By Melissa Leavitt

Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier

Exercise regimen produces fitness and camaraderie

Every five weeks, Time Out Services enlists a new group of brave individuals in Boot Camp on the Foothill College campus. The instructors keep recruits on their toes by drilling them through a series of runs, jumps, hurdles and weight-training, usually in the early-morning hours. And they keep coming back for more.

“Some people do boot camp just for a start-up,” said Michelle Melendez, a Boot Camp instructor. “But then, I also have a lot of veterans who keep signing up.”

The five-week sessions require Boot Camp participants to follow an hour-long exercise regimen five days a week. At the end of the session, Boot Campers take home a T-shirt. They also take home a rejuvenated sense of health and fitness, according to the campers themselves.

Every session has a mix of first-timers and old pros. And while Melendez admitted that it can sometimes be a “challenge” making certain that everyone works at their own pace, she stressed that is the very strength of the program.

“Some of the things we do are hard,” she said. “But you just do what you can do, and that’s fine.”

Boot Camp “class” sizes range from as few as 15 people to as many as 100. For every 25 campers, one instructor is added.

A Boot Camp work-out can include calisthenics, running, push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups. Instructors vary the workout everyday.

“You won’t get the same workout twice,” Melendez said.

The participants vary just as much as the exercise program, in terms of age and fitness level.

Rita Graziano, in her second week of boot camp, said that before starting, she was afraid she wouldn’t be as fit as everyone else.

“I asked a lot of questions, because I was afraid everyone would be a lot better than me,” she said. “But the instructors always say, ‘do what you can do, you can go at your own speed.’”

Joan and Ron Byrne gave a session of Boot Camp to each other for their 40th wedding anniversary eight months ago, and have been coming ever since.

“For me it was really tough. I didn’t think I could handle it,” Joan said. “But the instructors are so encouraging.”

Most people start Boot Camp with a renewed determination to “get in shape.”

George Manthey, former principal at Bullis-Purissima School in Los Altos Hills, decided to give Boot Camp a try after recovering from surgery.

“Right when I had surgery I realized I was in such lousy shape, and I didn’t want that to happen to me again,” he said. “This is great. You can do things at your own pace, and you’re encouraged without being discouraged.”

Linda McGee, in the second week of her second session, plans to complete one session annually.

“I do it once a year just to see that I can do it,” she said. “I first did it because I wanted to rev up my exercise program.”

The camaraderie among campers is what keeps people coming back, according to Melendez.

“I’ve had a lot of people go to Boot Camp once, then come back and say they tried to do it on their own, but can’t,” Melendez said. “It’s all motivation. Exercise is a lot easier when you do it with people you know.”

Time 0ut Services, based in Cupertino, offers Boot Camp at several locations throughout the Peninsula. Boot Camp sessions start at $200 for new participants. For more information, call Time Out Services at 1 (800) 926-6552, or visit the company’s Web site at www.timeoutservices.com.