other people.

Our military fitness classes are run by serving or former members of the armed forces with recognised fitness training qualifications. They will help motivate and encourage you back into fitness!"

Of course at the other extreme to all this is this!

If we take 1lb = 3500 calories then to lose say 5 lbs in a week there must be a calorie deficit of 17,500 calories. That means if we consumner 1200 calories a day on a camp then we must 'use' 25,900 calories. That's about 3,500 calories a day.

Unit of Weight	Approximate Calories	Approximate Kilojoules
Pound	3,500	14,644
Kilogram	7,716	32,284

A pound of body fat equates to approximately 3500 calories. So if you have a calorie deficit of 500 calories (meaning that you burn 500 calories more than you eat each day) you would lose approximately one pound per week:

500 x 7 = 3,500

It's easy to see that a calorie deficit of 1000 calories would mean that you'd lose approximately two pounds per week. And that's a good number to remember, because two pounds a week is commonly accepted as the maximum rate of weight loss that is healthy. Losing weight too quickly has other disadvantages, too, and we'll be discussing this in the next topic.

Technical Notes

Body Fat vs. Nutritional Fat

As you will learn in the topic Calories in Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates, it is commonly said that a gram of fat contains 9 calories. But there are 454 grams in a pound, and 9 x 454 = 4086 calories, not 3500.

The reason for the discrepancy is that body fat, or adipose tissue, contains not only fat, but also other substances including protein, connective tissue, and water. The dietary fat referred to in the nutritional analysis of food is pure.

Looking at it another way, 3,500 / 454 = 7.7 calories. Thus a gram of body fat contains only 7.7 calories versus the 9 calories found in pure fat. It's easy to see that there should be a difference when you consider that body fat contains water, which has no calories.

Because of the differences in the two types of fat, it is appropriate to use the 3500 calories per pound figure when discussing fat "burned" by activity, and the 9 calories per gram figure when discussing the nutritional content of food.

Calculate a full 24 hours' worth of activities using your current weight. If you weigh 180 pounds, your results might look like this:

Totals: 3,130 calories in 24 hr

Sleeping:588 calories in 8 hr

Office Work - general:980 calories in 8 hr

Driving - light vehicle (e.g., car, pick-up): 163 calories in 1 hr

Food - preparing, at home:204 calories in 1 hr

Eating - sitting:122 calories in 1 hr

Taking a Shower:82 calories in 30 min

Cleaning - house or cabin, general:122 calories in 30 min

Shopping - groceries, with cart:94 calories in 30 min

Walking - with dog:122 calories in 30 min

Running - 6 mph:408 calories in 30 min

Dressing and Undressing:82 calories in 30 min

Watching - TV or movie:163 calories in 2 hr

These will also be useful:

Calculator Status:

Help: Click on Help for instructions and information on the calculators. Next: Select a calculator, below.

Calculators:BMI Calculator: Calculate your Body Mass Index. Are you normal weight, overweight, or obese?

BMR & RMR Calculator: Estimate your Basal and Resting Metabolic Rates, and how many calories you burn in a day based on a general activity level.

Activity Calculator: Choose from hundreds of activities to see how many calories they burn, or calculate how many calories you burn in 24 hours.

We also feature advanced calculators for five activities:
Walking Calculator
Running Calculator
In-Line Skating Calculator
Bicycling Calculator
Precor EFX 546 Elliptical Calculator

Questions? Problems? Click on Help, above. And here are just a few of our related Tutorial topics:
Calculating BMI
Calculating BMR and RMR
Calculating Calories Burned
Calories and Kilojoules
What It Takes to Lose a Pound
Calculating Daily Calorie Needs

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So, what can be concluded?

To lose 5 lbs in a week (cost about £1000) you need to burn about 2000 EXTRA calories a day. You can do this through extra exercise (remember to subtract the calories you would have lost anyway). Choose your exercise from here.

But also remember the 'afterburn' from the exrcise eg from Tabata etc.

Also £1,000 would buy you a year of gym membership where all the Boot Camp activities are available - free.