Let's Discuss Bootcamp Gyms: And Let's Also be Honest About What You Can Get Out of It, PLEASE

I will preface this by saying I used to do bootcamp-style classes 3x a week for 4 years in a row. Some of what I'm about to tell you is from personal experience, but today I am going to take it a step further and show you what I believe to be the crux of the issue I'm finding with bootcamp gyms—they sell you a dream of incredible composition results that are NOT realistic without cross-training or not attending a bootcamp gym as much as advertised.

LET'S START WITH WHAT I'M NOT SAYING

I know there are die-hard people out there who will want nothing more than to show me their before and after pictures and tell me I'm dumb for writing this. So instead, I'm going to give you the floor and acknowledge what I am not saying. I am NOT saying don't go to a bootcamp gym EVER. I'm not saying that bootcamp gyms don't work to an extent for health benefits. What I AM saying is marketing bootcamp gyms for MUSCLE GAIN and for EXTREME WEIGHT LOSS from obese patrons is grossly negligent. I AM saying that rewarding patrons for coming EVERY DAY is a problem - including the MEPS incentives, which I will get into later.

Phew, that aside.

WHAT IS A BOOTCAMP GYM?

Let's break down what a bootcamp gym is so that we can be on the same page. It is a facility that exclusively does 30-45 minute bootcamp group glasses designed to get your heart rate up extremely fast using compound exercises.

This means if your gym offers a bootcamp or high intensity interval training class a couple times a week, it is not a bootcamp gym. A bootcamp gym has multiple classes a day that are all the same or a special "finisher" class for those who want to double up their "camps".

They will have specific lingo for what they call their classes, encourage you to stay and do the class for a second time in a row, and offer you incentives to keep coming back - all in the name of "community".

WHAT DO BOOTCAMP GYMS DO WELL

Now bootcamp gyms are not ALL doom and gloom. What this style of training does extremely well is build your VO2 max, otherwise known as your oxygen capacity while training.

The higher the capacity, the less oxygen you need to do the activity you are doing, which skyrockets your endurance levels and makes a person take much longer to get tired. This is why high-intensity interval training is a component of an athlete's cross-training journey, as this is a key component for keeping athletes performing at their top level for hours on end without much rest.

Studies like the Astorino study put this to the test, and results show that high-intensity interval training significantly increases a person's VO2 max compared to other styles of training. However, it may require more volume of this kind of training to get similar results for some individuals, which can lead to problems down the road. We'll get into that later though.

For now, the positive aspect of bootcamp gyms is cardiovascular oxygen capacity wellness.

Great.

WHAT DO THEY MARKET THEY CAN DO?

Typical marketing you'll see at a bootcamp gym will be highly focused on a few key areas. Composition changes are the crux of it. You'll see major weight loss, alleged muscle growth, and you'll also hear the story about the postpartum mom who lost her baby weight and is "strong again." Usually, the timeframes they give you are six months or less.

WHY IS THIS PROBLEMATIC FROM A RESULTS STANDPOINT?

Let's break down the problem with their programming from each of the goals they allegedly can do:

EXTREME FAT LOSS

Normally, the marketing revolves around someone who is clinically obese or morbidly obese. This is a problem because the training programs are not geared properly to the contraindications of these types of patrons. Pounding the joints with power training, twisting, running, and sprinting with the extra weight is a recipe for injury—and time and time again, I've seen the patrons come and go due to pain or an issue in one of their joints.

It is time we stop marketing for extreme fat loss and not program adequately for these patrons. Claiming you have a special floor that helps absorb shock is NOT an adequate solution for the exercises you demand of these people. I'll show you what I mean through an exercise I can only describe as a single-leg scorpion plank jump.

You start in a plank position. You raise one leg at a 90-degree angle (kind of like a donkey kick), then jump with the opposite leg to bring your legs as close to your arms as possible (like a pike), then move one arm at a time forward.

Let's think for a second how problematic all that can be for a 300lb+ person. Unstable and weaker joints getting pounded on a single limb at a time? BAD idea. Do not recommend.

So if you are someone who needs extreme weight loss, I would be cautious about just blindly doing everything assigned and instead think really critically about your joints and either ask for a modification or modify the exercise yourself so that they can be joint-friendly. A lot of the staff at these gyms are younger, less experienced, and may not be adequately trained to modify on the fly, so take the modifications into your own hands if you have to.

