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

You may also like this...

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.

The Static Contraction Challenge

STEP ONE: Download the pdf of exercise instructions by clicking here

What: Static Contraction Training is the ultra-efficient, ultra-intense strength training method that is revolutionizing strength training! Anyone, male or female from 9 to 90 can use it to increase muscle strength and size and add garner the proven health benefits of having more lean mass.

How: Try these three simple exercises just three times to experience the amazing muscle stimulation of this proven method of strength training.

Bench Press:
This exercise is performed inside a Power Rack, as pictured. Position the bar within 4 inches of your extended reach. Place 30-100% more weight on the bar than you normally use. Press the bar up one inch (do not lock-out) and hold for a about of 5 seconds while exhaling. Do not lock out. Experiment to find the most weight you can hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 5 days later with 10-30% more weight and again 5 days after that with another 10-30% more weight. Always use a weight that is so heavy you can only hold it 5 seconds. If you can hold it longer, it is too light. This applies to all three exercises in the SC Challenge.

Shrug:
This exercise is performed inside a Power Rack, as pictured. Position the bar within one inch of your grasp while standing. Place 30-100% more weight on the bar than you normally use. Lift the bar off the support and use your trapezius muscles to raise the weight just slightly. Hold for a count of 5 seconds while exhaling. Experiment to find the most weight you can hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 5 days later with 10-30% more weight and again 5 days after that with another 10-30% more weight.

Leg Press:
This exercise is performed with safety stops engaged at ALL TIMES. Position the seat so the sled is within 4 inches of your full extension. Place 100-200% more weight on the press than you normally use. Press the sled up one inch off the safety stops. Hold for a count of 5 seconds while exhaling. Do not lock out. Experiment to find the most weight you can hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 5 days later with 20-50% more weight and again 5 days after that with another 20-50% more weight.

Enter your results at: www.StaticContraction.com/Challenge.html

This is all from Pete Sisco's site - well worth a visit!

Rapid Muscle Gain: Many methods build muscle, but what does it "best"? Read

Shocking Data Reveals How to Get Stronger Much Faster: A big lie revealed. Read

How Young Can You Train?: When can kids start lifting weights. Read

Bad Economy?: Why YOU Really Need to Get Strong Right Now! Read

Scheduling Aerobics and Static Contraction Workouts: How to mix low intensity with ultra-high intensity. Read

An Honest Look at "Light" vs "Heavy" Training: You can’t train heavy all the time, but you can train heavy every time. Read

Discover Your Optimum Training Frequency and Unleash Huge New Growth: Workouts are worthless if you aren’t training with the right frequency Read

Get Maximum Gains Using a “Minimum Dosage”: Results of a Static Contraction study of performing 2.1 workouts per week for 10 weeks. Read

Are You Building Muscle? Or Just Lifting Weights?: A true muscle-building workout is an event! Not something done by rote. Read

Three Best Exercises for Adding Muscle Fast: These exercises let you hoist the big iron and make fast gains. Read

A Triple-exercise You've Never Heard Of: Try this ultra-intense exercise and see if you feel the 'rush' others report. Read

Brief and Intense Exercise Offers Superior Results: Three fascinating studies that show the value of higher intensity. Read

Build a Bigger Upper Body in 3 Workouts: Use these four exercises in any gym today and get bigger. Read

Your Barbaric Yawp = 12.2% More Strength: A clinical study showed yelling boosted static contraction power. Read

How to Get a 62% Increase in Intensity: This will give you an immediate boost on three big exercises. Read

Intensity vs. Failure: Once you realize the critical relationship of these elements you'll never view your training the same way. Read

Overheard at the Gym: Here's how a typical demonstration goes of just one Static Contraction exercise in a busy gym. Read

What is the Best Order of Exercises?: Many people wonder if the order they perform exercises makes a difference. Read

Rational Abdominal Training: Get results and avoid the plethora of misinformation and dumb gadgets. Read

Men With Muscles Live Longer: An astonishing study links muscles to mortality risks. Read.

All from Pete Sisco's site - visit it!

12 ways to improve your workout...

A superb post about fraud!

Meet Nicholle, Kathy and Jenny!

Notice the photos of Nicholle Stevenson, Kathy Thompson and Jenny Conrad? They look quite similar, wouldn't you say? Also notice that they lost 35, 23 and 25 pounds respectively.

I copied these images (took screen shots, to be exact) from three different websites designed to look like personal blogs of women who are telling the world about their diets and weight loss success.

If you want, you can visit the websites at these links: Nicholle Kathy Jenny

Read the rest of the article here

Posts elsewhere that I like

I have been reading the forums elsewhere.

Here are some posts I like.

1. Is your exercise keeping you fat? Well, my lack of exercise made me fat, but really the 6-pack is made in the kitchen, not the gym. Going to the gym 4 times a week might lose me 1kg a week, tops. More likely 1kg a month. It's the after-effect of the gym plus how the rest of my lifestyle changes, that is important.

2. The perfect fitness programme if you're overweight. If you're overweight then it is improtant not to overdo things otherwise a) you'll pull loads of muscles and b) never keep up with it. Start slowly but be consistent in your inconsistency i.e. mix your training up, but make sure you train 3-4 times a week.

