This article was written by guest writer Maria Neathery.
Kayla Jones is a senior social work major from West Lafayette, Indiana.
Q: What inspired you to start Basic Body Bootcamp?
A: I’ve always really been into health and fitness. It’s been like a side passion of mine and I started a health/fitness blog at the beginning of the semester. I love doing the blog alongside working out for myself. People know I do love all these fitness things and they started asking me tips in the gym and about what I do to be fit. After this kept going and with fitness being my passion, I thought that I could create a bootcamp.
Q: What motivated you to start your own personal fitness journey?
A: I have always been into fitness, but I never had to take the steps to motivate and make workouts myself until college. What’s most important that I have found for me is to have strong mental health. Being physically fit is one thing, but being mentally fit is another. I struggled with finding a balance between feeling guilty if I ate something not the healthiest or skipping a workout. It definitely took awhile for me to find the balance of the rights and wrongs of health.
Q: When did you start the bootcamp?
A: I started it in the middle of last semester at the KWC field house once a week. I just started to create routines, partner work and stations as a part of the bootcamp. At first, only six people came and then it gradually started growing and people became interested in joining the bootcamp. Eventually someone encouraged me that I should bring my bootcamp idea to the university. From there, they employed me and I do this bootcamp twice a week now as a part of the university.
Q: How do you come up with the workout routines for each bootcamp?
A: I create the workouts/routines myself. I haven’t repeated any routines from past bootcamps at all because I just have made new ones for each class thus far. I try to make the workouts fit to everyone’s fitness goals since there are a wide range of objectives and desires in health and fitness. I do the workouts the day before the bootcamp to see how hard or easy the workout is before I let people do it. If it’s too tough or too easy, I come up with modifying options to make it either more challenging or easier for people to do. It’s all about finding what’s right for you.
Q: How much have you seen your body bootcamp grow?
A: Since back in October, when I started the program, I have seen it grow from only having six people attend to having the largest amount at 26 people. But it ranges every class and week how many people come. It helps having it twice a week because then people have more options to come to the bootcamp. Generally, I have on average about 15-22 people attend each class.
Q: What makes your bootcamp different from other workout plans?
A: Basic Body Bootcamp is something I developed on my own and I continue to create new and challenging workouts. It is unique because it varies constantly, can be tailored to any fitness level, focuses on the entire body and strives to have a fun atmosphere while pushing participants to go outside of their comfort zone. It allows a place for people to come twice a week to not only get in a sweaty workout, but also learn, improve and encourage a healthy lifestyle.
Q: Have people seen results from your bootcamp?
A: Yes! I have seen for myself, as well as received participant feedback, about improvement in form, strength and endurance. I have also talked to some individuals about having an increase in confidence in the gym and their knowledge about fitness.
Kayla’s At-Home Workout
Workouts can be done anywhere, with little-to-no equipment! Below is a full body workout with exercises that can all be modified to be easier or more difficult based on an individual’s fitness level.
10 exercises; 45 seconds of exercise with 15 seconds rest in between each exercise.
3 rounds total with a 2-minute rest in between each round.
– High Knees
– Squats
– Push Ups
– Russian Twists
– Burpees
– Side Skaters
– Inch Worms
– Planks
– Jumping Lunges
– Mountain Climbers