It happens every year. With the new year comes the promise to get in shape and the mad rush to join a gym.
But before long the routine becomes boring and the longing for a better way to improve overall health and fitness returns.
Experts say that one of the main reasons people fail in their workouts is because they see exercise as a chore instead of enjoyment. People who have fun with their workouts are much more likely to stick to a program and reap the benefits of a healthful and active lifestyle.
One of the best ways to enjoy a workout, according to Salvador Convento, owner of the United States Karate Academy, is to move out of the gym and into the outdoors.
In order to do just that, Convento has created Boot Camp San Diego and has once again made exercise a refreshing activity.
Participants of Boot Camp San Diego rave that the workouts are like recess used to be “breathtaking, invigorating and fun.
As an outdoor fitness program, Boot Camp San Diego offers an alternative for those looking to seriously change their workout and for people looking to jump-start their day.
“I’ve liberated exercisers from the gym with fun and energetic one-hour, fresh-air, full-body morning workouts,” said Convento. “Just as the sun is rising and the rest of San Diego is rubbing the sleep from their eyes, we’ve already taken the steps to strengthen the foundation of our day.”
As a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, ex-officer and naval pilot, Convento has created a type of boot camp he learned in the Navy and guarantees that everyone will be impacted through his classes to be self-actualized and can turn their own dreams into reality.
Convento has recognized and developed his ability to help people be their best by focusing on six key elements in life: discipline, self-esteem, fitness/flexibility, confidence, perseverance and goal setting and achieving.
“I needed someone there to hold me accountable and to push me,” said Chris Glover, a Boot Camp San Diego participant. “While everyone is sleeping, I’m working on self discipline. I’m strengthening my mind and body, and I owe it all to Boot Camp San Diego.”
Each day is a different workout, and over the course of a week, workouts will include a combination of cardio training (around-the-bay runs, resistance ban challenges, stair runs, et cetera) and strength training (push-ups, pull-ups, tricep dips, medicine ball workouts and abdominal workouts). Each class ends with stretching and food for thought.
In a 1995 study run by Dr. Georg Eifert, professor of clinical psychology at West Virginia University, the physical and psychological effects of jogging outdoors was compared with running on an indoor treadmill.
The study showed that outdoor exercise reduced the level of stress hormones in the bloodstream, resulting in positive mood changes. Eifert claimed that people who buy workout equipment from television rarely keep up an exercise routine because indoor settings don’t generate the positive effects on mood that outdoor settings do.
Participants of Boot Camp San Diego claim that the joys of a sunrise and the brisk breeze off the bay offer feelings of enjoyment and freedom, which make the benefits of Boot Camp clear to them.
Boot Camp San Diego is held from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. Mondays through Fridays behind the Downtown San Diego Convention Center and on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at NTC Liberty Station in Point Loma.
Many people from the early morning group continue their routine with a reading circle at a local Downtown coffee shop after the workout.
Convento is currently accepting new boot campers and, for a limited time, is offering Downtown readers half off the first month’s fee with a 100 percent money-back guarantee if the customer is not completely satisfied.
For more information on how to participate, please visit www.sd-bootcamp.com or call (619) 342-5548.