JOE chats with Frankie Dolan about how he’s fairing in his bid to improve his fitness at Bootcamp as part of the JOE Challenge.
Name: Frankie Dolan
Age: 29
Location: Rathfarnham
Weight: 77kg
Occupation: IBS Sales Executive
JOE: So how are things progressing?
It’s difficult. It’s getting tortuous! It’s tough going to be honest with you, and the weather is getting a bit cooler in the evenings.
JOE: How many times have you been at this stage?
This is week number four, so I’ve done eight classes. I haven’t missed one yet and I’m going again this evening from 6.15pm to 7.15pm.
JOE: How are you feeling? Any aches or pains?
Loads of them. Your stomach would be in bits after all the sit-ups. You could do 150 sit-ups in one session – not in a row but in groups of 30 in between other exercises. You only realise afterwards how many you’ve done. You wouldn’t be able for much by the time you get finished. You just want your bed!
JOE: So does the training vary or is it a case of doing similar stuff each time you go along?
The boot camp training is brilliant because every evening is different – the circuits are varied for each session. The last evening we went out we were doing sprints out on an Astroturf pitch for 15 minutes before we even started doing circuits.
A lot of it is short sprints, circuit training, sit-ups, push-ups and that type of thing. We finish up doing a really good stretch on all the different muscle groups. I have to say, it is very good.
It gets progressively tougher and they add more too it as you go on. If you were doing football training you would often have a set series of exercises that you would do every day so you would know what is coming next. With Bootcamp you never know what’s coming.
JOE: Have you noticed any difference in yourself, in terms of how you feel etc?
It’s all toning up. I wear a suit to work and I notice the difference, even putting on a belt. You don’t wobble when you’re walking, put it that way. It’s a totally different work-out. I play soccer on a Thursday night and Friday night, and it’s a walk in the park compared to going to Bootcamp.
JOE: Will you stick it out do you think?
Definitely. I’m going to book in for another 12 weeks after I finish the course with JOE.ie. It’s not the type of thing you would get sick of because it changes every time. And it’s a bit of craic as well.
JOE: So would you recommend this type of training to others?
I would definitely recommend it. I used to go to the gym quite a bit and do 6km runs, but I’m twice as knackered doing this as I would be with what I used to do.
I would recommend it for everybody because there are people in my group who would always win the sprints, who would be a lot fitter than me. But there are also lads and girls who would be a lot less fitter than me – they tend to be trying to catch up so they push themselves that bit harder than they might otherwise.
There is a beginners, an intermediate and an advanced class – and we’re in the advanced class as the moment. The intermediate class is difficult enough, we did it the first night. It’s good for people who wouldn’t do much exercise. You would have a lot of people who would be unfit coming in at the end, while those at the front would be reasonably fit. Once you get the feeling that you’re getting ahead you would be moved to the advance course, and you would find yourself at the back of the advanced group.
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