On a cool California morning, a group of participants show up to a local park in their sweatbands and athletic shoes. The first rays of sun are just barely peeking over the California hills, as a few birds flutter by on the cool breeze. The group begins their serene morning stretches like a yoga class, limbering up and meditating – asking a higher power to help them get through this workout. Soon they’ll be running uphill, cheered on by their trainer, and plunging into the blend of cardio and strength training. This is all part of the signature kick-butt style of Walled Lake bootcamps that has become so addicting for many area residents.
The name “bootcamp” stems from the idea of doing basic gym class (or army recruit) style movements with intensity. There are no plate-loaded bars, no treadmills, and no yoga mats. Instead, participants use their own body weight as the resistance when doing lunges, squats, and pushups. Instructors say these workouts are the best way to shed pounds quickly and efficiently because you’re essentially confusing the muscles by switching what you’re doing so often. This “muscle confusion” shakes the body out of homeostasis and prompts it to begin losing weight. Since no two workouts are ever alike, the body has no time to adapt – which, thankfully, keeps the excess pounds coming off until there’s nothing left to lose.
Many participants of Walled Lake bootcamps come here for a rigorous workout. Nothing is worse than coming back from the gym feeling like you didn’t push yourself hard enough or make the most of your time there. After all, most people are so busy that they really need to be maximizing their workouts and burning as many calories as possible. The average person finds the bootcamp routines to be strenuous indeed, but not impossible. There are people in their twenties and people in their seventies who participate, but the vast majority of them tend to be in their forties and fifties. They are people who want to look better and feel better as well.
Walled Lake bootcamps aren’t quite like personal training, but they’re not like run-of-the-mill group classes either. There is a little more personal 1-on-1 involvement from the instructor, a little more motivational push, and a little more individual modification. During a typical bootcamp session, the instructor will walk around and give participants suggestions on form or encourage them to up the effort if they seem to be lagging. If the instructor sees a few people growing weary, he or she might suggest a modification or send them off on a couple minutes of recovery to join the group after a couple short repetitions. After class, instructors will have a good idea of the group’s endurance levels to plan an even better workout for next time. In a nutshell, local residents feel Walled Lake bootcamps give them more bang for their buck, which is perhaps why they’re so addicting.
