Is There Any Science To Say Weight Loss Boot Camps Actually Work?

Over the last few years there has been a rapid growth in the popularity of fitness boot camps. In fact, if you walk into any gym it is likely you’ll meet at least one customer who likes to tell people how to lose weight with the type of HIIT style workouts associated with a boot camp.

Today we’re going to answer the all-important question. Is there more to this training method than just being the next big fitness fad?

In short, yes. Once you get past all of the marketing hype and sales talk behind the product, a boot camp is merely offering advice which has existed in gyms worldwide for over twenty five years. Simply put, it’s nothing new or ground-breaking.

In fact, if you stroll into any gym in your local area you will see countless fitness enthusiasts putting the foundations of a boot camp workout into their regular gym routine. Circuit classes have existed for decades. Likewise, high intensity interval training has been around for years. Both principles are widely adopted by outdoor fitness classes.

The reason this phenomenon has become so popular is the marketing behind it. Sadly, this often leads to rival companies saying more outrageous statements in a bid to try to get more members than their main competitors and it can lead to people expecting miracle results. It’s not rare to see advertisements for this type of class associated with statements about getting extremely fast weight loss in ten minutes per day, while eating whatever you want for the rest of the day.

Although a lot of the promotion behind these classes can be seen as misleading or exaggerating the foundation the training is built upon is solid. If you perform regular high intensity activity you will lose unwanted body fat. The reason it’s billed as a miracle solution often comes down to the fact that it’s targeted at people who have never exercised effectively before, so they quickly label it a ‘miracle solution’ and generate hype.

The only negative about the boot camp gimmick is that it often gives off the impression that you are getting some kind of miracle formula. You’re not. The exercises are very basic, often relying on classic body weight moves such as push-ups and pull-ups, and indeed you could perform this by yourself at home or at your local gym without splashing out hundreds of pounds or dollars on a membership to a ‘training camp.’

The biggest problem boot camp classes face is customer retention. While some of this comes down to the fact that they often target their marketing efforts at individuals who are looking for a quick fix, who therefore quit quite fast, there is also a problem with people who actually see results. It doesn’t take long for an individual who is serious about his or her fitness to realize they could get just as good a workout without paying for a class. This is why boot camps begin hyping up the group atmosphere they offer, trying to get members to work together as a team in a bid to keep them coming in.

See the top 5 types of hiit sessions and what they are designed for.

While it is often unfairly billed as the latest health and fitness fad, the truth is the science behind the boot camp theory stacks up nicely. By performing regular HIIT sessions and incorporating the basic, classic strength moves you will indeed see results. If you’ve been trying to learn how to lose weight and have seen an advert for one of these type of classes, however, you should base your final decision on how much you think you need a group atmosphere in order to succeed, because there is nothing stopping you from performing a boot camp workout right now without spending any money.

Author: Russ Howe PTI is England’s most followed personal trainer. He reglarly teaches gym members how to lose weight and introduced many to hiit sessions for the first time.

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