I do not mean to disparage real boot camp - that is just what the trainers here named this program for middle-aged people, but they also modify it for young athletes and older folks. No comparison of course with real USMC or US Army boot camp which is full-time and not for those over 40.
As I posted before, my program is designed for my expressed goals - overall conditioning and endurance/fitness first, strength maintenance and improvement second, and fat loss third. I am not overweight despite a little pudge I do not need and which, honestly, does not look like my old self that I know and liked despite never having been muscular but slim and plenty athletic. My trainer is very attentive to my limits - and seems to sense when I can go further than I think. I like to push to muscle failure on my third sets to teach me humility and because I like to feel the burn. OK, OK, I am a weakling!
'He wants to leave me feeling like a wet noodle.
2 days/week focus on strength with "active recovery" (30 second rest or a 2-minute "rest" on bike), and one day/week is full-body exertion which he terms "functional" (eg medicine balls, steps, etc). It's a killer. As I say, aerobic is intrinsic to the constant exertion with minimal rests.
I have just been promoted to being required to add 18 minutes of high-resistance elliptical, rower, bike, or fast treadmill, as tolerated, for my off-days. Mix and match, just a few intense minutes of each. Until now, I really did need a full day off to recover from the high-pressure stuff. They call it "waking up your body," and it takes a month or so of high demand. When he thinks I am ready, he will add a bit more to off-day demands but not too much. I can do it - I am always up at 4:30 AM so I have time.
His food program is 3-4 quite small high-protein meals/day with one fruit snack. I won't do that fruit. He says we American eat far more than we need and I agree. He wants to get rid of fat and build muscle - not big muscle, just useful muscle. By a meal, he means like 1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs, or 2 slices of meat with some vegs, or a cup of yoghurt with fresh fruit on top, or a few a few slices of cheese with salsa or Greek olives, and so forth. It is spartan but high-protein, and not for the long-term. I have stuck with it with rare exceptions. If you are paying for advice and direction, take it or quit it. Mrs. BD is on the same program.
After 4 weeks, how do I feel? Good. Tired. The good kind of tired. Losing 6 lbs. per month and do not have much more fat left to lose. My posture is much better. My stride is more vigorous. I get less out of breath during exertion. My heart gets a good workout. My appetite is way down, and I only want smaller amounts of tasty things. Not to sound new-agey, but I sort-of feel "in my body" more than before. I feel muscle and bones moving when I am moving and I mostly always ignored feeling their activities. That's cool. After another month of this, I hope for another ramp-up of that interesting feeling of physical connection and energy. Most of my life, I have been more in my head with body as a necessary accessory which only came in handy for fun sports and etc.
