Why More and More Women Are Joining Military Workout Boot Camps

As women, we tend to be conscious about how we look in outfits (“does this dress make my butt look big?”) and worry about our weight. While any body is beautiful and every body should be cherished, your weight will not just impact your self-esteem, it will also influence your health. But you know this.

Yet, for most women, knowing that you need to get in shape or eat healthier and lift weights is not enough to get you into the gym. Because the gym can be a frightening, lonely place if you don’t know what you’re doing.

So, if you’re serious about getting fit, losing weight, and having some good ol’ fun while you’re at it, you should consider military-style boot camp workouts instead of the gym. More and more women are skipping the classic workout regimen for boot camp workouts for a number of reasons.

Let’s have a look at why boot camp works are so popular and how they can help you finally get the body you’ve been wanting.

Boot Camps Are Challenging

Workouts are not supposed to be easy. On the contrary, if you do something easy, you are never going to get the results you want. When you go it alone, though, how do you know that what you are doing is effective or even what is best for you? Boot camps are designed to be challenging, but also motivating. Because you are met with a healthy challenge, you seek to overcome it and work hard to achieve mastery over it. Once you tackle the first exercise and then first interval and then the entire workout, you feel like you triumphed over something great.

And if you can complete one round of a boot camp challenge, what is going to stop you from achieving anything else in life?

Boot Camps Improve Your Mental Health

Exercise can be taxing if you are not in the right mindset. Instead of committing to a lifestyle change, you might think of working out as a punishment. However, when working out is fun and motivating, your attitude about it shifts. In fact, your whole perspective on life shifts.

Yes, the instructors are strict. Yes, the exercises can suck—because no one thinks burpees are fun. Yes, you will sweat and cry. But the intensity is going to give you a break through, and you will discover an inner strength you didn’t know you had. You’ll become more self-confident and start loving your body for all that it can do.

Boot Camps Give You a Support Group

A lot of women fall off the exercise bandwagon because no one is there to cheer them on. When you exercise alone, especially in the beginning of the journey, it can become harrowing, unnerving, and even boring to do it alone. Then your motivation takes a hit, and you stop committing.

But what happens at boot camp? You have other women there, just like you, who are fully supportive of your goals. When you join a boot camp, you are often split into groups with people who can help you along the way and keep you motivator. The leader of the group is also there to ensure you push through any uncertainty and come out stronger than ever.

It’s a fitness community, one that will help you grow stronger, both mentally and physically. And you will never be alone.

Boot Camps Pave The Way To Long-Term Fitness

Losing weight is not the same as committing to maintaining a healthy weight. You can definitely lose weight by doing crazy fad diets or going to Zumba one hundred times a week, but you are also not going to get healthy that way. Boot camp workouts not only become a habit, they also help you commit to resistance training, cardio, and even a team.

You will also be driven to adapt your lifestyle. You will want to eat healthy to power yourself for the workouts. You will also shift your entire attitude about fitness, so it becomes a priority, not an obligation.

A Sample Boot Camp Workout

Still not sure if boot camp is right for you? Have a peek at a sample boot camp below that is designed to give you the full effect of a fitness class. If you enjoy it, the next thing you need to do is find an actual class that you can join in. Remember: boot camp requires a squad of helpful people to be super effective!

Repeat each circuit 3 times, as fast as you can. Between sets, give yourself a short break (60 seconds at most). Between circuits, the rest period can be a little longer. If at anytime you think you need to catch your breath, don’t stop moving. Slow down the movement or switch to a modification, but do not stop.

Warm Up:
Jump rope or jog for 5 minutes

Circuit 1:
Repeat these exercises 3 times each.
• 20 squats
• 50 jumping jacks
• 10 planks with alternating leg lifts

Circuit 2:
Repeat these exercises 3 times each.
• 15 squat thrusts – from standing, squat down then touch your hands to the ground, and then shoot your feet back into plank position. Return to the squat then to standing.
• 20 alternating reverse lunges
• 20 leg lifts – lying on your back, lift your legs up and down. Knees can be bent or straight.

Circuit 3:
Repeat these exercises 3 times each with minimal breaks in between.
• Jump rope or run in place, as fast as you can, for 1 minute
• Hold plank position for 1 minute

Sometimes, boot camp workouts will use free weights, like dumbbells and kettlebells, resistance bands, jump ropes, and other equipment to make exercises more challenging.

Give Boot Camp A Try

So, are you ready for a challenge? If you have been thinking about losing weight, toning up, or changing your entire lifestyle to get healthier, then there is no better time to switch to military-style boot camp workouts. Sure, they are tough, but if you commit to it and believe in yourself, you will change more than just your weight. You will get stronger, and you will form new friends and a healthier relationship with yourself too.

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