I run a Boot Camp class twice a week, and while I’m sure everyone out there is thinking of me wearing nothing but camo shortie-shorts, a drill seargants hat and a whistle while barking orders at nervously sweating mounds of person under the blistering sun and denying water like a headmaster in Oliver Twist denies more gruel, I’m more of a whoop and holler fun and joking around while making nervously sweating mounds of person workout for the joy of it, AND while wearing shortie camo shorts.

Nothing makes people run faster than seeing a little bottom curve of a butt hanging out from the bottom of a set of camo shorts. They’re great motivators I tells ya.

In all seriosity though, Boot Camps have been growing in popularity for the past few years. Part of it was the economic downturn a few years back that caused people to re-evaluate their finances and try to get lower priced services, which meant reducing 1-on-1 training in favour of small and large group training. It also served as a great entry point for a lot of people to get quality instruction on how to do basic exercises and do them properly in a fun social environment. I’m a big believer that if something is enjoyable, people will want to do it and continue to do it for longer than if something isn’t as pleasurable, so having those big keys (cost, instruction, and socialization) makes Boot Camps an excellent draw for a lot of people.

The down side is that a lot of trainers view them as a group they can give really basic stuff to, not watch over and offer corrections or adaptations for different abilities, and throw everyone into the same pool as far as what exercises are done, regardless of ability, dysfunction, or progressions. It’s no fun being the last one in the group or feeling like a workout is hurting you, and it’s also not fun having to wait up for those who may not be able to keep up.

That’s why  was really excited when Mike Robertson, Molly Galbraith and Jim Laird teamed up to put together a new video to highlight what they feel are the three biggest mistakes most boot camp operators make, and what they can do about it. This is something I think could also apply for personal trainers, strength coaches, and also therapists, but the target market is those who run or are looking to begin running Boot Camps in the near future.

The cool thing is this is an F. to the REE free video that only needs you to enter an email address to get access. Who knows, it may help you solve a simple problem or motivate you to start a boot camp in the near future, and help you make a huge difference in someone’s life by understanding what not to do. I have to say I’m guilty of a few myself, and always try to work hard to adjust my own classes as much as I can, but having this in one place makes it a fantastic resource to work with.