Viva Brighton Issue #43 September 2016

WE TRY...
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Fitbitch Bootcamp
Rise, shine, repeat
There is, I’ve come to
know, a group of women in
Brighton who will happily
sprint down the beach at
6am, rain and seaspray
blowing in their faces,
before turning on their
heels to sprint back up to
perform 25 press-ups on
wet tarmac. More surprisingly
still, I’ve found that I’m one of them.
Back in May I signed up to a four-day-a-week,
four-week Fitbitch bootcamp, with the aim of
cultivating an exercise habit that would outlast the
camp. Founder Rachael set up the camps as ‘there
was just too much emphasis on how women looked
and not enough on how they felt,’ and it turns out
there’s very little room for vanity as you reel your
way through a Fitbitch session within minutes of
getting out of your bed. It may not be pretty but it
is surprisingly addictive.
Sessions start at 6 or 7am. I would try to explain the
full range of activities I’ve found myself doing, but
no two days were the same. There’s been boxing,
running, HIIT, jump-rope, kettle bells, battle ropes,
TRX and football, not to mention appropriating
playground equipment and railings to build
strength, agility and stamina in-between everincreasing
rounds of burpees, crunches, step-ups,
sprints, plank, sit-ups and tricep dips. You get the
picture. It’s not for sissies.
Groups are small and the intensive instruction
means there’s plenty of attention to technique and
no loitering at the back. Yoga stretching and muscle
rolling optimize recovery and take the sting out
of getting up the next
morning to do it all over
again. Many in the group
are back for their third and
fourth camps, and I too
find myself signing up for
a second Olympics-themed
two-week camp at Queens
Park in July. More fun
ensues, of the jumping,
running, lifting and gymnastic variety.
Of course all this hard works pays off in pounds and
inches lost (in my case, five and a half, and six), and
stamina and strength gained, but most significantly
- and as billed - I just feel so much better. Sure,
I can remember the queasy beginnings when I
thought I might pass out or cough up a lung, but it’s
exhilarating to have really moved so early in the day,
and to have burned a few hundred calories before
breakfast. All that early virtue makes it easier to
keep up the healthy choices throughout the day too
- especially if you follow the complementary eating
plan - and getting up at 5.30am really diminishes
the appeal of a midweek drink.
You might think I was hanging out for a lie-in, but
the opposite is true. Just a few days into the regime
I found myself missing the early morning workouts
on the days off, and in between camps. So much
so that I found myself outside the Prince Regent
swimming pool at 6.30am waiting to be let in. And I
still do. And even that feels like slacking.
Lizzie Lower
Camps start from £120, at Hove Lawns, Queens Park,
Worthing & Lewes. They also offer running courses.
07855 742195 / fitbitchbootcamp.com
Photo by Rachael Woolston
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