Glamour

Glamour, a.k.a. Amy Glahn is the face of Boot Camp. She has appeared in almost all of our marketing for the last decade. We are blessed to have the most gorgeous fitness group in Atlanta. While all of our ladies represent Boot Camp with beauty and style, the camera is always super kind to Glams before, during and after the workout.

Glamour is the rare combination of runway model and elite athlete. While she takes pride in her appearance, she finds joy in the workout. She loves running and exercise. The benefits are nice, but the process is way more important to her. She hammers around town and is super strict with all of the exercise. Her discipline has given her the opportunity to race and win. As the years go by, she continues to get faster and set new personal records. She has even won money in a few foot races.

Glamour is one of 3 elite athletes in her home. Husband Brian can do just about anything with any kind of ball and is a perennial Champion Coaching Youth Sports. Caroline & Dad won Top Hat tournaments for years. Caroline has been recently crowned a State Champion as a freshman playing volleyball with Westminster. William and Dad led the Buckhead Baseball All Starts this summer deep into the Sate tournament with an impressive record. Glamour loves youth sports, is a great example to her children and takes pride in her family's accomplishments.

The most amazing thing about Glamour isn't her good looks or her athletic prowess. Amy is a genuinely nice person. She cares about people. We have been very fortunate to spend the last decade working out with this nice lady!

From the Mouths of Babes

Evan - "Dad, we are have-dones"

Boot Camp has nothing. No address, no walls, no ceiling, no floor. We barely have equipment. All we have is our experience together. For over a decade, we have developed and perfected an exercise routine that maximizes fitness while allowing folks to talk and enjoy each others company. Out of this simple daily routine, we age gracefully together while nurturing friendships.

Julia - "I like the action"

Home is where the heart is

For hundreds of years, platoon style Boot Camp basic training has worked out groups of people to elite level fitness. The combination of running and exercise allow folks to run to recover from exercise, then exercise to recover from running. Switching from running to exercise then back to running breaks up the workout. The workout becomes more interesting and more manageable.

Our heart rate during running typically averages 160 beats per minute. Our heart rate during exercise averages 120 beats per minute. Our average resting heart rate is 60 beats per minute. During Boot Camp, exercise after running is also called "active recovery." This is a time when we give our legs a rest but our hearts keep beating at an elevated rate. Keeping our heart rates up during exercise is key to developing overall fitness and burning fat. After 35 minutes of elevated heart rate, the body switches from burning sugar to burning fat. The final 25 minutes of Boot Camp are the fat burning minutes.

An elevated heart rate lifts our spirits as well. When we are scared or mad, our hearts race. When we are attracted to someone or something, our hearts race. We may say, "he/she takes my breath away." While exercise is a significantly less desirable stimulus, the effect is the same. During exercise our hearts race and we may feel good or even euphoric. This feeling is often shared with the folks in the workout. Our hearts race, our spirits our lifted and we share the experience.

Many of us have shared this experience with each other for a very long time. Others are newly enjoying the experience. The fellowship we have created in fitness is not for the faint of heart. We live and move at a rate that's elevated. We call it "Elite."

We live in the workout and visit the world the other 23 hours a day. We are grounded in the daily discipline. The other 23 hours can be quite variable, but the workout is a home we have come to depend on. It is the home where the heart is.

Mutual Responsibility

We only have a moment. For the NON- fitness types who live to seek comfort, pleasure, entertainment and intellectual significance, life may sound like this:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And to all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Shakespeare didn't do Boot Camp. See, every tomorrow is another opportunity. We do not set a petty pace from day to day. We are not a walking shadow or a poor player. We may strut and fret to break the monotony of the daily discipline. But a tale told by and for another is not a tale Told by an idiot, signifying nothing.

Another Englishman from another script said it like this:

"We've always been proud of our athletic prowess. We believe, we've always believed, that our games are indispensable in helping to complete the education of an Englishman. They create character,  they foster courage, honesty and leadership. But most of all, an unassailable spirit of loyalty, comradeship, and mutual responsibility."

The Oregon Project

Bill Squires started a training group in Boston almost 50 years ago. Many of the worlds greatest marathoners emerged from The Greater Boston Track Club. Kirk Pfrange trained and raced with these world class athletes. At that time, he met 15 year old Alberto Salazar. He invited Alberto to the GBTC workouts and a another brilliant running career began.

Kirk moved to Atlanta and started an elite youth club called the Athlete's Foot Juniors. County, Region, State & National champions emerged from this group.

