I have been a member of this gym for a couple years now but only recently started attending this…read moregym on a regular basis. The gym has several different group classes, which I enjoy, all with great instructors. The class sizes are much smaller than the other local gyms, which creates a sense of camaraderie when you attend on a regular basis. There are options in the morning, evenings and on Saturdays. In addition, the gym is kept clean, which can't be said about one of the other local gyms that I regularly attend as well.
Recently, they offered a 6 week boot camp / weight loss challenge that I took advantage of. It involved small group training sessions with Justin, a certified physical trainer. Justin kept us engaged, was encouraging and supportive throughout the challenge. There was a commitment deposit that you could earn back if you met the requirements of the challenge. The requirements during the entire 6 week period were the following: lose 20 pounds, change your Facebook profile pic to the approved challenge announcement pic, complete 30 workouts during the 6 weeks, attend at least 1 Boot Camp session a week and regular postings of our workouts on social media. Changing the FB profile pic for the entire 6 weeks seemed excessive. The text was outdated within a week of posting it and was a bit gimmicky in the wording. It should be more representative of the program without the date referenced. I'm not one to post much on my FB page so it was tough for me to post all of my workouts. At the same time, it provided some accountability and support from my friends, so I can't complain too much about it.
At the start of the challenge, we were weighed in and provided a recommended nutrition plan to follow. I chose to follow my own nutrition plan but discussed it at the start of the challenge to make sure it was acceptable. There was supposed to be a mid-challenge checkpoint but I don't feel it was really done for everyone. I made sure to do a check to see where I was at with my weight/fat loss but it wasn't something that was scheduled for everyone. You had to inquire about this on your own. Making it a scheduled halfway event could make it more successful for some.
The Boot Camp sessions were an hour long and several options were provided throughout the week (morning and night) which made it convenient. The sessions were challenging and provided me with ideas to help me when I'm working out on my own after the challenge. The sessions were done with 2 - 3 sets of exercises with 2 - 3 rounds a piece. The exercises were varied every time and included equipment like the TRX system, sled push, weighted tire, dumbbells, kettle bells, slam balls and ropes to name a few. A couple suggestions for future boot camps would be to encourage us to warm up prior to the session and also to stretch at the end.
In the end, I was able to meet all the requirements to earn my commitment deposit back so I'm pleased about that. Brad, the owner, also provided me with support and encouragement throughout the challenge which was nice. I lost 20 pounds and my resting heart rate dropped 10 bpm during the challenge which is awesome! Depending on the cost, I would recommend this program to others that are looking to lose weight, have accountability and support, wants to work with a personal trainer and likes the group training aspect.