What's Bootcamp?

I get that question all the time and I usually explain that No Pink Dumbbells Bootcamp is basically small group personal training. It's open to women and men and involves bodyweight exercises along with some dumbbell and kettlebell work. It is a challenging workout but each camper works at their own level; the only person you are competing against is yourself.

That's the description but bootcamp is more than that.

Last night, I explained the evening's workout to the campers. Each training session is unique but this workout was very different from what we usually do. It would be much shorter than usual but very tough. I think most anyone would have considered it demanding.

I expected part of the challenge to be mental and I was right. Upon hearing me go through the exercises and number of reps to be completed, the eyes of one of the campers looked like saucers- and they stayed that way. I think she half expected me to say I was joking. When I didn't, I'm pretty sure she was thinking that she wasn't going to able to make it through or, at best, it would take her forever to finish.

Just then, Vicki, another camper said, "We can do this!" She went on to remind the others that they normally do about so many reps in a certain amount of time and then they have to repeat the exercise so many times. She said something like, "We just need to get through the whole thing once and then we're done." Then she repeated, "We can do this!"

You could see the mental shift.

The workout was tough but it would have been so much tougher if anyone had spent the entire time internally telling themselves that they couldn't do it.

Vicki finished her 500 reps first and after a short rest went over to the final camper who was still working and completed her workout with her. (For the record, it wasn't Saucer Eyes, which should lead to another post about what people are capable of compared to what they think they are capable of.)

That's bootcamp.

The encouragement, support and little pushes that these people give to one another makes a huge difference. It's a different atmosphere than the gym. Being among a group of people who are really challenging themselves makes you want to work harder and improve, which brings faster results.