It’s 5:25 p.m., dark as the sole of a running shoe and 27 degrees. Jesse Stoddard unloads crates of medicine balls, dumbbells and elastic bungeelike bands onto a frozen field outside Snohomish High School.
“OK, let’s go,” he says to a half-dozen shivering people, though boot camp isn’t scheduled to start for another five minutes.
“If we’re all here early, he starts us early, but he doesn’t finish early,” gripes Peri-Lyn Johnson, a Snohomish mom who has lost 35 pounds since she began working out with Stoddard in September.
Stoddard leads the group in jumping jacks.
“OK. Repeat after me,” he shouts in a camp-counselor’s syllabic voice. “Motivate. … Working hard. … Feeling good. … Every day. … I love jumping jacks.”
They call him Mr. Pain.
After jumping jacks, they run with dumbbells, then do variations of running and kicking with dumbbells. There are butt-kicks, jumps paired with medicine ball lifts, knee-to-the-ground lunges, frog jumps with medicine balls, abdominal planks, push-ups, staggered push-ups, diamond push-ups, sit-ups holding medicine balls, a 2½-minute leg lift, sprints, repeated dashes and one-footed hops up and down the 53 stairs of the Snohomish High School stadium, sprints around the track, burpies (a tougher version of star jumps), and rowing exercises using elastic bands. And then, everyone pairs up and tries to run while pulling their partner with an elastic harness.
“It is as hard as it looks — and it’s harder because so much of it is mental,” panted Hilary Fisher, a 28 year-old Snohomish sales rep attending boot camp for the sixth time. “But each time it’s easier.”
Exercise boot camps have surged in popularity over the past few years. People are drawn to the drill sergeant-inspired tough-guy attitude of instructors, the discipline and the escape from indoor gyms.
For those looking to lose weight in the new year, boot camps offer a schedule of strenuous workouts led by a coach.
Like many coaches, Stoddard offers various camps geared for people of different abilities. Most boot camp exercises can also be modified to suit varying levels of fitness. People unable to do push-ups, for example, can balance on their knees instead of the balls of their feet.
“Don’t be intimidated by people who have accomplished their goals,” said Stoddard, 32, a former dancer who also works as a personal trainer. “A lot of new people will get frightened by that. Everyone starts somewhere. I encourage people to try it and commit to eight weeks in it because they’ll see a major difference in that time. They’ll be amazed at how far they’ll go.”
When she started, Johnson, 36, ran a mile in 9 minutes, 30 seconds. By December, she could run the same distance in 6 minutes. A lifelong athlete, she had struggled with running for years because of lingering soreness from three knee surgeries.
She credits the strength training of boot camp with her new running prowess. Working out twice a week at boot camp and replicating the exercises on her own at home, she’s dropped in size from a 10 to a 2.
“It’s definitely more fun than anything I’ve ever done,” she said. “I’ve been a pretty athletic person my whole life, but this is different because it’s fun. It’s outside, and I always leave feeling exhausted but better than when I arrived.”
An hour later, she jogged off the dark field, puffs of white steam rising from her brown ponytail, muscles burning.
Ready to enlist?
Boot camp prices vary. Jesse Stoddard charges $20 for a one-hour session, or $15 each for eight sessions. He is hosting a boot camp session for charity at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday.
He plans to give the requested per-person donation of $15 to Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater in Snohomish. The group meets in the parking lot by the Snohomish High School tennis courts, 1316 Fifth St.
For more information, check out Stoddard’s Web site at www.snohomishbootcamp.com or call 800-294-9043.
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