“Shock and awe ” is a military term for rapid domination of an adversary, a strategy employed in the confrontation in Iraq based on a doctrine espoused by the National Defense University.While its efficacy over the past decade has been debated, the use of such aggressive tactics where our physical complacency is concerned — our vegetative states, the monotonous hum of our repetitive workouts, and the soothing ease of “sameness” — is gathering fervor.

No fitness professionals pretend to offer the demanding routine of the armed forces’ actual physical training, but many are emulating a few of the military’s tactics in America’s war on obesity.

The product of this amalgamation of gleaned wisdom has been gaining more and more popularity under the banner of boot camp-style training.

“Everything we do is slightly different,” said Rod Clayton, owner and personal trainer for Basic Training Fitness, which offers classes through the Triangle SportsPlex in Hillsborough. “It’s almost always body-weight exercise, where one’s own body weight is the resistance. Much of it is really play: we’re moving the body, we’re running, we’re climbing, and we’re jumping. We also do some plyometrics, which uses explosive body weight exercises.”

“It’s simply exercises that are based on those used by Navy Seals,” said Kelly Sikes, Triangle SportsPlex’s executive director of sales and fitness development. “It’s a great idea, and I guess it’s a little like the P90X workouts … on steroids.”

Confound The Enemy

Like the P90X system, military physical training tends to confuse different muscle groups through widely varied exercises, introducing new moves and routines so as to keep the muscles guessing, thus shocking the body off of its comfortable plateaus.

What’s new to fitness center menus is old news on military training sites, however.

“I ran across an old book about Navy PT Training and started doing it, and I had a great time,” Clayton said. “I got a couple more friends doing it, and it was recommended that I start a class … about 10 years ago. The first class, we maxed out.”

The workouts are based on exercises from BUDS — Basic Underwater Demolition Seal –the Navy version of boot camp for specialists, Clayton said. He also incorporates from other Special Forces operators, like parachute jumpers, who’ve given us ideas on water exercises we can do.

“We’re always looking for new ways to challenge people. I’ve been in fitness for more than 20 years, and this is probably the most effective workout I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Clayton strongly emphasized the difference between military-style workouts and actual military training, renown for its rigorous methods of focusing the mind and reshaping the body.

“This is nothing at all like that. This is purely about fitness,” Clayton asserted. “We try to concentrate on the positives without any harassment or negative things.

“We do get some people who come in and expect a military-style program, and it’s not that. We even get some folks who tell us, ‘Hey, you need to yell more.’ I suspect many of our people would leave if we did.”

Clayton re-emphasized that the image of the derisive drill instructor does not translate into fitness center settings.

“No, because, after all, they are paying us,” he said, chuckling. “This is a workout, not a true boot camp.”

Too Early

Jordan Albertson, of UNC’s Ram’s Head Recreation Center, said the notion of a pre-dawn run with 40-pound packs isn’t on the agenda through UNC Recreation’s boot camp fitness workouts, either.

“With our program, it’s not the time of day,” Albertson said. “We did offer a boot camp style workout at 6 or 7 a.m., and it was really poorly attended.”

“It’s more about the style of the workout,” he added. “I’m sure that someone who had been in the armed forces would say that this training is not much like their training. … It’s just a lot of back-to-back exercises without much rest.”

“Hey, we’re not here to kill you or make you sick,” Sikes said. “We’re here to make you better and to push you to where you don’t think you can go.”

With the derisive element excised from exercise, “boot camp” style fitness has become wildly popular over the past decade.

“It actually still seems to be gaining popularity,” Albertson said. “The program filled quickly the first time I taught it, and this semester it filled up super quick.”

One of the major reasons for the popularity of the basic training-style workouts is their efficiency.

“In four weeks, people will drop 5 to 6 percent body fat, lose up to 10 pounds, and reduce their mile time sometimes by two minutes, according to www.WebMD.com.

Human Nature

Another reason for the popularity with fitness centers and instructors is the low overhead involved. Whereas some fitness regimens use weights, equipment or large amounts of space, boot camp workouts use participants’ own body weight as resistance and competition with fellow participants as motivation.

“It’s human nature to challenge yourself against other humans,” Florida fitness coach Tom Rayhill told WebMD. “Not everybody is athletically inclined, but by hanging out with those more driven people, you’re naturally going to want to do better.”

Still, without a challenge, the system falls flat, results fall short, and popularity falls off. As such, workouts must be sufficiently rigorous.

“Typically, the people coming in are already in pretty good shape, and that’s how we market it,” Albertson said. “We tell people it’s going to involve tough workouts. It’s a fairly advanced class. It works out the entire body. There are a lot of body-weight power exercises involved, and that drains the system a lot.”

“It’s a hardcore course,” Clayton said. “We bill it as being for people of medium to advanced fitness. It’s not for the faint of heart, and we see everyone from cancer survivors who are battling back to athletes who’ve been to the Olympic trials.”

An elevated challenge makes for an elevated sense of accomplishment and self-esteem.

“I think the challenge itself is the reason for the popularity,” Clayton said. “We started our class before the real boot camp craze, and what we’ve heard from the start is that participants found themselves doing things they didn’t think they could do.”

“We get a lot of triathletes doing all-season training,” Clayton added, “and it’s the perfect complement. We also get a lot of former athletes who’ve been sitting at a desk for too long and need a program to get them motivated again.”

Tours Of Duty

Trainers see participants translating that sense of accomplishment into other areas. Rayhill said the classes also offer a way to reconnect with others from within lifestyles that are increasingly separated.

“Most of what we do all day is very isolating,” Rayhill said. “We’ve got iPods, cell phones, and computers. We’re not connecting with other people. No computer can make you feel better. No, not like the connection to other people.”

