Falling In at Boot Camp
Beware. The Gym Rat is snooping around Southern California, looking at the best and worst in health clubs. And he isn’t just any rat. He’s been teaching for more than four years at various clubs in the area. He is a member of IDEA and the Health & Fitness Source, and is certified by the Aerobics and Fitness Assn. of America.
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Overheard on the treadmills at Barry’s Boot Camp in West Hollywood: “You are a member of the academy, aren’t you?”
Excusez-moi! If you get the impression that you might be doing bicep curls or push-ups right next to someone in the entertainment industry, you just might be right. After all, Rachel Mumford, one of Barry’s co-owners, was an actress who had small roles in some soaps, and her husband, John Mumford, another co-owner, is an entertainment lawyer. And 90% of the members are in the entertainment industry.
But don’t come thinking that you’re going to be entertained--although I thought Barry Jay’s--he’s the Barry of Barry’s Boot Camp--singing and dancing to the music was pretty funny. Get ready to work out. Hard.
The 5:30 a.m. class I joined, Reveille, had just three other participants. Every boot camp class starts with 30 minutes on the treadmill, running or power walking. Then comes 30 minutes of working out with weights. The morning I went, Jay had us focusing on the upper body: 25 push-ups, a couple of minutes of bicep curls with a barbell, 25 more push-ups, more bicep curls but with resistance tubing, 25 more push-ups and more bicep curls with dumbbells, and, yes, 25 more push-ups before switching to a couple of minutes of tricep extensions, tricep dips, and finally 15 minutes of abdominal work and a cool-down stretch.
The 6:45 a.m. class is called Academy I. If you sign up for this class, you agree to attend every Monday through Friday for four weeks. If you miss a class, the rest of the participants are forced to do extra exercises. If you show up even one minute late, Jay won’t let you participate until you give him, guess what, 25 push-ups. And if Jay’s late: “They make me do the push-ups,” he said with a laugh.
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A native New Yorker, Jay, 36, moved to Los Angeles in 1983. While working for the Weather Channel, he also started working behind the front desk at the Martin Henry Fitness Studio in West Hollywood just so he could take 17 classes weekly for free “just for fun.” He graduated to teaching, and “before I knew it, I was teaching 27 classes [including a treadmill class] a week while holding down a full-time job.”
But then the studio closed without notice. Jay and the Mumfords, who were taking classes at Martin Henry, got together and worked up a business plan.
In October, Barry’s Boot Camp opened in what was once part of Martin Henry’s place. The studio is 2,200 square feet.
Attendance has grown by word of mouth. The 5:30 a.m. class was started because of the overflow crowds at 6:45. Rachel Mumford says the club has 500 members (those who have purchased a series of classes).
Jay teaches 26 classes a week, even though professional aerobics organizations that certify instructors recommend only 10 to 12 classes a week to avoid injury. But then you should know that he is not a certified instructor.
“I just believe in being knowledgeable, being well-informed and being educated,” he said. “A couple of teachers told me it [the aerobics organizations] was a racket, a money game, and I didn’t like what I was reading, and I’ve never had a problem teaching anywhere.”
I thought, certification or not, Jay taught safe, motivating classes. His cuing was right on the money, he showed modifications for exercises and made sure each participant’s form was correct.
Jay has no real background in fitness. “I’m just compulsive and obsessed,” he said. “Everything to me, every move I make, is about fitness, what I eat, everything.”
Barry’s Boot Camp offers 51 classes a week and is open every day. And this place is more than just treadmills (there are 22 of them). There are circuit training classes, stretch classes and classes that work abdominals, buns and thighs. Sunday morning’s 9 o’clock class features gospel music.
“The people that come here want to be pushed their absolute hardest,” Jay said. “These people love to work out with a group, they love to work out to loud music, and they love it that they can get their whole workout done in an hour before work.”
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The Rat Trap
On a rating of one to four rats, four being best, here is how the Gym Rat rates Barry’s Boot Camp in West Hollywood:
* Parking: Free, underground, lighted, so feel free to pull your poormobile next to someone’s 1999 Range Rover. ****
* Locker rooms: None, but there is a unisex restroom that is kept very clean. ****
* Juice bar: None, just a refrigerated display case near the front desk where you can buy bottles of water. Nutrition bars are available too. *
Barry’s Boot Camp, 1106 N. La Cienega Blvd., No. 104, West Hollywood; (310) 360-6262. A single class costs $15. A three-class series is $36; five-class series, $50; 10 classes, $95; 20 classes, $185; 30 classes, $270; and 50 classes, $437.50. Club hours are 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays and Fridays; 5:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays; 8:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and 4 to 5 p.m. Saturdays; and 9 a.m to 12:15 p.m. Sundays.
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If you know of a gym or health club you think the Gym Rat should scope out, fax to (213) 237-4712 or e-mail health@latimes.com.