My argument, though, is don't lie and pretend that what you present is good for people that need to lose a lot of weight if the result of that is arthritis in their joints and injuries due to instability and deconditioning. There is no on-ramp in place to help people get conditioned for this type of training, which is very demotivating.

MUSCLE GAIN

My problem with bootcamp gyms and muscle gain coincides with the ideas later in the post about reward frequency and punishing recovery. So to keep it focused, I'm going to focus just on what is required for muscle to grow and compare that to a bootcamp gym format.

To get an anabolic response from a muscle group, you need the following:

3-5 sets of 8-12 reps for each muscle group. 2 seconds concentric, 0.5-1 second isometric hold, and 2 seconds eccentric phase. Totaling 5 seconds minimum for each repetition at 70% max strength.

2-3 times a week

Ideally 2 days in between sessions

So let's start with what needs to happen each session. For most bootcamp classes, you get 2-3 rounds of 30s to 45s and 20s to 30s rest. If someone is doing the pacing of the exercises correctly, you're looking at maybe 6-9 reps, and that is assuming that they start immediately at the beginning of the timer and don't slow down at any point during the exercise to reset. From personal experience, if you're training heavy enough, you get maybe 6 or 7 reps in with good form. But not nearly close to training to failure.

Why does this matter? Because it isn't enough of a stimulus if you're rushing through and not giving people enough time to do a quality rep. The timing capacity makes people think they need to work faster. In order to do that, they sacrifice form and use momentum along with other compensations to complete the movements as quickly as possible. When you do this, you open up the possibility that the target muscle may not be firing adequately, or even at all, at the correct amount of volume.

Secondly, you need to train those same muscles again at least one more time with rest in between. Bootcamp gyms do both of these things badly. Because they are short sessions, they get your heart rate up by making you do whole body compound exercises. So your legs are getting a lot of muscular endurance training but not necessarily training to promote hypertrophy. (see above) On top of that, your legs are already recovering or at least trying to recover from the stimulus you put on them the day before, and now you're trying to get them to work for you again. So you're tearing the muscle but not allowing the muscle to repair.

This is what I call the hamster wheel of overtraining, a common thing you see with bootcamp gym patrons. What will happen is the patron will plateau at about the 4-6 month mark, and to make gains, it will take them 6 months to a year each time to see progress in their strength. This is due to inadequate recovery and improper training for strength & muscle growth gains.

But Abbi, they do barbell stuff and all kinds of strength-based exercises - why are you dragging the gym and saying that they don't build muscle and get people stronger? Because of speed. Due to the timer, people don't pick a weight they don't think they can do; they pick a weight they KNOW they can do. Why does this matter? Because it probably isn't heavy enough, especially for lower body hypertrophy. People would be very surprised at how much weight is actually required to grow your glutes. Now again, there are ways you can do it with minimal equipment, but I have YET to see a b-stance narrow kettlebell squat at a bootcamp gym w/ a 50lb kettlebell, and I've been attending different ones for 4 years. Just something to think about.

COMPOSITION CHANGING

Changing your body composition can be extremely rewarding. The problem arises when bootcamp-style gyms reward the speed at which you reach your desired goal, whether that is a weight loss challenge, a 30/60 day challenge, etc. What they want you to do is attend MANY bootcamp classes in the hopes that you get fast results so you continue to stay.

What they don't tell you is that those results are fleeting. If you want to change your body composition over time, you HAVE to be consistent over a LONG period. I'm talking months and years to achieve permanent, long-lasting body composition changes.

The people who have incredible transformations have spent years building their bodies over a long period. OR they had a baseline of fitness already established as a teenager, young adult, etc., combined with good genetics. That way, muscle memory kicks in, and all of a sudden, BAM, an amazing physique. Keep in mind, though, that they had a strong foundation over years already.

There ARE NO shortcuts to changing your body composition. If they try to sell you a shortcut, they are lying to you. There is nothing more effective than commitment, consistency, and determination to stick to your goals.

REWARDING FREQUENCY IS PUNISHING RECOVERY

When we discuss bootcamp gyms and classes, those who have attended will know this situation extremely well.

Situation: A new person comes in to try the class for the first time. Gets their butt kicked. Person doesn't come back.

