Monster Boot Camp: A good work out is nothing to fear

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Natasha E. Stannard
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  The rationale of Monster Boot Camp is to take the participants back to basics. It gets participants into shape while teaching them the techniques to stay healthy, Senior Airman Keefer Neal, 92nd Force Support Squadron fitness specialist, said.

"You get your values with a workout plan and schedule," Airman Neal said.
With new Air Force physical training benchmarks in motion, now would be an opportune time to join the program.

"How we work with the new standards - it should be easy, we'll blow them out of the water," Airman Neal said.

The implementation of the program originally commenced to help individuals with the physical training test. For the individuals currently enrolled in the class, it attests to be of more value than a physical training test score. It's rewarding to see how excited they are about the workouts and how eager they are to come back the next day, Airman Neal said.
"People get in shape, pass their PT test and then they're done, but this group is sticking to it," Airman Neal said. "When they leave the say we can't wait to see what we do tomorrow."

The name Monster Boot Camp surely sounds intimidating; however, there's nothing to fear. The whole class started off on the same foot and is working to get in shape. They are all very supportive of one another and push each other to go the extra mile.

It's easy to get newcomers up to speed as they work just as much as the rest of the group and increase their level of difficulty daily - building them from the ground up, Airman Neal said.

Much like his patrons, Airman Neal is constantly pushing himself to improve the class. At this stage in training, his goal is to break the party off into groups so they can work on their personal work out goals.

"I want to make them happy so they can see results, and are rewarded with what they're working for," Airman Neal said.

The class is very well-rounded. It's not only beneficial to the physical aspect of the work out, but it also attests to be advantageous for the mind as it teaches people techniques so they can eventually take the knowledge to do the work out on their own--perhaps even in their own homes, Airman Neal said.

The program properly teaches a good variety of exercises ranging from cardio to strength building. Current members are affirmation enough that the class breaks boundaries and builds people up to do things they couldn't do anymore or before. The people in the class right now are incredible - no one complains and they're all very good at improvising workouts. Airman Neal said they have reached remarkable goals and shown great progress - one of the individuals lost 100 lbs with in a span of nine months. Another went from lifting 5 lbs to 25 lbs, and sometimes they even beat the Airman Neal at the work outs.

"Its hard work, but its good work," Airman Neal said. "When you join it's not you trying to catch up, it's us trying to catch up to you - getting you started on the right workout plan then later on we'll worry about catching you up to everyone else."