British Military Fitness

WHAT KATIE TRIED NEXT
British Military Fitness
Editor Katie Garner teams up with fitness
writer Georgina Spenceley for a one of a kind
bootcamp workout at London’s Hyde Park
W
ith my first bootcamp
experience under my
belt, I thought it was
about time I was put
through my paces by British Military
Fitness (BMF), who’ve been running
bootcamps for 16 years now, across
140 parks nationwide, although
central London based Hyde Park
is still one of their key locations.
Meeting up with fitness writer and
CrossFit expert Georgina Spenceley,
we donned red bibs to indicate we
would be joining the intermediate
group, with beginners grabbing blue
bibs. Green bibs were available for
the advanced session but I don't
think anyone was brave enough!
Since there were so many attendees
we were further divided up, with
our troop of red bibs being led by
Tatiana. All of the instructors for
the BMF are either serving or exserving armed forces, whether this
is the army, navy or the airforce, so
they sure know how to snap out
instructions, with Tatiana informing
us that 'Happiness is relative ladies
and gents' as I performed tricep dips,
balancing my hands on Georgina's
knees behind me as she squatted
against some of the park's railings.
The exercises were incredibly
creative, using both other
participants as well as just what
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was around us. Park benches soon
became platforms for our feet while
we did push-ups in the mud, with
railings acting as a support to tuck
your feet under as we did sets of sit
ups with our team mate performing
a plank behind us before we
swapped places. We were made to
run up natural undulating hills, round
trees and lampposts, the ample
space in Hyde Park ideal for running
between various spots before
tackling some more exercises and
then running somewhere else. Lying
in the grass, Georgina leaped over
me before splatting herself on the
ground for me to jump over. Then we
were forming high push-up positions
so that we could scuttle under each
other using classic leopard crawls.
Naturally burpees made an
appearance, although the teamwork
element was still evident as we
high-fived between reps. Planking
was even made more difficult as
we lay opposite someone else
and alternated shaking hands or
touching their shoulders or ribs.
Lunges involved a partner behind
you, putting additional pressure on
your arms as you raised them above
your head with every dip. The hour
long session was well paced with
alternating styles of exercises so we
were definitely working a fantastic
range of muscles, with the running
in between a great cardio boost. Half
way through the hour long session,
Tatiana unzipped her camoflaged
backpack to dish out water bottles
which we all shared.
The atmosphere was focused, with
each participant working hard to
push themselves, although with
the partner based work, Tatiana
encouraged us to give our team
mates a wink and a smile. The
session was a great way to vary your
workout, get outdoors and have
some fun as well as exercise.