Boot camp pushes Fittest Losers to the limit

Apparently, the Fittest Losers from years past simply weren't getting all the pleasure they could out of three months of hard-core fitness workouts with their trainers.

So for the 2011 Fittest Loser competition, Josh Steckler and Mark Trapp, owners of Push Fitness, which is co-sponsoring the contest with the Daily Herald, decided they would send the contestants to boot camp.

The competition involves five Daily Herald readers who have volunteered to compete in a weight-loss contest over a three-month period. They get three months of individual trainer workouts at Push, a new diet and the opportunity to lose the weight that has hindered their lifestyle.

This year, the competitors also get the opportunity to work out together up to four times a week at the Burn60 Bootcamp, a group-oriented fitness program that focuses on weight loss and muscle toning.

“The first time I went to boot camp, I had to sit in the back seat of my car and just chill for a bit before I could drive home, and I'm only 15 minutes away,” said Jayne Nothnagel, a 52-year-old customer service representative.

The boot camp is a class Push offers to all of its clients, not just the Fittest Losers. It operates at 6 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday for one hour. There are also evening sessions on Monday and Wednesday and another at 10 a.m. Saturday, which many of the Fittest Losers have attended.

Under the watchful eye of trainers Tony Figueroa and Michelle Amsden, the participants work with dumbbells, barbells and resistance bands or participate in the kickboxing exercises in an intense workout program.

“It's a little more fast-paced and with a little less rest,” Amsden said. “I work on them being mentally tough. It is more about endurance, although you are building strength. It is a challenge to do an exercise for a minute, then move on to the next exercise with just a few seconds in between.”

“Everyone is going nonstop for 45 to 50 minutes with very little rest,” said Fittest Loser contestant John Novak, an assistant principal at Hersey High School. “It is extremely grueling.”

Figueroa said that the group dynamic is different for the trainers as well as the participants because he has to keep an eye on the physical limitations of each individual. To give himself time, he has developed a system that helps him find the time he needs.

“Tony says you have 10 seconds left, but he really means more than a minute, or two,” said Kristen Kessinger, who works in public relations. “He calls it ‘Tony Time.' But when you are doing push-ups for two straight minutes, you just want time to fly.”

“It's motivation,” Figueroa said with a laugh. “I know a lot of instructors say ‘10 seconds' and mean it, but I like to count down by going ‘10, 9, 8, 9.' I like to play with their minds.”

Besides giving the Fittest Losers more opportunities to work out (they work with their individual trainers three times a week at the Push facility in Schaumburg), the boot camp is a chance to build a little team spirit. Although the five competitors are trying to win the contest as individuals, they are suffering together through a very public weight-loss effort. At boot camp, they can share their experiences (after they catch their breath).

“We wanted to build more camaraderie between the contestants,” Steckler said. “It gives them a chance to train together and cheer each other on. The contestants love it because they really get to see who they are up against.”

“Working out with the other contestants is the absolute best part of boot camp,” Kessinger said. “I love every single one of them, and I feel like we have formed a family of sorts. I completely forget that we are supposed to be competing because we are all working together to motivate and inspire each other, and we are all happy for each other when we have great weeks.”

Bob Pearson, a painter and home inspector, said he appreciates the support.

“They inspire me to push myself to the limit, not to mention the great support therapy they give to me,” Pearson said. “It's helpful to have each other because the work is intense.”

Dee Levine, who works as a nurse, said the experience “hasn't compared to anything I have ever done before, and I was a phys ed major over 30 years ago.”

Levine, who turn 60 in September, said the more boot camps she attends “the more flexible I become.”

Novak said the demanding workouts require that everyone push themselves to keep up with the pace.

“I have not experienced anything like it in terms of the full intensity needed to finish the entire workout,” he said.

The camaraderie that has developed helps the contestants get through the workouts, and they have actually maintained a relationship through e-mails over the first six weeks of the competition. But the physical reward that comes from completing an intense workout is entirely individual in nature.

“It makes them feel that they can do it,” Amsden said. “I'm sure they never thought they would be able to come in and do what they do. Now they actually look forward to it.”

“It's kind of cool to say ‘I'm going to boot camp,'” Nothnagel said.