We've spent the afternoon over at Leisure Industry Week at the NEC.  When I say afternoon, I mean an hour, it was really disappointing.

In days gone by, it was something to look forward to.  There would be new kit and gadgets, opportunities to learn, free samples, competitions and lots of inspiration for workouts etc.

I think the quality and content from the speakers had improved this year and it was a shame I didn't get to listen to some of the talks but it was tiny in comparison to 10 years ago.

There was only one piece of kit that was worth stopping to look at and that happened to be the stand our friends were working on.  It was a boxing sparring trainer that had the ability to hit you back :)

There were workout demonstrations going on but they were all variations of the same theme - HIIT.

If you read anything in the news at all to do with exercise over the past 5 years you will know what that means.

High Intensity Interval Training, HIIT in its truest form comes down to a workout that lasts a little over 4 minutes.  

However, normal people simply could not reach the required intensity.  To work out at a level where those 4 minutes of exercise are beneficial you have to already be fit.

The sessions today looked great fun but all of the participants were trainers or athletes.  That makes a big difference.

We use the principles of HIIT in our bootcamps but in a safer, more effective way for normal people.  Unless you have competed at a very high level in sport, you are a normal person.  If you competed at that level more than 6 months ago, you are currently a normal person.

That means your choice of work out has to be appropriate.  

That doesn't mean you can't work hard, I'm sure our current members will agree our sessions can be tough.

It just means that the selection of exercises and timings used needs to be suitable for real people without the risk of injury being high.

I guess that's why I see people from other bootcamps and exercise classes in my injury clinic.  The person at the front has found a new way of beasting them, which generally leads to injury.  Beasting people is the easiest part of our jobs as coaches.

I used to be that type of trainer, I loved it, it was great fun watching people leave my classes to be sick.  However, I realised a long time ago that it wasn't sustainable and they weren't really getting closer to their goals.

We will work you to a level that your body can handle without getting injured.  We know from years of experience what that level is and you will leave our sessions knowing you have worked hard, you will also leave smiling and feeling good.

12 weeks till party season, give us a try - www.achievebootcamp.co.uk/application

Darren 'missing the good old days' Checkley

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