Years later, Alberto started The Oregon Project. Saturday and Sunday the Oregon Project Athletes won two Golds and a Bronze in the Olympics.

These groups have remained in contact through the decades. Kirk calls me weekly and still talks to Squires and Alberto.

Much of the training methods we use come straight from the top. The Oregon Project figured out long ago that an American can not out run an East African. But an American can out work an East African and win with superior fitness. Many of the training methods used by the Oregon Project are done daily at Boot Camp. Superior Fitness combined with precise running  produces speed with endurance.

JOY FOUND IN EFFORT

OLYMPISM IS A PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE, EXALTING AND COMBINING IN A BALANCED WHOLE THE QUALITIES OF BODY, WILL AND MIND. BLENDING SPORT WITH CULTURE AND EDUCATION, OLYMPISM SEEKS TO CREATE A WAY OF LIFE BASED ON THE JOY FOUND IN EFFORT, THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF GOOD EXAMPLE AND RESPECT FOR UNIVERSAL FUNDAMENTAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES.

The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

Together, Peachtree Road Boot Camp shares the Joy found in effort every week day and We share our passion without discrimination but with a spirit of friendship once a year through the MLK Day 5K Drum Run.

Sweet Caroline

Nolens

Atlanta has the most beautiful women in the world. N.Y., L.A. & Dallas do well but Hot 'Lanta is home to the finest. Atlanta's beauties are not so on looks alone. There is a style and a subtle air of royalty that's modest and inclusive. There is a way about Atlanta Women that bring out the best in everyone around them. Southern charm combines grace and dignity with the strength and fortitude that demand respect.

Sweet Caroline is an Atlanta girl. She embodies the essence of Southern Charm. Like all of the ladies we have the privilege to work out with, Caroline makes laying face down on asphalt classy. 

Caroline has always been known as a pretty lady. Over the last decade, she submitted herself to the demands of Peachtree Road Boot Camp. She started Boot Camp when she turned 30 years old (+10). She has a big birthday coming up this year. 

Caroline is skinny ripped. Skinny Ripped is the prototype for an elite middle distance runner. It is a very popular body shape and wears well with most clothes. Caroline has tried foot racing but, that is not her thing. She is comfortable in her own skin and doesn't feel compelled to beat anyone. We know she can fly. This past New Years Eve she out ran the young Track Star John Owens in violent lightning storm that frightened her. She is Elite.

Caroline is a heavy hitter in the Atlanta Business Community. She is very busy with her husband Nelson, her family, friends and doing volunteer work. Despite high demands on her time and activities, she makes the workouts. No excuses.

Everyone in boot camp will agree what a pleasure it is to spend our mornings in her company. Sweet Caroline, good times never seemed so good.

Kwithee

Kristin a.k.a. Kwithee is the blonde baby of the Princess Boot Camp Core Four. The Core Four are the beautiful ladies pictured above with the creepy old guy. These young sweethearts came together in Boot Camp and have stayed together over the years. They spend at least one hour a day together and often more. They Love each other dearly and are together growing younger through the years gracefully.

Kwithee is the unofficial social chairwoman of Princess Boot Camp (PBC). She likes to dress up, dance and can entertain hundreds at a time. If laughter is the best medicine, Kwith is one of the best self medicated people we know. She has an infectious smile and even more so laugh. I often say "when I come back in the next life, I want to be Kwithee." She is very grateful for a charmed life and has fun.

Kwithee has been hammering on the streets of Buckhead for 10 straight years in Boot Camp. Anyone that works out with her knows, she can go. Kwith has raced often with us over the years but spends more time now on the tennis courts. Boot Camp fitness serves her well in tennis. Boot Camp fitness also gives her the energy and stamina to be able to raise 3 active boys.

Kwithee has been in Boot Camp for a quarter of her life. I would bet that of all the benefits daily exercise offers, the friendships she has made are the most important to her.

Inspire one another

Runner philosophers are a dime a dozen. Any fitness instructor with a blog can play himself off as a seer. Running writers get attention because people want to be inspired. Running is a universal sport we can all share. Running has great rewards and most anyone can do it.

Every year, racing heats up with the temperature. This is an Olympic year in Rio in August. That's Hot! So the philosophical question is why. Why do we race?

This months Runners World quotes German philosopher George Hegel: "one characteristic that makes mankind unique is our ability to overcome our desire for self-preservation and fight to the death over nothing more than a symbolic idea." In the Owens family, it is fear. We say "we are more afraid of losing than we are afraid of dying." Pre says "somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it." While ego, self satisfaction and self accomplishment can produce results, there is more.

