BCx Bootcamp — where participants might have to flip a 150-pound tire or drag a heavy plate around — offers an unconventional style of fitness; some might even call it a bit extreme. Ultima Fitness in Wellington has been offering the popular workout program since December 2010.
“The workouts are very challenging, but pretty much appropriate for all fitness levels and ages,” Ultima Fitness Program Director Lynette Laufenberg said.
Ultima has restructured its BCx Bootcamp program to make it easier for more people to join. The classes were originally offered as a four- or six-week session. “Then we would take a five- or six-week break between each new session,” Laufenberg said.
People interested in the program had to register before the camp began in order to join. With the new program structure, the camp runs straight through and people are able to join at any time. “Classes will be offered all the time, and there is no start or end,” Laufenberg said.
The restructuring of the boot camp program was done to make it easier for more people to try an interesting style of fitness. “Clients don’t have to wait for the next boot camp to start up to join in,” Laufenberg said. “They could join in at any point, and the cost is a little more feasible for most people.”
The BCx Bootcamp’s new style of programming is based on feedback from participants.
“This fits with most people’s busy and active lifestyles,” Laufenberg said. “They are able to come in when it’s right for them.”
People now have the option to either pay per class or monthly, depending upon how much they believe they’re able to attend classes. The commitment level under the previous BCx Bootcamp structure was to attend at least four classes a week. “Some people could not do that because they were too busy,” Laufenberg said.
With the new program, people are allowed to come in as many times a week as possible. “They will only pay for the number of classes they are able to attend,” Laufenberg said, “as opposed to before, when they had to pay for at least the four classes for the week.”
The BCx Bootcamp program offers 13 one-hour classes per week, with an average of 15 to 20 people per class. “We have them in early morning, mid-morning and evening,” Laufenberg said.
In BCx Bootcamp, each class is set up differently every day. “We put together a daily mission each day,” she explained. “The focus of each mission may be slightly different. One day of the week, you might be in upper extremity focus; another day, lower extremity.”
A typical BCx Bootcamp class begins with a warm-up in the pit, which is a large indoor room with bootcamp-style exercise tools. “Depending on the daily mission, the class may be held in the pit or outside or both,” Laufenberg said. “We have all kinds of equipment in there.”
The five BCx Bootcamp-certified trainers at Ultima Fitness get people going with a variety of workouts, from partner drills to team-building exercises. “We also do a lot of competitive things,” Laufenberg said. “We even take them outdoors to flip tires or throw heavy ropes around.”
Each class varies from day to day, but people still get a full workout during each session due to the metabolic training style. “With HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, they get a little bit of everything, and there are still all the elements of fitness,” Laufenberg said. “There is conditioning, strength, cool-downs and stretch flexibility training, and they are still burning calories throughout the day.”
BCx Bootcamp is recommended for people of all physical fitness levels, as long as the person has the willingness to work out and a positive attitude. “We have had people from every range you can imagine,” Laufenberg said. “We have had students all the way up to people in their 60s.”
The program can be modified for any person’s physical fitness level. “We have it where it’s very intense, where military people can come and work out, and they feel great and love it,” Laufenberg said.
The program has also had people who are not as active and are very out-of-shape. “I remember one girl, who her first time in the class could not make it past 10 minutes and had to sit down because she was feeling nauseous,” Laufenberg said. “But she was determined, and made tremendous strides in her fitness, so that by the end, she was doing everything we were throwing at her with ease.”
Ulitma Fitness is located at 12799 W. Forest Hill Blvd. in the Wellington Plaza. For more info., visit www.wellingtonbootcamp.com or call (561) 795-2823.
