Community Corner

Boot Camp: 10 Years of Stories and Strength

This column features the Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA Boot Camp, which has been a part of the community for ten years.

Where can you find a happy, healthy group of friends at 5:45 a.m? At YMCA boot camp, of course. Many of them probably carpooled there together, too.

The boot camp at the Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA has been running (literally) for 10 years. Two of the three instructors have been there since day one, and boot camp members keep coming back for more.

What makes this group of people so unique that they have stayed together over the course of 10 years? A common desire to be fit and healthy, and a camaraderie that makes 5:45 a.m. workouts seem not so bad.

Instructors and professional personal trainers Dennis Floyd, Cheryl Marcorelle, and Beth Schultz spend three to four mornings per week (Mon, Wed, and Fri with an extra day in Spring and Fall) coaching boot camp, which runs in eight-week sessions year round. On average roughly 35 people participate in boot camp, ranging in age from 20-65 years old. The camp tends to be divided fairly evenly among men and women of different fitness levels.

The boot camp regimen includes cardio, strength training, and flexibility in different capacities every workout, allowing for different workouts every morning. While boot camp may not be ideal for those with serious health issues, instructors and participants welcome new members with open arms, regardless of fitness level.

“With three of us, it's easy for all fitness levels to participate. One of us will go through all of the exercises with newer people to be sure they have correct form while the other two take the rest of the camp,” says Floyd. “We cheer our boot campers on, we help them believe they can do it, and they do. We provide that extra push in their workout which takes them to the next level.”

While boot camp has undoubtedly improved members’ health and fitness, it has also become a community within a community. After so many years together, this group is a network of support.

“In 10 years, whenever we have seen a tragedy or a challenge occur in another’s life, boot camp has been right there,” says Schultz. “We help in whatever way we can, whether we make sure that meals are prepared or that housekeeping is arranged, anything that will make things easier. As a group we truly want to keep each other strong, both in and out of boot camp in the morning.”

Boot camp has also led to outside fitness events to raise money for charitable causes. “Whether members use boot camp to become fit or to take their exercise routine up a notch, we encourage and challenge them to use the skills they develop here for more,” says Marcorelle. “We have completed fundraising runs as a team, and when members commit to an individual run, boot camp pulls together to raise money and sponsor that person.”

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Vincent Bonazzoli has been a boot camp member for two and a half years and has never missed a session during that time. “Dennis, Beth and Cheryl do a great job preparing a variety of workout routines to help each of us reach our own personal highest level of fitness. They have built a friendly, but hardworking community in which we encourage each other, push ourselves to get a good workout and have fun at the same time,” said Bonazzoli.

“I went from being in fairly good shape to running the Boston Marathon within 13 months of joining the Y Boot Camp," said Bonazzoli. In my opinion, Boot Camp is one of the best values the Y has to offer."

Jeffrey Dornbush is another member who has turned boot camp into marathon running. "A few years ago at age 56, I was 25 pounds overweight and I couldn't run a block," said Dornbush. "With the reassurance and encouragement of the boot camp trainers coupled with the group's camaraderie and the convenient morning hours, I am now at an ideal weight and ran the half marathon in the Salem Wicked Race Series last September."

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One of the longest running boot campers, Mary McRae, will have her nine-year anniversary with the Y boot camp this April. “When I started boot camp, I was coming back from my third pregnancy and really needed to get back in shape. I love that I get the benefits of personal training along with the camaraderie of a group class, and the instructors push me to work much harder than I would push myself," said McRae. "It's a great group of people, and believe me, you bond really quickly when you're doing push-ups together on the cold ground at 5:45 a.m!”

As for the boot camp instructors, they are an impressive group. “Cheryl, Beth and Dennis are all inspiring, admirably fit, and really knowledgeable about exercise and physiology,” said McRae. “They're also really nice and a lot of fun! I think the best testament I can give to boot camp is that I miss it when I can't go - even after eight years!” said McRae.

But there are fun and games, too. There are two member organized boot camp parties per year, to give everyone a chance to get dressed up and see each other outside of gym clothes. There is even a prize for most transformed from gym-wear to the party.

Ultimately, boot camp is a fantastic way to have fun and stick together year round. If they can manage to work out three mornings per week with all the snow we’ve had this winter, it must be worth looking into, right?

For more information on Y boot camp, visit the Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA website at www.northshoreymca.org, or email Dennis Floyd at floydd@northshoreymca.org, Cheryl Marcorelle at marcorellec@northshoreymca.org, or Beth Schultz at schultzb@northshoreymca.org.

 


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