It is true that everyone loves a winner and to the victor goes the spoils. But, to run truly inspired, to run outside of our capabilities and over our heads, it requires motivation toward something other than ourselves. While we may pay a high price for personal glory, we will kill ourselves for someone else.

Eric Liddel quotes "He who honors Me, I will honor." He also says "where does The Power come from? It comes from within."

Every runner inspires. Every runner expires. While we do not all win races or die trying, the root meanings of inspire/expire are breath-in/breath-out. Our breath is the fuel that fires the engine. The lungs pull it in, the heart pumps it to the muscles and the muscles fire. The maximum volume of oxygen we can inspire (VO2 max) determines how quickly we can run. The people running on our right and left shoulders inspire with us at our similar volume of oxygen use. We breath together. We inspire each other. This inspiration connects us at a higher level than other mundane non-running material world experiences.

 Spirit originates from Latin meaning "breath." An inspired runner may have a spirited race. The inspiration that lifts our spirits transcends the physical act of running. It binds our true selves to those we race. The closer we get to death racing, the greater the bind. Racing does that. It lifts our spirits and allows us to relate and connect soulfully.

Kathleen

Kathleen arrived on Monday of the second week in May 10 years ago. We have spent most weekday mornings together ever since.

There should be a picture of Kathleen next to the word Balance in the dictionary. While Boot Camp has been her base fitness training, she also enjoys yoga, Pilates, step aerobics/body pump classes, walking/hiking, distance running & other fun activities.

Kathleen is not fanatical about her diet but she eats healthy, drinks green tea, likes to juice and find creative ways to enjoy vegetables. She has more recently reduced gluten & has always been very careful about drinking enough water. She  may have Atlanta's top pastry chef living in her house so nutritional discipline may become more difficult in the future.

Kathleen is fanatical about covering up. She wears long pants and long sleeves as long as she can stand the heat. She covers herself in sun block and often wears a hat and sun glasses.

In the last decade, Kathleen has become very close to her fitness family. While she works hard in the workout, she also enjoys the fellowship.

We often write and talk about the benefits of daily exercise in a group. We like to point out the mental, physical and emotional benefits of outdoor group training. Kathleen is living proof. Her lifestyle choices have made her younger over the years.

Every summer when she leaves, I miss her. We all enjoy our life with Kathleen!

The Queen Mother

Ten Years. A decade. It seems like yesterday the Great Harriott Kelly was breaking school records at Lovett HS and winning State Championships. One day 10 years ago, The Queen Mother Harriott, Mother of the Great Harriott, received a Boot Camp flyer illegally placed in her mailbox (now Woody's mailbox). Motivated by her Track Star poster child, she decided to give it a try. She never left. She still leads all participants in All-Time Boot Camp participation.

We have always welcomed Boot Camp participants to bring their children as our guest. We want the kids to come and go by their own choice without any pressure. All three of Harriott's beautiful girls have worked out with us. The Great Harriott, Daughter of The Queen Mother Harriott gave us a thrill this year by narrowly missing the Olympic Trials in a gutsy Marathon. Virginia, who now lives in NY with The Great Harriott, has worked out with us more than the other two sisters. Virginia grew up in the workout. She now lives an active lifestyle running and working out and is saving America through nutrition. Y'all listen to Virginia. Sarah ran the Copper River Bridge Run this year. Her Track Star days are just beginning to bloom. In fact, there is another Owens who holds another Boot Camp in Charleston waiting for Sarah Kelly to arrive.

Harriott has been great friend. Thank you for every day we have spent together. I love You.

The Pretty, Smart People

Why is our group smarter and prettier than other exercise groups? 

We believe that our style of exercise produces the very attractive and popular Middle Distance Runner/ Runway Model physique. But, there is more to it.

PRETTIER

Dr Emma Wedgeworth, consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesperson, tells us that it's scientific fact that as well as being good for general health, running can also help our skin.

"When we exercise," she explains, "we boost circulation to our skin, increasing oxygen and nutrient delivery, which gives us that immediate post-exercise glow. Enhanced skin blood flow can also help skin cells regenerate and remove toxins more efficiently. All of these changes can help regulate comedogenesis, the pore blockage which is the first stage in acne."

In addition, running - as with all exercise in general - is known to reduce our natural stress hormone cortisol, "which can be pro-inflammatory and make a number of skin conditions worse, including chronic skin conditions such as eczema," Dr Wedgeworth says. Stress is also one of the major triggers for scratching, which is known to make eczema worse. "So managing stress by regular exercise may prevent skin damage from that."

