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Top 10 Reasons Bootcamps Suck

7/11/2014

Top 10 Reasons Bootcamps Suck

Impossible environment for cultivating proper/safe technique.
High risk : reward ratio.
Random and tedious exercises that demand little from the central nervous system; busywork.
Completely arbitrary programming. (I realize that active athletes often look for a way to break up their training cycle, fair enough. For the average person who uses bootcamps as their sole means of personal development, this type of training is about as rewarding as reading the pages of a book at random and expecting to know the plot when you finish).
Low instructor : client ratio.
Style of training designed to tax the glycolytic system over the period of an hour (usually). This requires optimal nutrition, hydration, sleep, and scheduled off-days to be sustainable. Any trainer knows this is not the case with most clients.
Clients are often afforded more freedom to slack off without correction.
Quantity at the expense of quality, and often encouraged by the instructor.
Skills develop faster than fat comes off or muscle accrues. It is logistically impossible to train a skill and reinforce technique in a bootcamp. Furthermore, aesthetics and skill work are both secondary attributes of training that must always take a backseat to fundamental mobility and stability training. This does not occur in a bootcamp, but is precisely what the target demographic needs.
Poor substitute for athleticism, counterintuitive to injury prevention, and for most novices a complete waste of time and money.