Hello!

Dare I say it but we’re now another week closer to Christmas…which means that there are exactly 70 more bootcamp days before the festivities begin! So just a gentle reminder that now is the time to get back into the swing of things if you need to be even more shapely and gorgeous for the party season. With that in mind I thought I’d share with you a great blog post I saw last week: http://www.copyblogger.com/writing-procrastination/ - although the creator relates it to writing I think it is equally applicable to everything in life…

Music

It seems that the hot topic this week has concerned the use of music for bootcamp sessions and I wanted to take a moment to explain why I use it & why I think it is important to keep doing so. For me the music isn’t really about having music per se, but more about what music brings to the session, so here are my thoughts…

• It is widely documented that people exercise more effectively when there is suitable music playing – the music I buy for bootcamp is all specifically timed for exercise, using speeds and tempos which help to boost your workout pace and maintain your energy levels. Music can also serve as an effective distraction when your body/mind is starting to.
• Music during exercise helps to create a group dynamic, bringing everyone together in a shared experience; without the music there is more tendency for small group conversations taking place which can leave other people feeling excluded, create a disjointed session and prevent you from focusing fully on what you are doing. 
• With the ME sessions, music is a specific part of the defined ‘brand’ for all of the reasons above.

As you know, much of the music I use has a timing element. I fully accept that these tracks are not what any of us would choose to listen to outside bootcamp, but they do serve a very important function. Using timed blocks of work, rather than defined numbers of repetitions, allows everyone to participate at their own level and pace.

If I give an exercise with a set number of repetitions, one person might finish ahead of everyone else and be left waiting or wondering what to do next; while another may be the last one to finish, leaving them feeling uncomfortable that everyone else is waiting for them and leaving them no time to take a breather before the next exercise starts. This means that the fittest participants get an easier workout, with less challenge & more rest periods, and the least fit clients get the toughest workout with minimal rest periods – clearly this is not appropriate.

On the other hand, if there is a set time to perform an exercise, each of you can do as many or as few repetitions as you choose, resting if you need to in between, and pushing yourself as hard as you wish. Everyone starts and finishes together with specific rest breaks given. 

Obviously we could achieve this without the timed music, but I would then spend the whole class looking at my stopwatch, instead of looking at and coaching you. Although part of my role is to provide you with the exercise structure and routine, a bigger part of my role is to coach you while you are exercising so that you can achieve a successful outcome. I don’t feel it is the best use of my time to be counting you in and out of each move, and it certainly isn’t interesting for you to hear me counting for the whole class – far better for me to be coaching, motivating & encouraging you through your fitness session, with some relatively unobtrusive music providing the timed intervals.

I appreciate that when I set up the bootcamp sessions originally I didn’t use music and I didn’t specifically plan to & I agree that it is fabulous to be outside and hear nature around us. However, the counted music was not available then and it is now and I genuinely believe it improves the tmf bootcamp concept and offers you better results. My goal when I started was to provide outdoor, fresh air exercise sessions which challenged the traditional 2 dimensional exercises that most classes provide. I feel that we do this very successfully using 3 planes of motion (forward/backward; side/side & rotational) in every session using interval training techniques and whole body exercises to boost your metabolism and fitness. I personally think that music enhances this experience (which is why I have invested in it) and feel very reluctant to take a backward step by removing it (unless of course we have very wet weather, in which case it will not be possible to use any music as the system is not waterproof!).

Hopefully this helps to clear up the issue, but please feel free to email me with your thoughts (negative & positive) regarding music, or any other aspect of the bootcamp sessions – I welcome & value your feedback along with your continued support.

Bleep test:

A bleep test is a progressive shuttle run test used to measure fitness through a series of timed shuttle runs. It involves continuously running over a 20m distance, keeping pace with the bleeps which gradually speed up, from a walk pace to the fastest run you can maintain. It is designed as a maximal test (ie. it will allow you to push yourself to your maximum level) and you stop when you can no longer keep pace with the bleeps. Why am I telling you this???

I plan to run a free bleep test session in Benenden, at 9am on Tuesday 27th September (during the week when there are no 9am bootcamp sessions) for anyone who wishes to join in. I haven’t taken a running bleep test before so I will be joining in to assess my own fitness levels too!!

Please let me know if you are interested in taking part – but don’t feel that you have to. It is an additional session for anyone who wants to get a true measure of their current CV fitness level – it is most definitely not a competition to see who is best – it’s just for your own information.

Next week:

We’re into week 3 on both bootcamps next week. For the Benenden sessions, it is the last week of the 3-week block and then there will be a week off 26th-30th September – during which time any unused sessions can be used at 6.15am bootcamps or my Monday evening class at 7pm (obviously they can also be carried over to the following month).

6.15am @ DCPS:

• Monday – high intensity tabatas 3
• Wednesday – ME 15
• Friday – partner work 3

9am @ Benenden:

• Monday – weighted metabolic circuit 3
• Tuesday – ME 5
• Wednesday – PHA & pulse razors
• Thursday – ME 6
• Friday – CV 40/20

Finally welcome back to anyone who re-joined us this week, and welcome to anyone who came for the first time this week – enjoy your (slightly) aching limbs over the weekend & see you next week for more. And last quick mention to Henri & Maria, both of whom are doing amazing things this weekend – good luck to you both, can’t wait to hear all about your challenges :0)

Have a great weekend

Jane x