Eternity Fitness Bootcamp featured in China Daily
From China Daily:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-11/14/content_8970999.htm
The two boot camp instructors both looked the part, and so did their students: Steve from California was in camouflage slacks and had a Chinese tattoo knifing down his arm; Gena resembled Russian mafia muscle; everyone else looked nervous and tortured.
Seeing the collective look of fear spread across the group as they sprinted through the shadows and purple neon lights of People's Park into 'burpee' position (an exercise that combines squats and star jumps), Steve took pity on the handful of ex-pats.
"Okay okay, we'll make this the last one," he said, counting up from six. "So how many burpees is it this time?"
"Erm, seven?" ventured 25-year-old Nora Maginn, an energetic English teacher from Minnesota. "It's seven, right?"
"Noooo," said Steve, who you may have seen grinding contestants to dust on the reality TV show Shanghai Rush this summer. "We never stop at seven, do we? Now give me 10."
Boot camp is one of the newest programs to come out of three-year-old Eternity Fitness, a Shanghai-based outfit that also offers Muay Thai kickboxing, Brazilian jujitsu, Jeet Kune Do, Pilates, pre and post-natal yoga classes and more at its headquarters near Jingan Temple.
But its boot camp program is nothing short of EPOC-making.
"It's basically for people who don't like going to the gym and who enjoy the group aspect," said Steve, who, like all of Eternity Fitness's instructors, has at least five years of teaching experience.
"It's all about the after-effects," he added. "The purpose is for me to put you out of breath, to accelerate your metabolism by high-interval training."
This is where the science gets a little more complicated.
"Basically we are not trying to just burn off fat and calories in one hour. We push you past the usual limit of anaerobic exercise by another 30 to 40 percent to get into what is known as EPOC, or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. This means that you continue to burn off calories the next day.
"Let's say for example you burn off 600-800 calories during a regular fitness workout. You'll burn less with us, but the next day you'll lose another 1,000 to 1,200, so you get a double whammy."
Think of it as analogous to putting your salary in a high-interest savings account and watching it grow while you kick back and watch.
Eternity has several camp locations across Shanghai, from Xujiahui to Pudong, with most operating one-hour early bird (6:30 am - 7.30 am) and evening classes (7:15 pm - 8:15 pm). The only drawback is the cost, which at 1,576 yuan per 12 sessions puts it out of range for some people. Then again, you get what you pay for.
"You're paying for professionals," said Steve. "These aren't your average weightlifting assistants at your local health club. Each instructor is more or less an expert in his field."
The boot camp idea caught on so quickly that it has already spawned imitators. One Chinese man saw them at a trade show (Eternity also does events and demos), took the program's name "Boot Camp Shanghai" and reversed it to "Shanghai Boot Camp". He then set himself up as a rival.
"He actually registered both names," said Steve. "He even copied the words from our website and uploaded them onto his, but forgot to take out the words 'Eternity Fitness'".
While the instructors are personable and not brainwashed by movies like Full Metal Jacket - nobody is going to ask you if you are eyeballing them, son - the classes are no walk in the park.
One man shed 9.5 pounds in five weeks during a 10-week competition the company recently shot for television, and a reporter who pitched up last year vomited within five minutes. This one had to call a time-out after 40 minutes or his dinner was heading the same way.
Matt Hodges
(China Daily 11/14/2009)
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