Boot Camps, Fun, & Fitness

I'm about to go on a rant. This could get ugly. I'm so sick of hearing about  fitness boot camps. The term is  is getting so over-used that it's lost any meaning. Everyone wants to sound hardcore and militaristic like they're gonna whip you into shape. Using a bunch of bands and aerobic steps does not make you a boot camp instructor. There are no boots, and there is no camp. You're not in the military, and you have no idea what boot camp is like or you'd hate every second of it. These days, everything is about window dressing and appearances. Call your training sessions a boot camp, use a lot of popular buzzwords and who cares if you actually DO anything meaningful. Hey as long as your clients can say they attended your boot camp, it makes them feel like they are doing something, right? Let me tell you something, you come work out at my gym, and you are going to get uncomfortable. I'm a nice guy, but my goal is not to entertain you, or to make sure it's fun. We're not training for fun. Get that idea out of your head. You want results? Or do you want entertainment? I'm not an entertainer, I'm a trainer. I'm smart enough, and experienced enough to know how much work people can tolerate, and when they are putting out genuine effort and when they are not. I'm not going to hurt you, but I damn sure am going to insist that you get uncomfortable. Maybe really uncomfortable. I'm also gonna hold you back if I think you're overdoing it and you need rest. You better get used to it if you're gonna train with me. If you don't like it, then maybe you're better off paying someone to make you feel comfortable, but don't expect that to get you anywhere. You can pat yourself on the back that you're working out with a trainer, but hey if you're not making any visible, measurable progress, then you're just paying to be entertained, and it's delusional. I refuse to fall into the trap of begging clients to train with me, that is such bullshit. I appreciate every one of my clients and I show them respect, but I don't need any one particular person. I see trainers and gyms making all kinds of guarantees and promises and this and that, trying to lure people in. All these ridiculous phrases get used, like "burn fat! tone and tighten! firm up! have a blast! fat-melting! beach-body! etc...etc...etc....to the point of nausea. If someone needs to try THAT hard to sell you on what they are doing, you need to be very skeptical. With that being said, do I think it's fun?  I'll tell you what's fun. The genuine reward of major progress, that's what. When you can look in the mirror and you know you worked your ass off, got the hell out of that dreaded "comfort zone" and by God you did not give up, you refused to throw in the towel. You made your training a priority, you showed discipline in your eating habits, you quit putting garbage in your body instead of quality nourishment, and you literally redefined yourself. Now that is a feeling of accomplishment on a deeper level than having "fun" at Zumba class. Dancing is recreation, it's not training, sorry. Somewhere along the line, we've gotten confused, and developed the idea that workouts are supposed to be fun. Wrong. Deeply rewarding? Absolutely. Fun? No. Okay I'm feeling better. So I'll wrap this up. Please don't fall for this boot camp stuff people. The real thing is the real thing. It's no nonsense, no fluff, no hype, no glamour, no bullshit. It's hard work, it's called TRAINING and it feels really really good, it's what your body wants. Don't deprive your body of what it was meant to do. Get to work, embrace the discomfort. Revel in it, seek it out, and then enjoy the thorough physical and psychological satisfaction that comes from it.
Here's to performing at your best.