Research understands this phenomenon, and so does the gym staff. Studies indicate that "due to the high-exertion nature of the classic interval training model... it is very fatiguing and too strenuous for sedentary individuals" and "inevitably, strong motivation is required" (Atakan).

They combat this lack of initial motivation by offering incentives. But rather than fix the problem that the patron is not conditioned enough to make it through the training, they instead try to get them to come back with frequency rewards.

When a bootcamp gym has a number of classes attended reward system, this encourages people to try and show up as much as possible. What do I mean by this? It's the bracelet, cardboard cutout, write on the wall the numbers of sessions you've been to reward system.

It is the MEPs (Exertion score typically given through a wearable fitness tracking device connected to a system where you can see your rate of perceived exertion live on the screen during the workout) score you get and where you stack up as a team, or individually for certain rewards, as well as zone challenges. To give you an idea of the scoring system, here is an example below:

• Zones & Points:

  • Grey (< 50% max HR): 0 MEPs/min.

  • Grey (50-59%): 1 MEP/min.

  • Blue (60-69%): 2 MEPs/min.

  • Green (70-79%): 3 MEPs/min.

  • Yellow (80-89%): 4 MEPs/min.

  • Red (90-100%): 4 MEPs/min.

Notice how, in order to get a high score, you need to be pushing yourself at least in the green and yellow areas. But here comes the problem. These gyms also reward how much time you're in the red - major problem. Ideally, you don't want to be overexerting yourself - this is unnecessary stress and pressure on the body that doesn't need to be there. Continuing to put your body under this much stress every single day is a recipe for under-recovering and overtraining. Staying in the red also means you are not working the aerobic threshold and instead working an entirely different metabolic process - the phosphagen and lactate systems, which are fleeting - lasting only as short as 10 seconds to a maximum of 2 minutes. You can't be in these areas for an entire workout. If you are, you will need approximately 72 hours to recover. That is 3 days from the moment your session is done. So really, you're looking at 4 days until you can train at that intensity again.

Why does this matter? Because the bootcamp gyms want you to come tomorrow. So what are you not doing if you come tomorrow? Recovering from yesterday's training session.

There is such a thing as "too much of a good thing." Because high-intensity training can result in huge dopamine spikes, the reward system associates the intensity of training with "how good of a workout" it is perceived to be. This is misleading the patron. They use that information, along with getting a big smile from their instructor for "100 camps congrats!" and think, "Hmm, my knees are kind of bugging me right now, but if I don't show up tomorrow, I will lose my spot on the MEPs board." This is substantiated with a study discussing just this, and based on preliminary research, it appears as if "healthy adults unaccustomed to interval training demonstrate that high-intensity interval training and sprint interval training are perceived as enjoyable as moderate-intensity continuous exercise despite being more aversive" (Opley). Not necessarily understanding how to navigate the volume of training being done on the body and the need to recover from high-intensity work longer than just choosing a moderate-intensity activity like lifting weights or aerobic exercise instead.

BUT ABBI, THEY PROGRAM DIFFERENT THINGS EACH DAY SO THAT YOU CAN RECOVER ADEQUATELY, RIGHT?

Wrong. Let me give you a real-life personal example. Let's say Monday was power training. That day you did jump squats, box jumps, sprints, etc. This power, agility, high-intensity level of training is fatiguing your quads like crazy and straining the knees and hip joints. Keep this in mind.

Tuesday is LEG DAY. They have you doing sled pushes and pulls, squats, lunges, Bulgarian split squats, Romanian deadlifts, etc. So what are your legs NOT doing adequately now that they are already fatigued and you're trying to get max fiber force output from them? Not recovering from yesterday's training.

This is the problem. It is overtraining masked as variety. This may be due to the fact that people WANT the variety - but it's at the expense of your recovery. Doing this every day will put you in a place that is my main point - the HAMSTER WHEEL of fiber tearing but no repairing.

If you don't recover, you can't grow.

WHY IS THIS PROBLEMATIC FROM AN INJURY STANDPOINT?

When you are constantly working a muscle and not giving yourself enough time for recovery to happen, you put yourself at a greater risk of instability, soreness, and stiffness of surrounding muscles and joints. Over time, this puts a person at a significantly greater risk of an injury along with very annoying and uncomfortable symptoms of functional overreaching and overtraining.

Overtraining is by far one of the biggest issues I've seen with my own eyes on the ground in these gyms over the years. Doubling up, tripling up classes is not only dangerous but unhelpful for a person's gains. This is not the style of training that is designed for people to do for hours. Aerobic exercise is designed for that.

