The Fit Get Fitter at ‘Boot Camp’

The fitness class gathered on the playground of a Sierra Madre elementary school, an eclectic group of men and women whose ages ranged from teens to mid-50s. Mingling among them were three men and a woman wearing camouflage pants and black T-shirts with the words “Boot Camp” emblazoned on them.

I had heard about similar throwbacks to the past for more than a year--physical fitness programs spun off from the purgatory that comes with the first weeks of military basic training. The idea is to provide a bit of atmospherics (as in the pants) reminiscent of the military while giving a strenuous workout using very little in the way of fancy equipment. It’s a concept that is catching on nationwide, with varying degrees of realism. With some trepidation, I decided to give it a try.

I’d seen ads for this particular boot camp at a Sierra Madre fitness center, complete with a picture of four macho-looking instructors staring menacingly into the camera. As it turned out, the woman in the picture, Sandy Lewis-Duvall, is the owner of the center, Sierra Fitness, that runs the boot camp. And contrary to the tough look of the advertisements, the idea, said Lewis-Duvall, is simply to return to the basics of physical fitness--with a military feel to it--and to be outdoors at the same time. The stereotype of snarling drill instructor is out, she said. Too many of her boot camp clients had already gone through the real thing.

“My goal is to motivate, not humiliate,” she told me before the workout began.

The sessions run by Sierra Fitness last for an hour, four days a week. The most intense of the offerings last for eight weeks, but for $15 you can try a single session. Lewis-Duvall is quick to point out, however, that boot camp training is not for everyone--that a modicum of physical fitness is necessary at the entry level. She also said there are other boot camps in the area where the fitness requirements are much more rigorous, requiring a high degree of fitness just to begin the program.

Still, this day in boot camp was no walk in the park. Our group of about 25 loosened up by jogging a couple of laps around the field. Then head trainer Kurt Vasquez, a former Marine, took the lead in the cadenced calisthenics, and I knew right away it would be a long hour of working out. My heart rate monitor almost immediately began to beep, signaling that I was already over my optimum zone that has a high end of 140 beats per minute. We did jumping jacks. We did crunches and push-ups. In all, we did seven sets of exercises, which would have been plenty for your average workout. But that was only the beginning.

Next came more drills on the other side of the field, where two lines of plastic cones were set up. The idea was to move from one side of the field to the other, with instructors barking commands. The routine included even more push-ups and crunches, combined with races back and forth. My legs were leaden, and most everyone was seriously sweating, even those who had been in the course for a number of weeks. Just when it seemed too difficult to continue, Vasquez called for a water break. The session was at the halfway point.

By now, my shirt was dripping as we were led to a blacktopped section of the school playground. There, we were divided into three groups. At the first station, we tossed modern-day medicine balls made of rubber against a wall. The first few were easy. Then the weight of the balls began to take their toll. At the second station, we did 40 step-ups on benches that lined the chain-link fence. Finally, we did various exercises using either 10- or 15-pound bars. Still, there was more to come in the form of races up and down the field.

That over, the group formed a circle, where Lewis-Duvall led some cooling-off exercises. I looked at my heart-rate monitor and saw that I had burned 1,020 calories. And it felt like it. Looking around, some in the camp looked ready to do more; others looked spent.

Lewis-Duvall said the ones who looked the fittest had been doing the boot camp sessions for some time; others were just beginning. She said participants are initially tested for flexibility, strength, agility and endurance to make sure they are qualified for a boot camp. If not, they are advised to work out in the gym for three or four weeks as a way of building up.

The cost of this particular boot camp depends on how many classes are attended each week. The most expensive is $288--four days a week for eight weeks. Lewis-Duvall said that her boot camp had been going on for the last year and a half and that 50 people would begin a new program today.

“We’ve had every age and size with us,” she said. And in terms of results, she said “it’s truly amazing where people end up.”

Me, I ended up limping around with stiff muscles for a couple of days.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Snapshot: Boot camp

Where to go: Boot camps are located in a number of Southern California communities. Check with local fitness centers to find one in your area. The Internet is also a source. It is best to first ascertain the level of fitness needed to participate.

Duration of activity: 1 hour, 4 minutes

Calories burned*: 1,020

Heart rate*: Average, 161; high, 178

Target zone: 110-140 beats per minute

Time in target zone*: 6 minutes, 19 seconds

* This information was obtained using a heart-rate monitor. Time in the target heart-rate zone is a measure of the intensity of the workout. Target zone varies based on age and individual heart rate.

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J. Michael Kennedy can be reached at jmichael.kennedy@latimes.com.