Then you’ll be fascinated by the idea of Barry’s Bootcamp. Popular with A-listers Stateside –Jessica Biel, Sandra Bullock and Josh Harnett included – the classes have now come to the UK. In fact, our spy reports that royalty have already been spotted at the British classes.
Each hour-long session includes a cardio workout, resistance training and flexibility exercises. Sandy Macaskill trainer and co-owner of Barry’s Bootcamp London, calls each class ‘the perfect 60-minute solution to building muscle and burning fat’.
She believes most gym bunnies focus on the wrong type of exercise by concentrating on cardio workouts, saying: ‘People overlook the importance of strength training – this raises your resting metabolic rate, so when you leave the gym that burns the calories.
FEEL THE BURN
Devotees of Barry’s Bootcamp like to work hard, according to Sandy, who adds: ‘It’s the combination of the high-intensity interval cardio and strength training exercises that is so effective.
Your heart rate never comes down. And because all of our trainers are constantly changing the exercises in their classes, clients never plateau.’ So who attends the high-impact classes? Goal-oriented celebrities, high-fliers and fitness junkies are regulars but Sandy insists the group demographic is widening all the time.
The Barry way
You’ll love Barry’s Bootcamp if you like your exercise full-on. Here Sandy shares her class secrets…
Barry’s Bootcamp is all about shocking the body. So a class trainer might divide his or her class into four segments of 15 minutes, or six of ten minutes with the varied exercises and music. That way, it’s like you never do the same class twice.
The classes have generally always been associated with Type A personalities, but it’s one of the few class workouts that is completely gender neutral so you get couples coming together and executives bringing their clients before meetings.
Because the studio is lit like a nightclub and has pumping music and motivating trainers, you push yourself harder.
People who do other classes often complain that they’re not ‘ripped’ or ‘cut’, but there’s an easy explanation – you always need to have a good mix of resistance training and cardio in your exercise regime.
Barry’s Bootcamp recommends that first-timers and those new to fitness do between three to four classes per week to see fast results. Those more energetic often attend five-plus classes a week.
BARRY ME HOME
Can’t get to a Barry’s Bootcamp? Then try recreating your own take on the class at home with 30 minutes of interval training on the treadmill followed by half an hour of resistance training. If it’s group activity that you’re after then a spinning class can offer the same vibe with motivating dance music and energetic leaders. Although if you want to get a full workout like at Barry’s you’ll need to add some resistance training into the mix.