Now it is common to combine HIIT with something like weight lifting. However, depending on your goal, it is better to manage your volume with a fitness professional so that you don't get in your own way.

And let's just say, less is more when it comes to bootcamp. If bootcamps are a part of your training regimen, it is recommended you consult a personal trainer for volume management; otherwise, you are significantly risking an injury.

And I have a saying that I've said to other people asking about bootcamp gyms. It is this.

"If you're body has mobility problems or the genetic propensity for getting injured you will find out within a year at a bootcamp gym."

CONTRAINDICATIONS TO HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

Lastly, bootcamp gyms are NOT recommended for everyone. It is a huge mistake to assume this style of training is appropriate for the general population.

In fact, people who have blood pressure issues can get into medical emergency situations because of the intensity of the exercises as well as the speed at which the exercises are done.

People who carry a lot of visceral fat put more demand on the joints. These people should be very cautious with movements that are quick, single-legged, and involve jumping. Bootcamp gyms tend to do this a lot, so it is important to monitor how the joints are feeling to avoid unnecessary issues later on in life, including arthritis.

IN CONCLUSION

Bootcamp gyms are not all they're cracked up to be. Please be careful. Consult your doctor before starting bootcamp classes, and be cautious.

If you want to put on muscle, I recommend just focusing on that via weight lifting and aerobic cardio at low to moderate intensity for your heart instead. Skip the bootcamp gyms.

If you want to lose a significant amount of weight, moderate to low-intensity cardio combined with moderate low-impact strength training will get you there a little bit slower but be safer and longer-lasting in the long run.

If you want to change your body composition, then I recommend heavy weightlifting combined with moderate-intensity cardio like incline walking, Stairmaster, etc., to help promote fat loss but also drive enough stimulus to build muscle at the same time.

For athletes, I recommend doing bootcamp or HIIT classes 1-2x a week maximum to get the heart benefits, speed/agility/quickness training benefits, and working on power output in a controlled environment.

For hobby amateur athletes, I would max out your bootcamp training at 1x a week and focus on power training in a separate session using free weights at the gym. Combine this with strength training 2-3x a week and 1-2 moderate-intensity cardio sessions mixed in between. Do not overdo it. Most hobby athletes don't have bodies that are used to high levels of conditioning and can't take loads like a seasoned athlete (3 years or more in a sport). So choose wisely what you want to prioritize.

For dancers, I recommend doing the required 3 sets of 30s-1min stretching 3x a week on areas that need flexibility improvements, combined with mobility drills of the joints you need mobile 3x a week, 2 days of strength training, and 1-3 sessions of the modality of dance that you choose to do. If the body starts to ache in a bad way, lower the volume.

CITATIONS

Astorino TA, deRevere J, Anderson T, Kellogg E, Holstrom P, Ring S, Ghaseb N. Change in VO_2max and time trial performance in response to high-intensity interval training prescribed using ventilatory threshold. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2018 Sep;118(9):1811-1820. doi: 10.1007/s00421-018-3910-3. Epub 2018 Jun 19. PMID: 29923111.

Atakan MM, Li Y, Koşar ŞN, Turnagöl HH, Yan X. Evidence-Based Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training on Exercise Capacity and Health: A Review with Historical Perspective. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jul 5;18(13):7201. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18137201. PMID: 34281138; PMCID: PMC8294064.

Gallo-Villegas J, Aristizabal JC, Estrada M, Valbuena LH, Narvaez-Sanchez R, Osorio J, Aguirre-Acevedo DC, Calderón JC. Efficacy of high-intensity, low-volume interval training compared to continuous aerobic training on insulin resistance, skeletal muscle structure and function in adults with metabolic syndrome: study protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial (Intraining-MET). Trials. 2018 Feb 27;19(1):144. doi: 10.1186/s13063-018-2541-7. PMID: 29482601; PMCID: PMC5828481.

Olney N, Wertz T, LaPorta Z, Mora A, Serbas J, Astorino TA. Comparison of Acute Physiological and Psychological Responses Between Moderate-Intensity Continuous Exercise and Three Regimes of High-Intensity Interval Training. J Strength Cond Res. 2018 Aug;32(8):2130-2138. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002154. PMID: 28737586.

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