How effective is a fitness boot camp?

Over the last decade businesses have sprung up all over the country offering a variety of ‘fitness days’ and ‘military boot camps’ in which they claim they can completely change your life, lose all your excess weight and make you into a god or goddess among men. How good are these boot camps, exactly? Are they worth the hefty sums that they charge? These questions each have variable answers depending on who’s asking them.

Now, in principle these boot camps are a good idea—a week dedicated to health and fitness under the watchful eyes of trained professionals and surrounded by those in the same situation? What more could you ask for? They are normally well-equipped, and offer plenty of support for the less-motivated amongst us.

What they should not be seen as is a quick fix, or a replacement for a healthy lifestyle. A week away may help you get in trim momentarily, but if you then return to a sedentary lifestyle then don’t be surprised when the beer belly comes back with a vengeance. Boot camps are like a crash diet, and have all the associated dangers of a weight rebound once you have stopped attending it.

The best way to view a fitness boot camp is as the starting block for a new, healthier lifestyle. As well as plenty of physical exercise, many fitness boot camps offer specialized nutrition and lifestyle advice that can be far more valuable in the long term than the hours sent in physical exertion. It is important to realize that a fitness boot camp is not solely about losing weight – it’s about learning the know-how and techniques to keep weight levels down and your fitness at its’ peak. If the boot camp you are considering doesn’t offer these classes, taught by people with adequate qualifications, give them a wide berth.

Being fit should not be a chore—it is a way of life, and as such it is a long-term commitment to yourself and your body. It isn’t something that can be bought with a week of hard work, followed by a year of laziness. All the fitness boot camps in the world will be next to useless if you don’t truly intend to turn your life around and take in to account what you learn during your time at the camp. At the end of the day, a fitness boot camp is as effective as you want to make it.

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