Before exercise was invented, boot camps involved sending galoshes away for the summer to learn how to swim and make friendship anklets. Work off last year's bug-juice bender with today's Groupon: for $39, you get one month of unlimited boot camp (a $197 value) at the Performance Science Training Institute, with four locations in Redwood City, Foster City, and Palo Alto.
The Performance Science Training Institute shakes up workout routines with adult fitness boot camps run by former NCAA Division I athletes. Focusing on cardio to boost heart rates, resistance training to tone muscles, and core exercises to maintain body strength, trainers stuff each one-hour indoor class with activities ranging from step aerobics to yoga, speed drills, and hopscotch-offs. Sweat along with supportive fitness compatriots, toning up in the plank position, gaining panther-like reflexes during fast-paced movement games, and honing rhythm during Bollywood-style musical numbers.
Spacious high-ceilinged studio rooms pack in plenty of fitness equipment to keep boot campers hopping and hearts pounding with the adrenaline-aided thrill of newly oxygenated blood cells. Boot camps schedules differ by location, so exercisers are encouraged to check the online calendar before plotting their workouts.
Performance Science Training Institute
C.J. Easter understands the value of physical fitness. As a former defensive back who faced some of college football's most fearsome offenses during a four-year stint with the Stanford Cardinal, he could only be as effective as he was lean. With visions of sleek physiques in mind, Easter earned his personal-training certification from the American Council on Exercise, founded Performance Science Training Institute, and set to work devising a fitness system of his own.
The gym's exclusive Metabolic Movement Training (MMT) System is the result of all that hard work. The system is designed to jump-start the metabolism, so it continues working long after the session is complete by helping the body burn fat all day long. After a dynamic warmup to boost flexibility and coordination, trainers lead students through progressive resistance training to strengthen bones and muscles. Next, exciting, short-burst cardio intervals work to condition the heart and lungs and boost endurance, and a final core-training session chisels the midsection. Every exercise includes modifications and progressions to ensure students at every fitness level will glean benefits, and every session ends with a cool-down and stretch to leave bodies feeling better than when they came in.
The institute's team of instructors also augment MMT exercises with counseling on how to make responsible nutritional decisions and set goals that are both challenging and achievable. This all-over approach doesn't simply help people get fitter; it helps them remake their entire lives in a healthier, happier image.