Fitness Bootcamp - Do You Have To Be Sore?

Most people admit that they feel their energy increasing while at fitness bootcamp. A lot of times, they do not even mind the number of hours they spend in rigorous training. This is because they exercise as a group. You know the difference between exercising alone and with a group. If you have friends and other people around you, you might do the "stiff upper lip". You might, and probably will push your preconceived ideas of what your limit is. This is one desirable effect of a bootcamp. Some soreness is to be expected.

A fitness bootcamp is so effective because the trainers are experts in this field. They know techniques for reducing soreness.

Use every muscle in your body while doing the moves. The key here is never to isolate some muscles because when you do these parts of your body will be overworking.

Move your joints and muscles and follow a rhythm. Short jerky movements lead to extreme soreness or worse, a pulled ligament. Instructors know that first timers need to be eased into the challenge so they will be patient until you are able to grasp the full range of motion exercises. They will still challenge you while being patient!

Before starting classes, ask your instructor if there are any foods that you should avoid or any foods that you should concentrate on. (Did you ever hear of "Eat bananas to avoid low-level potassium leg cramps?")

Stay hydrated! Drink water (not soda pop or coffee) before class starts.

One area health and fitness bootcamps concentrate on is flexibility. Stretching activities are an absolute must. Several minutes of warm-up before and several minutes of cool-down calisthenics or other exercises at the end of class go a long way to reducing extreme soreness to a level that tells you that you really accomplished something today!

Do not let yourself be dehydrated. Do you know that some people suffer cramps and soreness because the water content in their body is very low? You perspire a lot during a workout. Prepare for your bootcamp class by hydrating well 30 to 60 minutes before class starts. Replenishing lost water during the class is a must; you will probably see water breaks every 20 - 30 minutes.

Extreme soreness occurs because of inadequate preparation, not paying attention to some details and the social challenge of the camp's intense workout. Fitness bootcamp instructors are well informed and experience this almost daily. They know what helps and what to avoid. Ask your instructor before classes start! Following their advice will reduce extreme soreness to a mild burn of accomplishment.