It’s the first day of boot camp, and recruits gather before their leader, garbed in combat boots and fatigues. Two in the bunch lean against a fence making casual conversation; another yawns. No one appears intimidated by the sergeant, who barks: “Attention! Fall in! Fall in!”
The recruits form a clumsy line. At this point, you’d expect the sergeant whip this lackadaisical group into shape with disparaging remarks, or at least order them to drop and give him 20.
Instead, he smiles and tells them in an even tone: “We’ll be running two miles. Keep up with the rest if you can.”
This is not the infamous boot camp required of U.S. armed forces recruits — it’s a boot camp for civilians, a unique approach to keeping fit and avoiding exercise doldrums.
This military-style workout is offered during the summer by the Joliet Park District. It takes place outdoors, rain or shine, at Joliet Memorial Stadium. The first half of the two-hour workout is led by a former marine drill sergeant, the second half by a park district fitness instructor.
Mary Magee, the park district fitness supervisor, introduced boot camp to the Joliet area last summer. She adapted the idea from an advertisement she spotted in a fitness trade magazine touting a weekend boot camp for business people. Because participants can pace themselves according to their fitness levels, Magee said, anyone in moderately good physical condition can tackle the boot camp.
“It’s all in good fun,” she said. “The program is for people who want to push themselves a little further than what they’re normally used to. I thought the boot camp would be a really good way to make exercising fun. People enjoy it because they’re able to laugh at themselves and have a really good time, especially during the relay race competitions. You don’t have to be a triathlete to do this.”
Many who enroll have specific fitness goals. Jessica Bebar of Joliet, 24, wants to shed the extra pounds she gained during a recent pregnancy.
“I thought this sounded like fun. I needed to lose a little weight, and I thought this would be better than aerobics,” Bebar said.
Another enrollee is training for a marathon. “I like the changeup of the routine in this class. You do a little bit of everything, and I like the workout,” said Debbie Workmann, a 39-year-old Bolingbrook resident.
Class begins with stretching exercises and a two-mile run, complete with standard military chanting. The remaining time is spent running up and down the stadium stairs, competing in sprinting races and intense calisthenics. To add a bit of variety, recruits play tug-of-war, run an obstacle course and compete in relay races. Military-style exercises include the “jungle crawl,” accomplished face down, and the “war cry,” which involves jogging in place while screaming.
“This is like the fun you used to have when you were a kid in gym class,” Magee said. “Each class has something a little bit different to keep it interesting. Most of the people who join love the competition part of the program.”
Joan Davis, 50, is an occupational nurse who participated in the boot camp last year and eagerly enrolled in this summer session.
“I had a lot of fun last year. It’s patterned after a military boot camp, so it’s a really a tough, vigorous workout,” explained Davis, of Shorewood.
The military theatrics are conjured up by Christopher Patti, 29, an ex-Marine who acts as the drill sergeant for the boot camp. Patti sprays footprints on the football field at the stadium so recruits know where to stand when he calls them to attention. After the jog, he arranges the group in a large circle for calisthenics as he yells out the count, military-style. During the relay races, enrollees must jungle crawl through part of the obstacle course.
“Everyone thought this was really funny until they crawled for 50 feet,” Patti said. “At that point, they get pretty tired. If they raised their rear ends too high, I’d tell them that if they were crawling during battle, they’d get shot in the behind.”
Last year, Magee scheduled two boot camp classes, and a total of 63 people attended. This year, the park district slated six classes that will run through August. Anyone 14 or older can sign up, for any of the classes, at a cost of $7 a class for Joliet residents and $9 for non-residents.
The first class took place on June 6, with 17 participants, 16 women and one man. Patti had torn a tendon in his leg playing softball a few days earlier and couldn’t lead the exercises, so Magee called on the reserves for help. Marine Sgt. Dwight Laushaw, 34, volunteered for duty and led the group in the first half of the workout.
“There’s really no comparison (between a civilian boot camp) and a real boot camp,” Laushaw said. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt here. During a military boot camp, you run 6 to 10 miles every day and do different obstacle courses every day including Sundays for 11 weeks. They give you time to go to church on Sundays, and that’s it. You’re back to training hard.”
The only male in the class, 19-year-old Salvidor Perez, hopes to join the armed forces in the fall.
“I took the class to see what a real boot camp might be like. This was not hard at all,” Perez said. “I actually thought it was pretty fun.”
And fun is what Magee intended the boot camp to be.
“We all need to laugh more, especially at ourselves,” Magee said. “We sure could use a little bit more of that in this world. It’s time we all lightened up.”
———-
Remaining classes will be held from 8-10 a.m. on July 25, Aug. 8 and Aug. 22. For more information, call the Joliet Park District at 815-741-7275.
