X3 Bootcamp

X3 Bootcamp is a part of Body3 Fitness Center, but, since it has its own website, I didn’t train or take classes at Body 3 Fitness, and some might just be looking for bootcamps (as I did), it gets its own review. Plus, FTR!
The first time I looked for this place, I made several loops. This was at 5:30am. No fun. Body3 Fitness Center is located in a strip mall, but tucked away next to a Subway on the opposite side from W. T.C. Jester. It’s closer to W. 18^th St. The actual gym isn’t fancy, but you’ll probably find what you’re looking for there, with some bikes, treadmills, and your weight machines. I once peeked in at a fitness class around 6pm, and there were 3 – 4 people there. I believe there are something like 2 – 3 showers, plus a changing room. The guy at reception is friendly, both on the phone and in person, though the fact that he has to handle both means for some waiting while he’s on the phone. I do get emails from the owner/​gym about various tips, but I do think it’s cool that they have a free Thanksgiving workout for those who bring a bag of non-​perishables to donate.
The boot camp is ordinarily $ 197 for four weeks, but they had just rebooted the boot camp (calling it X3 Bootcamp), and had a $ 77 deal. Also, you can try out a week of the boot camp for free. At the beginning, there’s an orientation, where you get your measurements done and you’re given a booklet, which has exercises (very, very basic, e.g., push ups, squats) and space to track your progress. The class was composed mostly of girls with the stray male (both not in shape and in shape). You’ll need to bring a mat, towel, and some water. No weights, because the instructor will bring some stretchy bands for you to work with.
There are a few different options. You can do MWF 6:30 — 7:30pm in Memorial Park, MWF 5:30 — 6:30am at the gym, or TTH 6:30 — 7:30pm and Sat 8−9am at the gym. There’s also a more intensive running camp at Memorial Park Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I mostly did the MWF one in Memorial Park, which was a nice setting. We set up in the trees by the ¼ mile loop that was across from the tennis courts. This was good, because we could run loops (ugh, not so good) as part of a circuit. The early morning one at the gym is set up in the parking lot, and since there aren’t a lot of people there in the morning, we could run around part of the lot. The evening one at the gym is next to one of the big signs on W. 18^th St., so we couldn’t run, but did jumping jacks instead. Bonus: cars honking at us.
Workouts varied by the day, ranging from circuit training, cardio, and Crossfit-​style workout (e.g. running a lap, then reps ranging from 30 – 50 of push ups, crunches, burpies, mountain climbers; repeat that 3 – 4 times depending on how far you get), but we always ended with some crunches, push ups, and stretching. Since the instructor would demo the moves for one round, then have us do them, there were good periods of exercising without stopping. John is the instructor for most of the classes; the only other instructor I saw was James, who co-​taught with John in the early morning. There’s no yelling here, though John was encouraging and pushes you. He was under the mistaken impression that I was a bit of a rock star, because the first time I went to boot camp was when I’d only gotten two hours of sleep (physical pain blocks out extreme exhaustion).
I really liked the boot camp. It made me exercise regularly for a month of my life (I typically do thing intensely, then burn out). What keeps me from doing it again is that the gym’s pretty far, and, dear god, getting to Memorial Park from the Rice area, plus the parking situation there, made me want to Andrew W.K. myself (i.e., take a brick and smash it in my face).