Hitting the outdoors with BootCamp
View(s):Duvindi Illankoon discovers that exercising doesn’t always have to be boring
Being told to get down on your stomach on a rather muddy turf at 7am on a Saturday morning might not be everyone’s cup of tea. After all, sitting comfortably in one’s own kitchen with an actual cup of tea seems far more enticing! When we headed over to the Moors Grounds last Saturday for the inaugural session of BootCamp Sri Lanka, we were greeted with an eclectic mix of perky young fitness enthusiasts and health conscious professionals well into their forties. They certainly weren’t grinning from ear to ear at the prospect but that might have been because everyone was busy focussing on the clear instructions they were being given by an extremely athletic Mahendran Gnasamoothy, who launched Boot Camp Sri Lanka together with Shanaka Jayawardana.
Pics by Mangala Weerasekara
A lawyer by profession, Mahendran lives and works in Malaysia. He took part in a boot camp a few years back as he was “fat, not in shape and very stressed out.” It changed his life, he smiles. “A lot of people who’ve taken part-continuously-in boot camps have gone on to achieve many things in their life. My brother in law is Sri Lankan, so I’ve been here quite frequently. There’s a great culture of sports in Sri Lanka.”
Unfortunately sports and physical activity are things people leave behind with their schooling years, he laments. “We’re stuck in a cycle of sleep, food and work. Without realizing it, you’re wound up because there’s no physical release.” BootCamp is an initiative to get people outdoors and get their heart rate up-for all the good reasons.
“Boot camps are typically modelled towards high intensity training. You use your body weight to your advantage instead of trying to get rid of it. We’re not focussed on losing weight, mind you. It’s not a ‘fat camp’. This is about getting fit and developing lean muscle-automatically you’re in shape.” Boot camps are a better alternative to gym any day, say organisers. “Gyms are boring! And kind of isolating.Here we get our participants to pair up randomly and train together.”
It works this way-while one huffs and puffs away the other shouts encouragement. While at the start of the session people kept to themselves by the end they’re all friends, hanging out together under the shade of a tree.
Mahendran
The one hour session comprises of a warm-up followed by a series of exercises that focus on strengthening your core (core is important, says Mahendran. If you’ve got a strong core you can do anything, apparently). The different exercise techniques are too varied to mention but the newbies seem to love it-while they struggle occasionally, they’re brought back to speed with Mahendran and Shanaka’s encouragement. Assisting these guys are some national trainers for Sri Lanka, whose athletic presence is enough motivation to slog on with the intense workout.
BootCamp Sri Lanka happens 12 times a month, thrice a week. You need these 12 sessions if you want to see results, says Mahendran. You’re in safe hands, never fear, as Mahendran has run boot camps in Malaysia for the last two years. Sessions are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6.30-7.30pm and Saturday from 7-8am at the Moors Grounds.
Your monthly damage is Rs.10,000, which you can pay when you sign up (walk in signups are accepted). Visit their Facebook page on www.facebook.com/bootcamp-srilanka or their web page on www.bootcampsl.com
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