Fitness boot camp in Lodi is hard work, but also educational

Melissa Brown, a fitness trainer at Fitness System, has reporter Jennifer Gokhman do beginning push-ups Monday morning. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

Fitness boot camp in Lodi is hard work, but also educational

By Jennifer Gokhman
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Tuesday, May 15, 2007 7:07 AM PDT

Comments (1 comment(s))

If you go to Melissa Brown's fitness boot camp in Lodi, you're going to work hard. You might do things you thought you never could do, whether it's push-ups, pull-ups, timed runs or bleacher steps. You might learn how far you can push yourself.

And you will learn about running correctly, proper footwear, good nutrition and more.

Her first boot camp for people with a more advanced level of fitness recently ended. But she plans on having a boot camp for beginners next year. Brown is a personal trainer at Fitness Systems in Lodi.

The camp, which went for four Saturdays from 6 to 9 a.m., is based on Navy SEALS workout drills.

"It's designed to help build strength and endurance through working with your own body's weight and resistance and burning fat through cardio," Brown said, adding that participants keep their heart rates up the whole time.

"It fosters self-confidence. They've achieved something they didn't think they would achieve," Brown said.

One participant, Jeri Blote, agreed. She did the boot camp to mix up her workout routine and keep herself motivated to work out and push herself harder.

Tips for running

There is a right way and a wrong way to run, says Melissa Brown, personal trainer at Fitness Systems.
Running for distance, strides are lower to the ground and go from heel to toe. For sprinting, runners pick up their legs, and their knees are higher. It's important to breath correctly, so that runners can learn how to pace themselves.
Nutrition is important as well. Brown suggests eating a meal with sodium and potassium.

Correct common mistakes:
• Eat beforehand. Many people don't eat first.
• Wear the right shoes. "It must be a decent pair of running shoes with the right support. It can prevent so many injuries," Brown said. She recommends that her clients go to Fleet Feet. She said the shoes don't have to be expensive as long as they fit properly.
• Beginners tend to start out too fast. Start at a slow, steady pace.
• When people make mistakes, they may get injured and discouraged and quit running.

Boot camp at home

• Always warm up first. Don't stretch cold muscles; do stretching after warming up. A warm-up can be a light jog or a fast walk.
• Practice push-ups. Not everyone can start doing push-ups in the normal position; you can push up while on your knees — a modified push-up. Keep your neck, back and hips aligned, the abdomen taut, and hands more than shoulder-width apart. Start with five, then bump it up to 10. "You're strengthening the whole upper body and the core," she said, adding that it's important to do these kinds of exercises to prevent back problems.
• Do sit-ups and crunches. Brown advises to use the time sitting in front of the TV to do these exercises.
• Try pull-ups. If you want to try pull-ups, you can get a pull-up bar from a sporting goods store and put it up in a doorway. To get started, have someone spot you. While hanging from the bar, bend your knees and cross your feet behind you. The spotter will provide support under your bent legs so you can push off to start the pull-up.
• Go outside. "It's beautiful outside," Brown said. Work in the garden, take a walk, do spring cleaning. Get a jump rope. Go hiking. Brown says there's a lot of hiking and trails within 45 minutes of Lodi.
• Substitutes for running. If you don't want to or aren't able to run, then swim laps, ride a bicycle or use in-line skates. These exercises are easier on the joints than running.

"She was good at getting us to work at our full potential," Blote said. "I really liked it. She worked us very hard and kept us motivated."

Brown said her boot camp shows participants they can work their bodies without using any equipment, and exercises can be done anywhere. The camp was held at the Grape Bowl.

Brown understands that beginners might shy away from the idea of doing push-ups, pull-ups and running.

"You can be a beginner and do this. You work up to it," she said.

The camp started with a 20-minute warm-up jog, a light jog where people can still hold a conversation. Then they did stretching. She had them do timed wind sprints up to 50 yards, run a full mile, do leg toning and sculpting with squats and lunges, do half an hour of abdominal work, run the bleachers, and lunge across the field. Brown also brought snacks such as Power Bars and bananas. She taught the participants how to take care of themselves following the workout. Brown said the speed interval training helps runners get a faster pace for when they do distance running.

One boot camp training workout can be equivalent to three days of hour-long workouts, she said. During the week, she recommended participants do two or three normal workouts at the gym and "eat clean."

Blote found the camp to be challenging, especially running the bleachers and doing pull-ups.

"It feels great when you can do it," she said. "It got me in better shape. ... I felt good afterward, like I had accomplished something."

Reader Feedback

Yes, I love it! wrote on May 16, 2007 8:10 AM:

" We need a boot camp for our kids! 6-9 am...why so late? Navy Seals start much earlier than that! It looks like you have an answer for the "fatties" and our kids. How do we get our kids to enroll if they are too busy watching TV and being bored? "

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