SMARTER:

About three decades of research in neuroscience have identified a robust link between aerobic exercise and subsequent cognitive clarity, and to many in this field the most exciting recent finding in this area is that of neurogenesis. Not so many years ago, the brightest minds in neuroscience thought that our brains got a set amount of neurons, and that by adulthood, no new neurons would be birthed. But this turned out not to be true. Studies in animal models have shown that new neurons are produced in the brain throughout the lifespan, and, so far, only one activity is known to trigger the birth of those new neurons: vigorous aerobic exercise, said Karen Postal, president of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology. “That’s it,” she said. “That’s the only trigger that we know about.”

The other fascinating thing here is where these new cells pop up: in the hippocampus, a region of the brain associated with learning and memory. So this could help explain, at least partially, why so many studies have identified a link between aerobic exercise and improvement in memory. “If you are exercising so that you sweat — about 30 to 40 minutes — new brain cells are being born,” added Postal, who herself is a runner. “And it just happens to be in that memory area.”

Other post-run changes have been recorded in the brain’s frontal lobe, with increased activity seen in this region after people adopt a long-term habit of physical activity. This area of the brain — sometimes called the frontal executive network system — is located, obviously enough, at the very front: It’s right behind your forehead. After about 30 to 40 minutes of a vigorous aerobic workout – enough to make you sweat – studies have recorded increased blood flow to this region, which, incidentally, is associated with many of the attributes we associate with “clear thinking”: planning ahead, focus and concentration, goal-setting, time management.

Getting Higher

Boot Camp Participation is HIGHER. The Basic Training Repetition count is HIGHER. The Paces are HIGHER. The Mileage is HIGHER. Total Fitness is HIGHER!!

The Science behind Elite Group Fitness Training

As kids, we loved to get together to play with our friends. As teenagers, our world revolved around our friends; oftentimes, our friends dictated our choice of activities. As adults, we still enjoy being active with friends, but don’t always feel like we have the time or opportunities to do so. Group exercise provides us with an opportunity to feel young again and be physically active with others.

Endorphins are produced by virtually any vigorous physical activity, but group work appears to enhance the effect dramatically - and there's plenty of evidence that exercise classes meet that description. In a series of studies stretching back more than a decade, University of Saskatchewan professor Kevin Spink has found those who feel a greater sense of "groupness" and cohesion within an exercise class are more punctual, have better attendance and even work harder.

Studies have established why, physiologically, exercising outside improve dispositions or inspire greater commitment to an exercise program. A few small studies have found that people have lower blood levels of cortisol, a hormone related to stress, after exerting themselves outside as compared with inside.

Endorphins get all the attention, but your body also pumps out endocannabinoids, which are a naturally synthesized version of THC, the chemical responsible for the buzz that marijuana produces. The most examined endocannabinoid produced in the body, anandamide, is believed to create a feeling of calmness. Endorphins can be created only by specialized neurons, but pretty much any cell in the body is capable of making endocannabinoids, which means they have the potential to make a bigger impact on your brain. Endocannabinoid production is believed to react more strongly in response to stress as opposed to pain (the stronger endorphin activator). Differentiating between physical stress and discomfort during a run is nearly impossible. Which means the same mechanism that triggers endorphins can also trigger endocannabinoids: a challenging (not killer) workout, running at 70 to 85 percent is optimal in spiking the primary stress hormone cortisol, and producing endocannabinoids.

Serotonin and dopamine are chemicals produced in the brain -- neurotransmitters -- that improve mood and protect against mental health disorders. Serotonin, which is produced by long-term cardio exercise, decreases depression and hostility, and improves agreeable social behavior. Dopamine improves your mood and long-term memory. It stimulates highly pleasurable feelings in the brain and could contribute to what is called "runners high.”

Choices

hugs not drugs
meditation not medication
the Wagon instead of the Train
Flying with Eagles rather than hooting with Owls
flow rather than fight
deal with pain rather than seek simple pleasure
keep it simple
Show up
His will not mine

Herschel

Herschel is arguably the greatest athlete of our lifetime. ESPNU says he is the greatest college running back of all time. Occasionally, you may meet former football players in Atlanta that played with or against Herschel. Football players not normally known for their humility pay him the highest respect, sometime without words but just a blank look on their face much like they may have had just before being run over attempting an open field tackle of #34.

