Feeling hemmed in at the gym? Need some fresh air for those lung-busting runs? A boot camp might get you started on the road to fitness, writes ANGELA RUTTLEDGE
NEIL O’BRIEN’S Keepfit.ie runs hardcore outdoor fitness sessions in the grounds of Old Belvedere RFC and Herbert Park. There were five guys and two girls (including me) at a recent Tuesday evening class in Old Belvedere. The later session filled up with twice as many bods, and there was a fairly even boy-girl split
The idea behind Keepfit.ie is to develop strength and endurance through interval training. It’s about getting the heart rate up and then catching your breath, over and again.
A course was mapped out, alternating sprinting and jogging. During the sprints we were told to give it everything, O’Brien pushing without heckling. I was slower than the lads, but O’Brien got the group to stay together, making the people at the back run to the front at every toot of his whistle. We could slow down a bit during the recovery period, but no walking!
I thought I was reasonably fit, but the truth showed on my disbelieving, panting face when O’Brien called out: “Good work, you are doing well . . . only three more sets.” By the time it came to doing our “core” muscle exercises, I was so happy to be lying down, it didn’t matter that I was laid out flat on my stomach examining the sandy muck between tufts of very damp grass.
O’Brien was a keen rugby player, both in Ireland and during his three years in Australia. When he returned home, he searched for a way to stay involved in the game without collecting any more injuries. He completed an IRFU certified strength and conditioning programme and began coaching rugby at Old Belvedere on a voluntary basis. The idea for Keepfit.ie came to him in October when, as he watched his team playing a match, a question from a spectator prompted him to tackle the outdoor fitness market.
O’Brien’s daily grind begins at 7am, when he gives personal training sessions. After a quick shower and change, his day job as an occupational psychologist begins. This involves, among other things, executive coaching, under the banner O’Brien Consulting Business Psychologists. He is a member of the British Psychological Society, and says that “psychology-based goal-setting techniques can be effectively applied to both business and sport.” His evenings are fully occupied in testing this theory, with Keepfit.ie sessions on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, as well as Saturday mornings.
By the end of the hour-long Tuesday night session, most of the lads were as beetroot red as I was (never mind that their pace was twice mine). They were variously interested in cycling, sailing, and triathlons, and looking for something or someone to give them an extra push. They complained that they find running on the treadmill boring, so they stick to lifting weights.
My local gym offers a huge range of classes with enthusiastic trainers. However, the reality often fails to live up to the glossy posters which suggest you could be the next Lara Croft. My Keepfit.ie session was, on the other hand, sufficiently gritty. The whole experience of outdoor training is enhanced by a slippery bit of mud, and a drop or two of rain.
In the era of Bootcamp Ireland, and hot on the heels of FittSquad, I asked O’Brien if he wasn’t nervous of the competition and making the leap into self-employment. “Not really,” he says. “A lot of people in my family are in business, so I’m used to seeing people out on their own. I see it as a challenge.”
At €110 for 24 classes (you can join at any time), Keepfit.ie is good value for people trying to trim their budget. Despite the nation’s glum mood, the timing for this venture seems to be right; people are tripping over themselves to get sweaty. Perhaps it’s a bid to hold on to our sanity. Or maybe the recession is educating us about consumption, lessons that can be applied to our bodies as well as our pockets.
See www.keepfit.ie; www.fittsquad.com; www.bootcampireland.com