There are several reasons why people join fitness Boot camps versus joining a gym.  I know as I continued to evolve the fitness world it was my thought that joining a gym  was the only solution to getting great results and staying motivated.   However, with the advent of functionally based training and the need to have liked minded people surrounding me to keep me excited about working out,  I soon found that a gym environment could not provide that as well as having a group of people all working hard to at the same to achieve the same goal.

I have found based on feedback from my present bootcampers that there are 10 reasons why they perfer bootcamp training over just working out at a gym.

1.  Consistent commoradie and the power of relationships.  Boot campers don’t just come and go.  For instance, 85% of my present campers have been with me for at least 2 years or longer.  As a result they have not only gotten great workouts but they have gain lifelong friendships which is a by product of consistency.

2.  No need to plan a workout.  G’town bootcamps provides professionally designed workouts that are taylored towards improving strength, flexibility, power and cardiac efficiency as it relates to day to day function.   This makes workouts directly correlate with getting better at what you love to do.

3.  Workouts can be done by anyone, anywhere and at any intensity.  What this allows for is doing workouts at home or on the road.   This makes it more convenient to get workouts in on a regular basis.

4.   Everybody in a gym is doing the same thing based on magazines that don’t follow really what works but what sells magazines.    For instances, most women are cardio queens spending hours at a time on ellipticals, bikes, and treadmills while getting no results.    The resistance training area is where the guys go or is an area where only if you have personal trainer can you venture into.  Boot camps mostly focus on resistance based training and interval cardio done in multiple planes of motion.

5.  No wait time and time efficient workouts that meet todays busy lifestyle.  No one has time to spend 90 minutes in a gym but most gym members still do.  Why??   Because they have to wait to this machine or that machine.  If  only they knew that a 5 exercise body weight circuit  completed in 30 minutes or less will do 3 times more than any machine and you don’t have to wait.  The problem is that most gyms do not provide any space for this and defintely won’t promote it when they have all this equipment.

6.  Gyms are like day cares, if there is something going around, you will probably catch it at the gym.   Unless you have a dedicated staff who is routinely throughout the day cleaning equipment, it is pretty difficult to avoid transferring the weekly virus on.   Typical the training staff is also in charge of clean up and considering most of them don’t want to do that you can imagine how well it gets done.

7.  Bootcamps are typically owned and operated by fitness professionals who take great pride in putting their name on the door.  That said, they will go out of their way to make sure their campers not only have everything they need but will also make sure results are happening.

8.  Fitness is more than just working out.  Its about building a commuity based on fitness.  Fitness encompasses teaching as well as training.  It about making sure people are making a lifestyle change that is being supported as it gets stronger.  Being  a member of a boot camp comes with a whole lot more than just a 45 minute workout.

9.   Eliminating the need for fitness dependency is and should be what bootcamps are all about.   As  a gym member you are dependent on the machines and equipment that comes with the membership.  However what happens when you can’t make the gym.  Now how do you workout.    Bootcamp training is based on teaching you how to create and implement workouts  that can be done anywhere and are not required to travel to the gym.   Isn’t it interesting that most gyms are empty during the summer and early fall when weather is nice.  Unfortunately this is also the time that most people lose their motivation for keeping their body’s fit.

10.  Expensive monthly gym memberships that lock you in for a year at a time when in reality, most people want to vary up their workouts based on weather, travel, and family.   Why not spend that $60-70/month toward getting the workouts and the professional instruction and be able to set the membership parameters based on your yearly schedule.

I am not saying gyms are all bad.  What I am saying is there are other alternatives to keeping that body of yours functioning, feeling and looking great.    What you need to do is make sure you are getting your money’s worth and the results that come with that price tag.