Site Search

Real Women Getting Real RESULTS at Boot Camp!

By Kristin Goodenough

For as long as I can remember women everywhere have been searching for the secret formula for changing the way they look and feel. I can’t recall ever meeting a single woman comfortable in her own skin. We all want so bad to believe that there is a magic pill or formula out there that will leave us feeling a little bit more like the person we used to be and less like the stranger staring at us in the mirror.

In a perfect world it would be easy to make that transformation happen. We would all be walking around in our “skinny jeans” and driving our Barbie Corvettes. But we all know that life isn’t perfect. The only way to actually get more then your big toe into your “skinny jeans” is to work hard for it. There is no substitute for exercising consistently and eating healthy.

As a personal trainer who works exclusively with women I have worked with a variety of women of all ages, fitness levels and body types. Here’s a secret for you. Showing up is half the battle. Let’s face it with chaotic work schedules, kids, and sleep deprivation it would be easy to make excuses why not to exercise. But the ones who get results are the ones who do not make excuses. They just show up consistently.

For many they have legitimate health or physical reasons that they could use as an excuse. But they don’t. I’ve had ladies with high blood pressure, knee pain, shoulder pain, back pain every kind of pain imaginable. But instead of concentrating on what they can’t do modifications are shown to show them what they can do. Instead of feeling defeated they feel empowered because doing something is always better then doing nothing.

When I first met Tonya she was so excited about starting up boot camp. She had stopped making excuses and was ready to change her body. This was a lady on a mission who was determined to get results. Was it easy for her? Absolutely not! In a 6 month period of time she had one obstacle after another thrown her way including a death in the family, struggling to pay the bills as a single mother and severe knee pain (former knee injury and surgery on both knees). She used to say that she knew that she was doing something right because Satan was defiantly trying to mess her up.

Keeping focused on what she wanted helped Tonya persevere. What Tonya wanted more then anything was for a chance to be a fitness model. After 6 months of hard work Tonya got her chance. She “walked the runway” and competed against 1,000 other ladies finishing 5th overall. When she started her journey at 185 lbs she had no idea that she would ever achieve her dream. But Tonya was able to stop dreaming and take action. That action opened her eyes to the possibilities around her and helped her bring out the 135lb woman she used to be (50 lbs lighter).

Celeste came to camp because her doctor diagnosed her with an enlarged liver and told her that it was vital that she lost weight. She took what her doctor said to heart and started making changes to her diet and enrolled in camp. Initially, she registered for our 3 day camp (she wasn’t to sure if she could do it) but quickly switched to the 5 day program after seeing how much fun camp was. No excuses were ever made. Celeste showed up every day and worked with intensity and determination. 5 months later she has lost over 8 inches in her waist and over 40 lbs making her doctor happier and Celeste a whole lot more comfortable in her own skin. She looks and feels fabulous!

Jennifer is another example of an amazing woman getting results in boot camp. Like most of my campers she has a very demanding high pressure job that takes up most of her time. She came to camp wanting to feel stronger and to get rid of some of the stress in her life. I don’t think she truly expected to enjoy boot camp as much as she has. But for Jennifer it quickly became an addiction. She loved how strong it made her feel and discovered that she loved to run.

Recently, she just completed her first half marathon with a time of 2:15! She is also training to run her first marathon. Jennifer is feeling strong, fit and a whole lot less stressed now. And even though her primary motivation for coming to camp wasn’t about weight she was pretty darn happy to finally fit back in her size 6 jeans. Beyond that though Jennifer is the inspiration for many of the women in camp because she is the perfect example of what you can do when you work hard for what you want and refuse to make excuses. She is awesome!

When I met Sydney she informed me that she was not a morning person. She would come to camp and she would work hard but she would NOT be perky at 5:30 in the morning. To motivate her to come to camp she hung her “skinny jeans” on her bathroom door as a reminder of why she was doing boot camp. She was determined to fit in them.

Throughout camp Sydney was sleep deprived, she was sore but she always came to camp. One morning she looked at me and said, “I hate you but the only reason why I’m here is because I have lost 2 inches in my waist in 2 weeks.” That was the “pat on the back” she needed that let her know that all of this was for something. The program and her lifestyle changes were working and her body was beginning to change.

This helped motivate her to not only attend camp consistently but also make real lifestyle changes. Sydney learned how to increase her daily activity throughout the day, pre-plan her meals, create a “plan b” workout just incase of bad weather, and how to improve her diet. If she knew that a certain food or social situation would set her off course then she planned an alternate path to avoid that situation.

As a result Sydney ended up losing a total of 4 inches from her waist and finally fitting into her “skinny jeans” at the end of 6 weeks of boot camp. By the way, she also made sure to let me know that she “really didn’t hate me, she just really hated the cold and the early hour”. She really did enjoy me and the other ladies as well as her boot camp experience.

All of the women who have come to camp have amazing stories of success. Stories of creating a stronger, leaner more fit body. Stories of learning how to be consistent with their workout and actually learning that working out can and should be fun. But they would all tell you that they didn’t get results from a magic pill or formula or by sitting on the couch wishing about being in better shape. They would say that their journey to becoming the woman they used to be was not an easy task but they are better women because they were not afraid to begin the journey.

Are they perfect? No, they have times that they still struggle with chocolate and hitting the snooze instead of working out just like the rest of us. But when the day is done they have made fewer bad choices and more good choices and they have gotten results!

About the Author:

Kristin Goodenough is an A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer in McKinney, TX. She owns the Collin County Adventure Boot and specializes in women's only fitness programs. Visit her website at www.bootcamp4women.com.