There are those of us – you know who you are – who go into hibernation mode in the winter. We acquire an additional layer of fat through a combination of too much comfort food and too little exercise, and we hide out in bulk sweaters until the spring. Then, there are those of us who are out on Boston Common at 6 a.m. in the middle of February, doing sprints and presses and push ups. These are the participants in Ultimate Bootcamp’s Outdoor Winter Bootcamp, a six-week intensive full-body workout program. A session is beginning Feb. 25, and co-founder Peter Lavelle says it is not a crazy idea to be exercising outside in the middle of a New England winter.

“Our participants are hard core – but they also soon realize they actually don’t have to be,” he says. “Within 10 minutes, you’re all warmed up. You just have to wear the right clothing.”
And, he says, Ultimate Bootcamp participants find they have a good time getting in shape – even when the temperature is barely in the double digits. “We are the opposite of a military-style exercise bootcamp,” Lavelle says. We try to make it fun for everyone by being encouraging and motivating.”

Lavelle and his business partner, Jill Tomich, founded Ultimate Bootcamp in the summer of 2003 because of their shared passion that fitness can be fun. Both have extensive backgrounds in fitness, and they wanted to branch out beyond the typical gym setting to offer a unique exercise option. Their initial Ultimate Bootcamp location was in Watertown, and Lavelle says about eight people showed up. Since then, six additional locations have been added – including Boston Common in the spring of 2004 – and hundreds of area residents have gone through the Bootcamp.

“The Boston Common location is arguable the most popular,” Lavelle says. “There was a demand for a downtown location, and Boston Common is very accessible. It also has every material you could possibly want – hills, monuments to run up down the steps, and benches for presses.”

A typical workout will include a warm up jog, partner exercises, core work, push ups, lunges and squats. Participants can be seen working their triceps using park benches or sprinting from Charles St. up the hill to the State House. The Boston Common location also has more visibility than any other, and the sessions can sometimes have an audience.

“We have a lot of foot traffic, and we get a lot of reactions. For one, people like us being there, especially at 6 a.m. People feel a little safer,” he said. “And second, people get energized. Whether it’s a cold or a rainy day, people are out there exercising, and onlookers get energized.”
In fact, many of those who sign up do so because they saw a session and got inspired to join. Lavelle says that participants are of all ages and all abilities, but there do tend to be more women then men in the program.

“We don’t gear the program to any one person specifically,” he says. “Everyone can get something out of it.”

And that something is results. According to surveys of past participants, 94 percent say that after completing one session they have more energy and have improved overall tone, and 77 percent say they lost weight. Lavelle says the success comes from the program’s total-body approach.
“We don’t just address any one component of fitness – there are three: cardio, muscle training and nutrition,” he says. “You’re always moving, always sweating. And people actually look forward to the sessions – they do.”

Bootcamp Basics is Feb. 18 – 21 on Boston Common from 6 – 7 a.m.
The six-week Outdoor Winter Bootcamp begins Feb. 25 on Boston Common and is held three times a week from 6 – 7 a.m.
Visit www.ultimatebootcamp.com for more information.

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