Herschel was on his morning run in December of 1982 after being named the Heisman trophy winner. He came upon a flipped car with a lady trapped inside. Bystanders were struggling to free her. Herschel ripped the door off the car and freed the lady. Already a football hero, Herschel became a Superhero.

So how does he do it?

Herschel has spent most of his life running and doing pushups and situps. His basic training is exactly the same as ours.

Boot Camp runs a minimum of 3 miles a day and performs 600 or more basic training repetitions. In the average work week, we do 3,500 reps and run 18 miles.

Herschel does 3,500 reps every day.

Herschel eats one meal per day, which is completely vegetarian, little to no protein, and says that if he is not hungry, he can go three or four days without eating, all while he's still doing kickboxing, wrestling or whatever athletic hobby strikes him. He has never tasted an alcoholic beverage.

While there will only ever be one Herschel, our minimum of 3 & 600 only scratches the surface of what someone can handle in a day.

Fitness is the Ultimate Status Symbol

"A fit physique is the ultimate status symbol. No money can buy it, you cannot inherit it, you cannot borrow it. You cannot hold onto it without constant work. It shows patience, passion, and discipline. It is true wealth."

“It’s become very much a brand in itself, the kind of sport and exercise you do. People are proud of it. They’re not just going to Bootcamp, they’re wearing the T-shirts.”

Even though it is not fully ok to brag with money, cars and handbags, you can still show your awareness, level of education and discipline by your body, workout and food choices.

Power People

We have always attracted the nicest folks. Participants that come and stay adopt the workout as their fitness discipline but also the people they meet in the workout as their fitness family.

Together we strengthen our minds, bodies and spirits. We live in the workout and visit the world for the 23 hours between meetings.

Mind

• Running stimulates the creation of new nerve cells and blood vessels within the brain, an organ that tends to shrink as a person ages
• researchers found the athletes' brains showed greater metabolic efficiency and neural plasticity.
• runners have a better ability to focus, to juggle multiple tasks, and to make distinctions. 
• Researchers believe these larger glycogen stores in the brain may be one of the reasons running boosts cognitive function. 
• Exercise promotes the release of the feel-good chemicals called endorphins. Additionally, like many antidepressant medications, running helps your brain hold on to mood-boosting neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine

Body

• Runners who log a weekly run of 10 miles (or more) are 39 percent less likely to use high-blood-pressure meds and 34 percent less likely to need cholesterol meds compared with those who don't go farther than three miles. 
• Men who burn at least 3,000 calories per week (equal to about five hours of running) are 83 percent less likely to have severe erectile dysfunction. 
• Running strengthens bones better than other aerobic activities, say University of Missouri researchers who compared the bone density of runners and cyclists. Sixty-three percent of the cyclists (Spin Class) had low density in their spine or hips; only 19 percent of runners did. 
• Insomniacs fell asleep in 17 minutes on days they ran, compared to 38 minutes on days they didn't. They also slept for an extra hour on days they exercised. 
• A review of 22 studies found that people who work out 2.5 hours a week are 19 percent less likely to die prematurely than those who don't exercise

Spirit

• the high intensity group felt less afraid of the physical symptoms of anxiety 
• those who exercised were “less anxious, less depressed, less neurotic, and also more socially outgoing. 
• those who exercised two to three times a week “experience significantly less depression, anger, stress, and ‘cynical distrust.'”

Faster, Higher, Stronger

Citius, Altius, Fortius

"These three words represent a program of moral beauty. The aesthetics of sport are intangible.
"The most important thing is not to win but to take part!"


BTW:
The most widely accepted inception date for the Ancient Olympics is 776 BC; this is based on inscriptions, found at Olympia, listing the winners of a footrace held every four years starting in 776 BC.

Our morning discipline is older than the New Testament.

Fat Tuesday

Boot Camp is an exercise version of a Mardi Gras party. We parade all over town and fall into peoples yards. Of course, we move a little quicker and when we are laid out in our neighbors yard, it is for exercise and not drunkenness.

Often, shirts come off! Unfortunately, it is always over heated dudes bearing their chest.

Speaking of FAT Tuesday, The Competitive Runner's Handbook sourcing the National Institute of Health has published a body weight index. Accordingly, a "normal" 72 inch runner weighs 140-177 lbs. An "overweight" runner is between 184 and 213. Over 213 is "obese."

Our experience suggest that the ideal race weight for a 72 inch runner is 149 pounds. The ideal race weight for a 5'4" runner is 122.

While Boot Camp is fun, fast and fit, it takes more than a daily exercise routine to achieve ideal race weight. It also takes nutritional discipline.