Full Day Bootcamp with The PT Barn

Yesterday I took part in a bootcamp.  Not just any bootcamp but a full day bootcamp and by full day I mean six hours long. Yeah….that.  A lot of people asked why and the answer is that I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could make it through the day without breaking.

This was put on by Scotty PT from The PT Barn, the same coach/company from the body transformation course I have previously blogged about (I’m on the second course as we speak so there will be another blog post about that in the not too distant future).

The full day event was described as 6 hours of full on bootcamp fun!  I read into this a little more as I was pretty sure that Scotts idea of fun and mine could differ.  We were to expect a wide range of exercises and activities and these would range from individual performances, team fitness challenges and a range of cryptic puzzles to get the most out of your body and mind giving the perfect mix of fun and fitness!  Sounded fun, but I knew how intense the bootcamp sessions can be and so expected six hours worth to be more than just hard, especially given the cold weather and the fact that I had already had a hard hour and a half bootcamp session with Scott the previous day.

We received a wristband with a barcode and it had a number on it – I was 123280.  We were to memorise that number and would be asked throughout the day – this was one example where if you gave a wrong answer you would get a punishment of some sort.  I was last back to the field in a group of five and this saw me doing 50 burpees.  I was asked what Scott’s favourite colour was and I said black because at the time I was thinking like your soul (I hate burpees) and this left me with another 10 burpees.

We had not one but three coaches and the first part of the day was pretty much a three hour beasting!  No one is exempt from this – everyone is treated exactly the same.  There is screaming and shouting from the start from all coaches.  I knew this would be the case in advance and also knew that I would need mental strength to get through and that is weaker than my current fitness levels.  The ploughed fields are relentless, making everything harder work, zapping your energy in the process.

Now my blog posts are about my journey trying to get fit and lose weight and are brutally honest (I’ve got a long way left to go) so I will admit that I go into most events assuming I will be the slowest and least fit so not exactly positive mental attitude but something I am working on!  That being said I was worried that if anything would break me it would be the first half and I am not too proud to admit that it almost did!  I thought on more than one occasion I really shouldn’t be here but there is a massive mix of abilities and it was the support of fellow team mates that really made me dig deep and push on.

The moment when you want to quit, is the moment when you need to keep pushing. 

After changing into dry clothes and getting some much need refuelling around a fire and some hot drinks in us we go to the second half of the day, which was structured around team activities and saw us working together pulling a van out of a field, climbing in and out of trenches, huge tyres, through tables, stretcher carries and much much more.

I almost don’t want to give too much away for those that may be interested in signing up for a future event like this.  And you should. It’s bloody hard work, it’s testing both mentally and physically, you will not like the coaches on more than one occasion in the earlier session I am sure, but then the team work builds you straight back up again and I am grateful to have been on this with so many amazing people.

I feel like I achieved something pretty big by completing this and if I am totally honest it left me a bit emotional both during and after (also slightly broken).  I did it, and to give a taster look how we finished the day off – pulling a monster truck up and down a field!

https://www.facebook.com/www.theptbarn.co.uk/videos/1843842145861495/