For those interested, basic training style classes are offered locally through fitness facilities including UNC Recreation and the Wellness Center at Meadowmont, as well a three-month tour of duty running from November through the Holiday season into January at the Triangle SportsPlex in Hillsborough.

“It’s in keeping with the idea of ‘maintain, don’t gain, ‘ through the holidays,” Sikes said. “People can get off schedule during that time of year, so we offer a choice of just one month (December) or for all three months.”

The SportsPlex classes will be offered twice weekly during the mornings and twice more during evenings, with an 8 a.m. Saturday session as well. The program, administered by Clayton’s Basic Training Fitness ( www.basictraining.biz) begins Nov. 2 and runs for 12 weeks. The cost for SportsPlex members is $60 per month or $160 if paid in full in advance. Non-member rates are $75 a month, or $200 if paid in full in advance.

“Our motto is, ‘don’t limit your challenges; challenge your limits, ‘” Clayton said. “That’s really what it’s all about. The challenge is not just physically, but to mentally go past where you thought your limits were.”

However shocking the tactics may be, most fitness experts are agreeing that the results have been nothing short of awesome.

Randy Young at chnsports@nando.com

Original article can be found here:  http://www.chapelhillnews.com/sports/story/53007.html

Are you one of the millions of individual that are constantly looking for ways to lose those extra pounds and failed? It seems that the eternal question on how to lose weight is so elusive that you just end up not losing that extra weight and you are becoming more and more frustrated at your predicament. There are several ways on how to lose weight the question is how to find one that would work for you.

Fortunately for you there are many ways on how to lose weight. You just have to learn the specific exercise routine that will help you how to lose weight along with some diet modifications to achieve your goal.

The thing is you have to exercise in order for you to burn those extra calories off, the proper way. There are a lot of exercises out there but if you don’t know how to properly execute the right kind of routine your efforts will all go to waste. The best way how to lose weight is finding a cardio exercise to increase the heart rate and improve the breathing. This is important to have a good blood circulation and oxygenation of the blood. A nice example of a cardio workout is aerobics. Aerobics coupled with some resistance training and interval training will hasten the metabolism of the body, thus the body is able to burn more calories and fats.

Interval training is a high impact exercise incorporated in an aerobic workout followed by rest or low impact work out. Interval training can supercharge your metabolism and burn off that extra fat. The classic example for this is jogging for a specific time then switching to walking the next also for a certain period of time. It somewhat deceive the body that you are ready to slow down only to sprint back to jogging again. This kind of training is a sure and fast way to shed those extra pounds fast. Interval training should not go beyond 15 minutes that is why it is always incorporated in an aerobic workout such as running, aerobics class or brisk walking.

Resistance training is an exercise that lets the muscle contract against an external resistance by using elastic band, light weight dumbbells or tubing’s. The objective of this exercise is to strengthen and tone the muscle and build muscular endurance. It helps in increasing the metabolism of the body, even while at rest.

You have to do this exercises 3 times a week although it will take you for about an hour or so a day including the stretching at the start of the exercise, so that you will not injure yourself and cool down period to help bring back the normal heart rate. Doing this exercises will definitely boost your metabolism for 24 hours. So you are able to burn more calories and shed of those unwanted fats even while you sleep.

This type of exercise is hard if you have been a couch potato for how many years. It is important to know what your capacity as a beginner. Just listen to your body don’t push yourself to hard the first time. Improve your routine one step at a time. It is important that you enjoy the feeling of exercise so that you will stick to the program. And lastly, gradually change your lifestyle and eating habits. Eat a more healthy food and avoid too much fats and sweet foods. These foods pack in too much calories. Just reserve them for special occasions or times when you have to celebrate.



By: Janet Sommers

About the Author:

Body Weight Fitness

People residing in different parts of world usually have the tendency to reduce weight by opting for diet plan or special exercise. Weight loss techniques and diet need to be considered in proportionate ratio to reduce unwanted pound of weight from the belly. Self determination and patience plays a vital role in reducing weight which need to be there with the person who is opting to lose unwanted weight from his or her body. Various options are available to reduce weight according to the convenience of the people who are interested to get relieved from unwanted body weight.

· Exercise –Walking is the effective and easy way to lose weight. Routine based walking on daily basis usually cut down the weight on daily basis. Fats usually get deposited under the belly or thighs as intake of calorie is much more than body use. Exercise can be considered as the best and easiest option to burn the calories and heart pumping burns the fats in a proper manner. Swimming, jogging or rigorous walking at brisk pace can lead to excessive heart pumping, ultimately leading to burning of unwanted pounds of weight from body parts specifically from thighs and belly.

· Water – It is considered to be one of the easy ways to lose weight. Most of the people in the world are not familiar with this weight losing technique. Water need to be taken in the body at regular intervals which can help in burning of fats, ultimately leading to reduction of unwanted weight pound from the body. Water in the body makes the person keeps away from food as it makes him feel less hungry. Water helps in cleansing the body system and there is no chance of false hunger due to dehydration.

· Delay –People need to control their eating habit when they come across with the food items which they like the most but eventually they gain weight by craving in greasy food items such as chips and candy bars which has large number of calories. The person need to be self determined and need to have patience when they are looking to lose unwanted weight from their body. They need to avoid eating snacks and other fried items when they feel hungry. The eating habits need to be controlled and meals need to be taken at the appropriate time when the hunger actually persists. Eating habits need to be controlled and if the people have patience and self determination, it is the easiest way to lose weight



By: Tarun Jaswani

About the Author:

Body Weight Routine