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5. BOOT CAMP DRILLS
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Looking to get whipped into shape in a hurry? Then boot camp drills are the way to go.
The programs last one to two months and will kick your butt. Boot camp drills involve small groups led by trainers, providing social support to keep members motivated.
The drills are modeled after military boot camps and usually done in outdoor areas, such as parks. They have grown in popularity in the last decade. Now there are indoor options and even gyms dedicated to boot camp drills.
Where to Find It: Several personal trainers offer their own boot camps. As part of his La Vie Physical Fitness, Damon Valley offers a “Vigilante Fit Camp.” It’s a five-week boot camp, with sessions from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Pan Pacific Park, and costs $225. Or you could stay indoors with Griffin White’s Mind Muscle Fitness kettleball boot camp classes held at the Fitness Factory (650 N. La Peer Drive at Santa Monica Boulevard). Grab a 10-class package for $250 and shape up at various times in the mornings on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday or at the Tuesday and Thursday evening workouts.
Another option is the “Best Workout in the World” at Barry’s Bootcamp (1106 La Cienega at Holloway). The Barry’s Bootcamp franchise has locations in various parts of the country, and even in England and Norway, but it started in West Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard. At Barry’s, you’ll get 30 minutes of interval training on a treadmill, followed by 30 minutes of strength training that focuses on a different muscle group each day. It costs $24 for a single session, but you can get sessions for as little as $15 when buying larger packages. Barry’s Bootcamp touts its celebrity clientele and its “night club party environment that is nothing like the cliché boot camps found in every town.” It opens bright and early at 5 a.m. during the weekdays and 7 a.m. on the weekends and stays open until 10:30 p.m. most of the week.
Other places that offer boot camp drills include Rossano Fitness (608 Westmount Dr. at Melrose), Pink Iron (1106 N La Cienega Blvd. at Holloway), Fit Club LA (8182 Sunset Blvd. at Selma)and Muscle Under (9229 Sunset Blvd. at Doheny).
What You’ll Work: Unlike some of the more standardized workouts, the exercises and difficulty of boot camps depend on the trainer or company running the camp. Sessions normally last an hour, starting with dynamic stretching and/or light running. Bodyweight exercises, dumbbell or kettleball weight training and interval training make up the main activities with a short cool-down period of stretching, yoga or Pilates exercises. Boot camps typically begin and end with a fitness test to mark progress.
