How quick-fix exercise classes can put a boot into your body

By PETA BEE FOR MAILONLINE
Updated:

Seduced by the idea of getting fit quick, increasing numbers of people are opting for boot camps.

These military-style workouts are cropping up in parks and gyms around the country.

They last between 45 minutes and an hour and consist of a circuit of army drills, from running and jumping to push-ups, squats and sit-ups.

The appeal is the no-frills simplicity and the motivation of exercising in a team as instructions are bellowed.

Boot camp

Military fitness: 20 per cent of people who participate in boot camp-style fitness sessions see a physiotherapist for injuries

The classes also appeal to those who are short of time.

However, the intensive physical and mental approach may not be good for you.

In a study by Sports Medicine Australia, Dr Kion Klein found that almost one in five participants has been injured.

Of those, 20 per cent were treated by a physiotherapist for injuries ranging from muscle strains and tears, torn ligaments and inflammation to chronic knee pain and stress fractures.

A boot camp can be a fast route to weight loss - if you can cope with it.

Celebrity Boot Camp

TV shows such as Celebrity Boot Camp have popularised the military-style form of exercise

Exercise physiologists at the University of Wisconsin have calculated that army-style classes burn 640 calories an hour: a third of the average daily calorie intake.

'That will obviously help with weight loss,' says Dr John Pocari, who conducted the research.

'You are also getting muscle building from push-ups, arm curls and squat thrusts that you just wouldn't get from a fast jog.'

But Kirsten Lord, spokeswoman for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, says that people who haven't exercised in a while or who have niggling injuries should be wary.

'Sudden, intense and dynamic movements performed outdoors in cool conditions can cause a range of problems,' she says.

'Press-ups can put strain on joints, leading to shoulder and back pain.'

Piggy backs - to build strength endurance in the legs and lower body - can be risky if you carry someone heavier than you or attempt to lift them off the ground rather than from a bench.

Lord advises making sure the class is led by a qualified instructor and does not have more than 15 to 18 participants, so there can be adequate supervision.

A survey of Canadian boot camps showed only 20 per cent of participants finish the course.

'You are taxed pretty hard,' says Pocari. 'Not everyone is going to be able to see it through.'

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