by Maggie Fazeli Fard
Published in Community Life
An unwavering condition that plagued me throughout my childhood was the fact that I could not run. My father to this day pulls out a photograph of me at the age of 7, “running” a relay race at school, arms and legs flailing wildly and inappropriately at my sides. I failed the one-mile run portion of the annual physical fitness test so many times in grade school that I had given up trying altogether by high school, opting to walk the mile around the track and failing “on purpose” instead. I told myself that this was OK; that I didn’t want to go back to class sweaty and that hey, there were kids who tried to run and didn’t even finish the test before me. But deep down inside, I wished that I would wake up one morning with the strength and speed of a marathon runner.
Of course, high school is seven years behind me and as I saunter sleepily around the track at Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale at 5:30 a.m., I’m not thinking about any of this. Watching the sun rise and light up the clouds in a bronze halo, I’m not thinking about much of anything. Instead, I’ve got cupcakes on the brain.
Staff Photo By Roy Caratozzolo Valley Adventure Boot Camp instructor Erik Martin, left, cheers for Laurie Rabin, exhausted after holding “plank” position for 6 minutes and 30 seconds.
As if sensing that I’m thinking one of the “forbidden” words – which also include expletives, doughnuts, and even the word “try” – Erik Martin gives the green light, and his trainer-in-training cuts into my reverie.
“Start jogging,” Sandra calls out, her accented, sing-songy voice setting fires under the feet of me and 50 other possibly masochistic women.
I can do this, I think as I pick up my speed, keeping my arms tucked in close.
“You’re going to be soooore,” says Martin, smiling wickedly as I pass.
I want cupcakes.
Denial
Erik Martin is an imposing figure. Standing at 6’4”, usually with his arms crossed across his chest, and clad in camouflage shorts and a tee shirt with “No Excuses” emblazoned across the back, he looks tough. As well he should, considering that he pulls dozens of overworked women out of bed before dawn, five days a week for four weeks, just to make them (shudder) exercise.
A former River Vale Police Officer, stunt man and personal trainer, Martin leads Valley Adventure Boot Camp, one of more than 160 branches worldwide of the Adventure Boot Camp fitness and sports conditioning program.
The Adventure Boot Camp brand was created about eight years ago by California-based Dr. John Spencer Ellis, and while Ellis’ methodology – offering a safe, friendly, motivating environment to provide fad-free fitness for all fitness levels – has spread, Martin only formed a Pascack Valley branch last year.
“I always wanted to do group fitness for women,” says Martin. “Most people join a gym and they don’t know what to do, and then they wonder why they’re not reaching their goals. This gives them an hour of somebody telling them what to do, how to do it, and then they go home.”
Despite its fearsome name and structured nature, Martin says women shouldn’t be scared to give it a try.
“When people see ‘boot camp,’ they think, ‘I can’t do that. I’m scared.’ They think they have to get in shape to do boot camp. They’re wrong. Athletic, obese, everyone’s getting a good workout. Everybody pushes themselves. We have two ladies who are 61 years old; one of them, this is her second camp. We don’t yell. We don’t scream at people. We lift people up. If you like to be yelled at, this isn’t your type of camp.”
Maybe he’s not so tough after all…
Anger
“Twenty push-ups!” Women are running late and Martin, face stern and arms crossed, doles out the punishment.
“We don’t yell or scream, but we want accountability,” Martin explains. The women who curse under their breaths have to do 40 pushups.
Things aren’t much easier for those of us who were on time. I look around to see a field-full of women. We range in age, size and fitness level. There’s Carolyn, 61 years old and perpetually upbeat; Leslie, a new mother who signed up for boot camp to get back her pre-baby body; and Lorraine, a larger woman that the rest of the group would soon vote for as the most inspirational participant. Some women work, some have kids, and others have grandkids. And we all have one thing in common: we’re tired.
Today, we’re running around the football field in what is supposed to be a warm-up, but I’m sweating already. My feet hurt, my legs are sore, my abs are still twitching from the day before, my shoulders ache, and – just to complete the head-to-toe mess – I’m pretty sure my scalp is sunburned. And as if things couldn’t get any worse, Sandra is setting up an obstacle course.
I’m mad, and I’m not the only one.
Sandra leads us through the rest of the warm-up, which includes jumping jacks, high kicks and oh-so-hateful squat thrusts, before assigning us to certain stations in the obstacle course. She misspeaks, or we mishear, the instructions, and within seconds, Martin’s got a mutiny on his hands. A boot camper looks ready to charge at Sandra…
But she doesn’t. Like I said, we’re tired. I look at Danielle, the only other person at my station, and we both shrug.
All I know is I am achey. And sleepy. And angry. So angry that I am sure the sweet little deer munching leaves in the distance is mocking me. “Mmm, tastes just like cupcakes,” I imagine him coyly telling me.
Listening to the other boot campers, I sense that I am not alone in my delirium, brought on by a combination of not enough sleep and too much sweat getting in my eyes. Or something like that.
“When I wake up, I hate it,” says Anthi, a boot camp participant who has completed two four-week sessions. “When I get here, I hate it. When I’m running, I hate it. But after that… it’s addictive. I couldn’t do anything when I first started, and somehow I did it. You just feel so much stronger.”
I look at the deer; he senses my disdain and stops eating. The deer scampers off, and we, too, are running again.
Acceptance
As with any loss, after the denial and anger comes bargaining – pleas of “Erik, if I do extra tricep dips can I skip guerilla cardio?” – and depression – sobs of “If I do one more tricep dip, I’ll just die!” But the important thing to remember is that, in the end, there is a loss.
Sure, some women may lose a bit of their sanity, but that comes back after a full night’s rest. The major losses, however, occur in doctor’s offices and fitting rooms as cholesterol levels drop, blood sugar stabilizes and getting into a tank top or a bathing suit seems a little less scary.
Martin has thus far offered a camp at Pascack Valley High School, and on July 14 will launch a second location at the Paramus Park Mall. While he only offers camps for women at the moment, he hopes to expand his program to include men’s and children’s camps in the future. Additionally, Martin, a father of two, wants to team up with local school and municipal officials to launch a community wellness initiative.
Personally, I didn’t lose any weight. In fact, I gained .2 lbs. in the two-and-a-half weeks I participated in the program. But I did lose a total of 6.5 inches across my body, including 2.5 inches from my waist.
I also cut 1 minute and 47 seconds off my mile, meaning I completed a one-mile run in less than 10 minutes for the first time in my entire life.
But, as Martin says, Valley Adventure Boot Camp is not just about the losses.
“I don’t want anybody to fail at anything. It’s not about being a good runner or a good jump roper. It’s about moving,” he says.
“Someone e-mailed me yesterday,” Martin continues, beaming as he relays the story. “She said, ‘I just want you to know, I just put on a skirt I couldn’t get close to buttoning and now it’s too big on me.’ I don’t want anybody feeling worse than when they came in. I want to make them feel like they accomplished something.”
Tagged: Community Life, feature, first person, food, health, new jersey, pascack valley