Boot camps are still a popular way to burn a lot of calories

In 1998, the American Council on Exercise first included the boot camp-style fitness classes as an emerging fitness trend. Ten years later, there’s been no slowdown in their popularity. Many of the boot camps now bear little resemblance to the military-style calisthenics — flush with push-ups, sit-ups and squat thrusts — that inspired the fitness genre. That may serve to increase their popularity as boot camps never get stale, but it also complicates evaluation of such classes.

To test the fitness benefit involved, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse ran 12 test subjects through a traditional boot camp approach. They chose a program full of exercise they could envision being performed by soldiers in basic training. The researchers found that the participants burned about 9.8 calories per minute, or about 400 calories through the 40-minute class. That compares to 9.6 calories per minute during a spin class, 8.1 for kick-boxing or 6.4 calories per minute for a circuit weight-lifting class.

“The biggest benefit is you’re burning an average of 600 calories per hour,” said Dr. John Porcari, who led the research. “That’s obviously going to help with weight loss, but you’re also getting the muscle-building benefit from push-ups, arm curls and squat thrusts that you wouldn’t just get from going out for a fast walk or jog.”

— Markian Hawryluk