Despite having hundreds of miles of countryside nearby just waiting to be explored, many people in the Burton area still avoid the decision to get off their sofas, get into the great outdoors and get fit.
But two brothers are trying to change this and have embarked on a new entrepreneurial enterprise.
Reporter HELEN KREFT left her warm bed early on a cold winter morning to see what Brothers Boot Camp was all about and how its founders are hoping to bring an American-style fitness training regime to the heart of The National Forest
IT is a Sunday morning in mid-winter, and at a time when the rest of you were probably still tucked up in your cosy beds, I was digging out the trainers and deciding how many pairs of trousers to wear.
The answer was two pairs — but after a few hours of boxercise and push-ups I found this wasn’t necessary.
I went to school with Mikey Dunne and when he told me recently about his very first business venture, Brothers Boot Camp, I volunteered to put myself through the Army-based training regime to see what the fuss was all about.
He said: “The Boot Camps are for absolutely anybody to try.
“What we are trying to do is to give people the kick they need to either start their exercise and healthy lifestyle or as something new to try if they are already into their fitness.
“We will be selling a fun but fitnessfocused package.” After his brother, personal trainer and fitness manager Danny, came up with an idea just three months previously, their first point of contact was Rosliston Forestry Centre, whose management welcomed the idea following a business pitch.
The centre has even provided them with a base — one of the lodges with accommodation, kitchen, bathrooms and living rooms tucked away in the forest.
The brothers are hoping to attract groups of up to 10 people who will take part in a wide range of activities based around fitness and nutrition.
I think I made history by taking part in their very first Boot Camp — more of a trial — and we had just a day to cram in everything they wanted to test.
The real Boot Camps will be held over a weekend and will also include rock climbing, archery, combat laser quest, cycling, map reading and hiking.
Mikey also said that while people had to expect there would be a few rainy days to endure, they hoped to hire a minibus in times of need for a session in the gym.
His partner-in-crime, Danny, has more than 10 years’ experience in the fitness industry, and as a result has built up a large client base — some of whom joined me on that early morning.
He said they were hoping they had found a niche in the market as Boot Camps from America have become increasingly popular — and the idea is now spilling over into the UK.
Mikey told me that as far as he knew, there were similar boot camps in Tamworth but nothing closer to home — despite the area being covered by outdoor centres using The National Forest to their full advantage.
The 25-year-old, a former pupil at Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Sports College in Stapenhilll, is currently a forklift truck driver but has been into keep fit and exercise all his life and will soon be joining the Army. He brings the military element to the camps, but it is Danny who holds the key to the Boot Camp.
In a question and answer session while on a well-needed tea break, Danny said people needed to be exercising between three and five times a week for around 30 minutes at a time — putting paid to my two hour-long Legs, Bums and Tums sessions each week.
He said: “You can always find the time to do exercise. It is all about how often you are doing it.
“Some studies have shown that if you exercise four or five times a week over a four-week period, exercise becomes habitual.”
This is where we threw away our boxing gloves after a hard-hitting session in the forestry grounds, and found a new area to use just our bodies, and each other, to exercise.
Danny said: “Sometimes people say they haven’t got the equipment to exercise and they couldn’t get to the gym so we show how to exercise using each other.”
Using another person to pull you up and then push your arms down is harder than you can ever imagine and to say I ached the next day, and the day after, is an understatement.
But it worked. While I haven’t yet got the muscles of Superman, I do feel like I have the heart of a super hero.
The boys are hoping to attract Boot Campers of all ages, with Mikey saying they were hoping to bring on board younger children.
The reality is it is not just the children that need the help, as one fellow Boot Camper told us that morning that after managing to kick the smoking habit, she is now exercising to lose the weight and give her a healthier heart.
Another volunteer said she had an ongoing nightmare with junk food.
She said that very often people don’t like exercising in public, but noted that boxercise is brilliant as you are sparring with a partner and totally focused on them, rather than remembering that there is anyone around you.
I applaud the boys for doing something extremely productive at a time when many men of their age are regulars at Burton Magistrates’ Court.
They are not only attempting to run a business, but use the Heart of the National Forest for the good of the people, and put some fun back into exercise so we can welcome generations of fit and healthy people.
Included in the package will be the equipment, living quarters and the allimportant food.
The brothers have already announced their very first ‘real’ Boot Camp, which will start on Friday, and another on February 17.
Further information about the programme is available by calling 08432 896471, emailing info@brothers bootcamp.com or by visiting the website www.brothersbootcamp.com
