A couple of weeks ago, a particularly exciting email landed in my Inbox from the lovely ladies at Travel Supermarket. It was an invite to attend No1 Bootcamp in Norfolk with a bunch of bloggers to promote their latest Holiday Health Club campaign. As many of you know, this is not my first time at Bootcamp *smugness* and with a how hard can it be attitude I signed up without a second thought.
NO1 Bootcamp HQ
Still in shock from my 5.30 alarm, I tootled through the train station bleary eyed, suitcase in hand and ordered a breakfast of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, whipped cream and extra chocolate sprinkles to keep me occupied on the train, grabbed my obligatory Health and Fitness mag and some Cadburys caramel bunnies just for good measure. After three trains, a bus, a taxi and numerous chocolate bars later, I arrived at NO1 Bootcamp HQ with a few of the girls, giddy if not slightly apprehensive about what the day may bring. It started off on a high as I met my roomies, the lovely Lucia, Scarlett and Annie, surveyed our more than generously sized room and found that we all had custom made hoodies and tops with our initials on! *squeal*I know, I’m such a bootcamp geek.
And then there were Burpees….
Between you and me, I’ve never been a fan of Burpees but as the weekend went on I realised that our trainers Will, Ali and Craig were huge fans of them. Barely a sentence went by that didn’t include them. You’re late. BURPEES You’re not listening. BURPEES. You’ve stop moving! BURPEEEEEEEEEES! When it came to things like boxing, Tyre flipping and cross-fit, I took to the bootcamp schedule like me in the newly refurbished Brasserie on the top floor of Harvey Nichols, IE very well indeed. However, when it came to Burpees, Ice Baths and early mornings, I wasn’t quite as enthusiastic.
Speaking of Burpees, here’s Craig our fab bootcamp trainer…
In all honesty, the exercise part I took in my stride, it was the nutrition side of things that really opened my eyes. As someone who inhales chocolate bars without even registering the calories, it was a shock to the system to find out that it takes 17 thousand burpees to burn one single teeny tiny pound of fat. 17 THOUSAND BURPEEEES. Something to think about when you next decide to snaffle a Snickers. We also found out (thanks Craig) that one of those delicious Starbucks Cappuccino’s contains 2500 calories a pop. Drink two of these and you have put on over a pound in weight before you know it. The nutrition talks were really beneficial and I think we all left with a little more nutrition knowledge under our slightly loser belts. Did I mention I lost 2.5 pounds in just 2 days? I can only imagine my progress if I had stayed for a week. It made me realize that NO1 Bootcamp aren’t just there to help you lose a few pounds, they are there to change lives and they help you to see being healthy as a lifestyle change.
Swap your Starbucks for a strawberry and raspberry smoothie a la No1 Bootcamp
I’ll share a few more of Craig’s nutrition secrets and some small yet slimming food pics in my next post. After settling in, we had had a team talk with camp mommy Paula and got to know the other bloggers. Then it was snack time. *Drum roll* As we formed an orderly line into the dining room, I could see that a few of my fellow bootcampers looked a little deflated. What could be causing such a change in mood? Had the Burberry Velvet foundation been discontinued? Oh. I see. The mini mars bar that we all secretly hoped was our snack was actually a wedge of fruit and seeds. Ahhhh. Welcome to Bootcamp.
No 1 Bootcamp basics…
After about 2.5 seconds when our snack had settled we were out in the fields learning the Bootcamp basics and kicking off our bootcamp experience with a couple of team building ‘games’. When I say games, I of course mean, running around with a Tyre in one shellacked hand and a log in the other. Also known as the Gun Run. This was a shock to the system to say the least and by the end of it we were more than ready for lunch.
The Gun Run AKA Hell on Earth
Day two held more challenging circuits and the dreaded ICE BATH. I have never ever had the courage to do an ice bath but all of the girls jumped in without too much fuss. Boxing was my favorite part of the day and is something that I’ll try to do more of in the gym. We finished off with a lovely walk in the countryside which was the perfect opoprtunity to get to know our fellow bootcamp buddies and get the goss on what it actually takes to get that bikini body.
Things I Learned at NO1 Bootcamp
Losing Weight is 80% Diet 20% Exercise
Fitness is just as important as weight loss
Sit Ups alone do not give you a six pack
Ice baths actually do help your muscles
Hard Exercises become easier when a fit marine trainer tells you to do them
I can live without chocolate for 3 days
The train journey from Leeds to Norfolk is actually 5 hours away not 2
Shellac nails are totally bootcamp proof
Bloggers do not pack light
Follow the #holidayhealthclub to discover tweets from all of the bootcamp bloggers. I guarentee you will be entertained!
Lastly, a little thank you to the gorgeous girls at Travel Supermarket for organising a fabulous blogger event that encouraged us all to get healthy for summer. I had a wonderful time and it was lovely to meet all of you.