3. Exercising with little time. We need an excuse not to exercise - and 'I don't have much time' is ideal. In reality we do have time. Simply get up 30 minutes early. Should I exercise on an empty stomach? Well, that means I have less energy to exercise and therefore put less into it. Build less muscle etc BUT I do save time as I don't have to save time for breakfast and then wait before I exercise. I can exercise and then eat straight away afterwards. Saving time means I am more likely to exercise.

4. A free bodyweight manual. I like anything that is free. Over the years I have trained myself to ignore the advertisements so I can get a free e-book and still not buy the product. I have sent off for the manual.

5. A fifteen minute bodyweight workout. Only fifteen minutes so no excuse not to do it. Also no equipment needed - much better for the early morning exerciser!

6. Is the burpess the most intense bodyweight exercise? If you do the burpee with a push-up, then surely, yes - which is a good reason to make it your tabata exercise. Try doing four minutes of this! The most I have managed is 45 seconds.

7. It's a good idea to have a variety of work-outs so you do not become too good at something. You can do this with a deck of cards and each card represents and exercise or frequency. Here's how to design 6 bodyweight workouts.

Which workout?

Best for Your Chest: Pushups target your chest, arms, abs, and back, and the bench press is the classic strength test. But for pure chest-building power, the one-armed dumbbell press can help you stay balanced and heave more weight, fast. The Best for Your Back: Most back exercises are great—they're multi-joint movements that fire up big muscle groups. They improve your grip, engage your abs, and help you sculpt an enviable V. But this classic reigns supreme ... and it may be the best arms exercise, too. The Best for Your Legs: Squats are one of the best exercises in the gym—period—but which variation is best? Front squats challenge the body differently than back squats. Goblet squats incorporate balance.Braced squats may be the ultimate exercise for your abs. But this grueling move is tops for your legs. The Best for Your Abs: Crunches are the most ubiquitous, but they're not the best. Planks—and these variations—will train your core stability and rip your abs from the inside out. But if you want the ultimate core-training challenge, grab a bar for this exercise. The Best for Your Heart: You gotta have heart ... which means, yes, you've got to do cardio. If you're going to hop on a machine, the rower is your best bet—use this guide to get your form right. You can do great things with intervals, but this cardio workout beats 'em all.

Relaxation

Of course with all this new stuff, heavyweights visiting this blog might be confused. After all, you have been reading about Tabata exercises, weight-loss, diabetes...and noodles.

Obviously you need time to relax...

Quick Relaxation

• Loosen your clothing and get comfortable.
  
  

• Tighten the muscles in your toes. Hold for a count of 10. Relax and enjoy the sensation of release from tension.
  
  

• Flex the muscles in your feet. Hold for a count of 10. Relax.
  
  

• Move slowly up through your body- legs, abdomen, back, neck, face- contracting and relaxing muscles as you go.
  

• Breathe deeply and slowly.
  

Long-Term Relaxation

• Get in a comfortable position. Minimally tighten your right fist so that you feel only the smallest amount of tension. Hold it at this level. Be sure you continue to breathe... Now let go and relax... Observe the difference in feelings between the right and left arm and fist.
  
  

• Now minimally tighten your left fist. Hold at this level so that you just feel the tightening... Let go and relax. Let the relaxation spread through the arms and the rest of the body.
  
  

• Now tighten ever so slightly the following parts of your body.
  
  (Each time tighten only to the point at which you can observe tension, where you can observe tension, where you become conscious of or can "feel" the tension. Hold the tensions at that level, and be sure you tighten only the intended muscle while the rest of the body stays quiet and relaxed. Be sure you continue to breathe. Each time you let go, let those parts relax further and further.) Tighten ever so slightly your scalp... let go and relax... Let the face become smooth and soft... Let the eyes sink into their sockets... Now slightly tighten the throat and neck. Hold it... Let go and relax.
  
  

• While continuing to breathe, minimally tighten the triceps. Be sure the neck eyes and tongue are relaxed... Let go.
  
  

• Raise your shoulders to your ears minimally. Be sure the neck stays loose. Observe how the shoulders feel different from the rest of the body... Let go and relax. Feel the relaxation sinking through the body... Minimally tighten the stomach. Keep breathing... Let go and relax. Minimally tighten the buttocks... Let go and relax. Minimally tighten the feet, calves, and thighs... Let go and relax. Let yourself reach an even deeper level of relaxation, a calmness and serenity.
  
  

• Now minimally tense every muscle in your body so that you just feel the minimum tension... jaws... eyes... shoulders... arms... chest... back... legs... stomach... Be sure you keep breathing. Feel the minimum tension in every part... Let your whole body relax. Feel a wave of calmness as you stop tensing.
  
  

• Now, with your eyes closed, take a deep breath and hold it. Note all the minimum tensions... Exhale and feel the relaxation and calmness developing... Note the feeling of heaviness.

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Waist to Hip Ratio

Your waist to hip ratio is an important tool that helps you determine your overall health risk. People with more weight around their waist are at greater risk of lifestyle related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes than those with weight around their hips. It is a simple and useful measure of fat distribution.

Use a measuring tape to check the waist and hip measurements.
- Measure your hip circumference at it's widest part.
- Measure your Waist Circumference at the belly button or just above it.

The Waist to Hip Ratio Calculator indicates your probable health risks. People with more weight around the waist, face more health risks than people who carry more weight around their hips.

You can analyse your ratio here...