My name is Mark Hooks and I am ex-army physical training instructor, I now live and work in Poole. I set up Reboot Dorset Fitness Boot Camp to give advice on fitness and help people get the most out of your training.

We all know the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle; the tricky bit is finding the balance between exercise, diet and enjoying life.  Some people can become disheartened by following the same recommended training schedules but not making any real progress.

The hardest part of training is getting started, committing to yourself, friends or family that you are serious about getting fit and meaning business. This is where Reboot Fitness Boot Camp comes in ….. today I will give you all the information you require to get started with the long term goal of becoming and staying Fit for Life.

To begin with we need to follow three simple steps:

1. Assess where you are now; your weight, body measurements, physical abilities and resting heart rate. These results are where you are now and you need to save them onto your computer in a folder labelled Fitness boot camp training and then forget about them.
2. You then need to come up with a challenging goal that is achievable in three months time. This should not be a dress size or a measurement on your scales; it needs to be a physical goal. For some of you it may be to run 1 km and for others it may be completing a triathlon. Put this goal into your diary.
3. Decide how many times a week you are going to dedicate to training. You need to be realistic and make sure that you include at least two rest days a week. Once this has been worked out, schedule into your diary when exactly you intend to train and what type of fitness training you are going to do.

Once you have achieved these three simple steps you are ready to put together a boot camp training programme.

You need to understand that when we exercise all our body requires is the delivery of oxygen to the muscles and the extraction of metabolic by-products, like lactic acid and carbon dioxide, away from the muscles. Although this sounds very complicated it simply occurs during normal breathing. We inhale oxygen enriched air and exhale carbon dioxide enriched air.

If it has been a while then it is best to begin with jogging and abdominal exercises.

JOGGING

Many people think they are unable to run, when the truth of the matter is that our bodies are built to run. They were not made to sit around all day at the computer or on the sofa in front of the telly. Most people at some time in their life have decided to go for a run, they get all the gear on and step outside the front door not knowing how far they plan to run, what speed they intend to run at or how long the run is going to take. They start running down the street at the speed of a thousand gazelles to get to the end of the road feeling like they are going to die of a heart attack and quickly return home hoping that no one saw them. This is evidence enough for them that they can not run.

Try this …. sit down and plan a route, please make sure it is achievable, know the general area of the halfway point. Work out how long the run might take, if it is your first run for a long time then a short route around the block that lasts about 10 minutes is ample. Walk outside your front door and continue walking for about 100m then break into a gentle jog no faster than your walking pace. When you arrive at the halfway point evaluate the situation, should I slow down to ensure I get home and continue running or could I increase the pace slightly as this is far too easy. When you are about 100m away from your house begin to walk again and continue walking until your breathing returns to normal. Stretch out the major muscles in your legs, drink a large glass of water and write how long it took you in your training diary whilst giving yourself a well deserved pat on the back.

As you find the run gets easier increase the distance by going round the same route twice.

ABDOMINAL EXERCISES

The abdominal muscles are very important during exercise as they control many things like breathing. This simple routine can be carried out once or twice a day and only takes about one minute to complete – I usually do them after my run but you can do them in the morning or at night.

There are several safety points to remember:

1. Ensure your heels are in contact with the floor at all times with a slight bend in the knee.
2. Never place hands behind your head as this can cause damage to the neck.
3. Exhale on exertion, i.e. breath out on the way up.

Begin with a very achievable amount of exercises in each set maybe six or 11. This is actually five or ten but I always add an extra one to each set in case I did not complete one properly. If you find this too difficult then place your feet under the sofa or ask someone to hold onto your feet. As you find the sets get easier then increase the amount of reps by five, ensuring that correct technique is maintained throughout.

You should find that when you wake up the next day your body may begin to feel sore. This is very normal as your body is repairing the muscle tissues and getting stronger. To facilitate this your body requires carbohydrates and fat. The body cannot produce carbohydrates as this needs to be consumed. Fat however is stored all over the body and can very easily be broken down and utilised along with carbohydrates to enable the body to recover. Your body is like an old two stroke motorcycle engine which requires oil and petrol to produce energy. However your body requires carbohydrates (rice, pasta, bread and potatoes) and fat (as stored in the body or in cakes, pies, sweets and chocolate) to produce energy as energy is required for all human functions.

Therefore, by increasing your carbohydrate intake and decreasing your fat intake your body will burn more fat as the muscles repair.

In summary you need to complete your assessment, set your challenging achievable goal and plan your boot camp training diary for the next month. Ensure your training sessions includes your progressive run and abdominal routine. Please join our mailing list via the website and receive your first Fitness Boot Camp Training Plan free.

It really is as easy as that but don’t expect it to happen overnight – it is a lifestyle change that you need to adopt. The first two weeks are the hardest but once you get through them you will begin to feel the benefits of exercise.

Remember your goal and how much you want to achieve it re-assess in three months time … so forget about the scales and enjoy life!