Boot Camp Nation opens boundaries
to Fort Bragg

By Reginald Rogers
Paraglide

	Photo by Reginald Rogers/Paraglide Boot Camp Nation Trainer George Bell, right, stretches with several clients during an afternoon session of Boot Camp Nation’s Co-ed camp at Fort Bragg, May 14. Boot Camp Nation features various resistance and cardio exercises to assist its clients in weight loss, general health, wellness and conditioning.

You’ve seen the signs, that are strategically placed at various intersections throughout Fayetteville: Join a Boot Camp, call 922-3999. You’ve even thought about calling the number as a step toward physical fitness, but never got around to it. Now, the Boot camp Nation has come to Fort Bragg.

Boot Camp Nation is more than just a group of people exercising together with hopes of achieving better fitness levels, it is actually a regimented program designed to educate and accelerate your path to fitness by providing experience trainers and instilling a never-quit attitude.

“Boot Camp Nation is a company that was formed back in 2008,” explained Brad Cambria, BCN’s founder and chief executive officer. “As I worked for a nationally-syndicated personal training company, I got an opportunity to do some traveling and actually tested this project out in some other markets around the country. We had some tremendous success as far as results were concerned.”

Cambria, a former Soldier said what makes Boot Camp Nation so desirable is the fact that its patrons do not have to plan their workouts themselves. There’s no requirement to decide which exercise you want to do because BCN’s trainers handle that responsibility.

“The thing I loved about the Army is that I didn’t really have to think very much,” he explained. “As long as I could show up in the morning, usually that was the requirement, there was always someone there to lead me by the hand and get me where I needed to go. That’s the premise behind Boot Camp Nation.

“If an individual can show up at Boot Camp Nation, they can accomplish their fitness goals, and I know those vary,” Cambria said.

To handle those various goals, Boot Camp Nation offers as many as 10 different fitness solutions for its clients. With names like “Drab to Fab,” “Zero to Zeus,” “Bombshell Bride,” or “Beginner’s Bustout,” all are geared toward nearly every fitness level.

“We offer about 10 specialized camps, anywhere from Drab to Fab, which is a ladies only camp, to Zero to Zeus, which is a men’s only camp,” Cambria said. “The thing we’re doing out here at Fort Bragg, which is producing some tremendous results, is the co-ed camp. It features some friendly competition and results are coming hot and heavy.”

Cambria said they were asked to do a private camp at Fort Bragg by an organization here. He explained that some civilian contractors who closely co-exist with the military members, asked him about a camp here on post.

“What we’d like to do is actually offer this camp to military personnel, active-duty, reservists and civilians alike ,” he said. “It really could bring fitness to a new level here on Fort Bragg and it’s working tremendously. We have about four locations in Fayetteville and Hope Mills.”

Cambria pointed out that the camps are designed to cater to each individual, including the time they choose to exercise.

“We start camp nice and early, at 6 a.m., over at Westover Park. But there’s an 8:30 a.m. camp at Lake Rim,” he added. “There are also two, 6:30 p.m. camps. So we try to cover all the bases as far as schedules are concerned. The evening camps take place at Jack Britt High School in Hope Mills and at Westover Park and Recreation Center.”

According to Cambria, each client must meet with BCN general manager Lindsay Milo, who weighs them and takes their measurements to determine their body fat content. She then recommends the camp to which they would be best suited to accomplish their fitness goals.
“The best way that we’re able to establish our ten specialized camps for individuals is through an initial assessment where we get with the trainer, Lindsay, who is also our human resource director and general manager,” Cambria explained. “Through that assessment, we find out what their goals are and how we can specifically help them. Then we’re able to guide them to the correct camp at the correct time slot.”

Cambria added that Boot Camp Nation helps people achieve their goals through time-based exercise instead of repetition-based exercise.

“We will never tell someone to do 20 push-ups,” Cambria explained. “We might tell them to do 20 seconds of push-ups. The reason why is everybody out here is on a different fitness level and we would never be able to accommodate everybody’s goals using the repetition-based fitness method.”

He pointed out that the duration of the camps may also be attractive to potential clients who are on difficult work schedules as well.

“We have some 30 minute camps for the busy professional, but typically, the camps here at Fort Bragg and around Fayetteville run about 45 to 60 minutes and they’re action-packed,” Cambria said. “The basis behind our camps is typically fat-loss, general health and conditioning.

“We cause an individual to have an accelerated heart rate over an extended period of time and that heart rate is up throughout the course of the 45 to 60 minutes, thus producing some tremendous fat-loss results,” he added.

Cambria said BCN includes 30 minutes of cardio training with 30 minutes of resistance training, which assist in fat loss and conditioning.

“A lot of people think that walking around the track is going to get them results,” he said. “The truth of the matter is that it will. But the unfortunate part about cardio training is that the benefits of cardio stop when they stop working out. Resistance training is like an investment in your body. The more lean muscle mass a person has the more calories they’re going to burn. The trick is to find the right combination of both.”

He added that nutrition is also an important aspect to weight loss and conditioning.

Boot Camp Nation originated in 2008 as a test project on Fort Jackson, near Columbia, S.C. Cambria said they’ve also worked with Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He added that Boot Camp Nation brings consistency and accountability to the table.

“The really cool thing is that you’re going to come out here for an hour with a personal trainer and burn anywhere between 600 to 1100 calories, which is tremendous for body fat loss or body fat reduction,” Milo explained. “We have personal trainers who really care about your progress and that’s what we really drive on as a company.”

A typical day includes warm-up exercises, resistance and speed drills and a cool down and stretching session to try to prevent injuries.

Cambria added that BCN offers a service that a normal gym membership fails to provide. He said BCN’s bread and butter program, co-ed camp, costs about $4.95 per session. He said that’s an insignificant amount when compared to what other facilities or services offer.

“When you go to a gym, you’re going to pay $30 to $60 to walk in the door and that’s just access to equipment. I know from experience, with personal training in Fayetteville, you’re going to pay for a 30 minute session, which costs $35 to $50,” he said. “With Boot Camp Nation, we eliminate the gym expense altogether and give you the meat and potatoes of your training regimen.”

Boot Camp Nation is currently sponsoring a biggest loser contest, which includes six weeks of training for $99. “That works out to about $3 a session,” Cambria said. “It’s going to be phenomenal.”

For more information on Boot Camp Nation, call Lindsay Milo at 922-3999 or by e-mail at info@bootcampnation.com. Additional information can also be obtained at www.bootcampnation.com.