Training for health
Women in the 6 a.m. Kalispell Boot Camp class lift weights at the end of their morning workout last week at Legends Stadium. The women are, from right, Stephannee Sprunger, Linda Thomas and Beth Pirrie. Karen Nichols/Daily Inter Lake
Boot camp offers women a safe, fun environment for exercising
They were already sweating when the rising sun peaked over the horizon.
Stretches. Push-ups. An uphill run.
All done by the time that blue sky replaced black over Lawrence Park.
Then came rope exercises, agility drills, lateral exercises and jogs.
Over and over and over.
Finally, the 10 or so women jogged up the steep slope of the huge hill overlooking Lawrence Park, and carefully picked their way back down - two to four times before the hour-long workout was over.
"It's such a good workout. … It beats running on a treadmill," said Amy Hilleboe, 52, of Somers.
Hilleboe attends Kalispell Boot Camp, a women-only fitness program, at Lawrence Park four times week. The course - offered by San Francisco-based Bay Area Boot Camp company - runs the exercise sessions at 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. for an hour each weekday at the park.
Kalispell Boot Camp's concept is to provide an encouraging environment for women to exercise without worrying about how well they perform. Participants range in age from early 20s to late 60s.
"We have a lot of moms who get out here [at 6 a.m.] before their husbands go to work and they have to take care of the kids," said Holly Stevenson, 29, the Kalispell Boot Camp coach.
In 2006, Stevenson - a Bay Area Boot Camp employee - moved to Whitefish because she liked the area, and to started the company's first branch operation. The graduate in kinesiology from Western State College of Colorado also works as a trainer at The Wave in Whitefish.
The hour-long sessions, which Stevenson designs specifically for the boot camp program, vary from day to day.
The exercises are no-frills variations of running, agility drills, push-ups, sit-ups, stretching and strength and toning routines that use different portions of Lawrence Park. Group dynamics come into play as the campers encourage each other and feed on each other's energy.
The sessions are conducted indoors in the winter, with no place yet nailed down for this coming season.
As part of the course, Stevenson meets with each participant before and after each four-week session to get a handle on each individual's goals and limitations.
Current campers' reasons for joining range from training for a marathon to losing weight and gaining muscle tone.
Stevenson hopes to expand to offering 9 a.m. sessions next spring, and she speculated she might even start co-ed evening classes sometime next year.
"It's really rewarding when I see women after the first few weeks to see them glowing, to have energy to play with their kids," she said. "That's positive and rewarding."
The four-week courses cost $175 for three days a week, $225 for four days a week and $275 for five days a week.
Women interested in joining Kalispell Boot Camp can get more information by visiting the Web site at www.kalispellbootcamp.com, or by contacting Stevenson at info@kalispellbootcamp.com or (406) 249-0166.
Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com