Bootcamp training

I remember very clearly how nervous I was when I was about to attend my first class at Barry's Bootcamp in Bergen in May 2012. My sister-in-law Gro was already a regular there and she kept recommending it to me. She was extremely happy about how much stronger and faster she had become in short time there. I was skeptical, mainly because Gro was in much better shape than I was (she still is - we both kept improving and she is always an inspiration). I simply thought Barry’s would be too tough for me. At that point I was either street running or fast uphill walking a couple of times a week as my regular exercise. I was also a attending a self service 24/7 open gym, and spent time on the treadmill there when the weather was too bad for running.

In the beginning of May 2012, I was thinking of getting in shape for the summer, and suddenly one day I decided to give Barry’s a try. I bought 20 classes online without even trying it first, signed up for a class and showed up. My goal was to finish all these classes until the end of June, before going on holidays. The way Barry’s works is that every day of the week targets particular body parts and all classes that day are designed to work out those body parts. Half of the time you are running on the treadmill and half of the time you are on the floor strength training, changing between the two at various intervals. Your instructor is super motivating and all the ingredients are there so that you really get to push your limits. That first class, I was so happy to be able to run above the minimum speed suggested by the instructor. But when it came to strength, it felt like I simply had zero, nada, nothing, not a single muscle in my body. I could not do the exercises properly, and I could not even lift the lightest weights. It was frightening to see how weak I was, but a real delight to experience the increase in my strength from week to week. By the end of June, when I finished my 20 classes, I could perform all the floor exercises, and I had even advanced to heavier weights. I was ecstatic! I had clearly found the proper way and place to train.  I was home!

So I became a regular. The instructors at Barry’s are simply amazing. They are all highly skilled, and extremely positive and motivating. Every class of every instructor is different every time; you never know what is coming. Nothing ever becomes a routine for your body, and it gets to push new limits every single time. The customers are at various fitness levels; some are really fast and strong, but far from all. Although it’s fun to try to beat the person on the treadmill next to you, it’s not a competition. It doesn’t even matter if you cannot make the lowest speed suggested by the instructor. The only thing that matters is that everybody does his or her best.

If you want to get serious about your running, you need to get your body strong as well. Not only your legs, but also your back, core, butt, and arms.  The intervals on the treadmill provide a great boost to your running, too.  So bootcamp training is highly recommended. I love Barry’s Bootcamp, but there are probably other similar concepts out there, like cross-fit (which looks really cool and I’d like to try it at some point) and bootcamp classes offered at regular gyms (I have no idea about the level of those). The most important thing is to sign up for something that really gets you out of your comfort zone. If it’s all too nice and cozy, and you’re not drenched in sweat afterwards, then believe me it’s not working.  Don’t throw away your time and money on easy exercising, thinking that you’re getting better. Sign up for something that is both hard and fun, with surprising elements so it doesn’t become routine, and where you notice that your form improves all the time.

Harder, better, faster, stronger!