Shape Up AZ Bootcamp

During a visit to the Valley over the holidays with my infant daughter and my husband I decided to give Vinnie’s boot camp a try. ”I don’t like to be yelled at. I am not the kind of person who works harder when I am publicly humiliated,” I told my brother as we were driving over to meet the group one early morning. ”It is not that kind of boot camp” he assured me, ”you’ll see, you’ll like it.” And like it, I did!
50 pounds heavier since having my daughter 9 months earlier, I was in desperate need of jump starting my exercise routine. My brother has been attending Vinnie’s Shape-​up AZ Bootcamp since its inception and he now has the abs to prove it. My brother informs me that Vinnie is an ex-​Marine and is made of pure muscle and also the sweetest guy you’ll ever meet. He does all of the exercises with you, not pacing the room giving orders like a drill sergeant as is the case in so many other classes. «How will I be able to keep up with you, Vinnie and everyone else?” I asked. I had no need to worry! The class is made up of all kinds of people, young mothers, teenage athletes, retirees. Vinnie tailors the workout to everyone’s individual level and needs so no one feels held back or left behind. The workout is not tied to any particular piece of equipment although there are weights, mats, balls, etc. provided. All you need to bring is a water bottle and a towel to mop up your sweat and you are ready to go! The focus is clearly centered on your own body strength, balance and endurance. Vinnie changes the workout everyday so you never do the same exercise two days in a row and therefore less likely to overwork one set of muscles. The workout is both exhausting and refreshing — no need to wonder if calories were burn, they most certainly were burned and more! This is exactly what I want early in the morning before starting my day. After the first work out, I felt absolutely invigorated and addicted! So much so that I changed my travel plans so that I could attend the class again the following day. I was so enthusiastic about Vinnie’s class, that my mother asked to join my brother and me the following day. Despite breaking her arm a few months earlier, Vinnie structured my mother’s workouts so that she could participate in all of the boot camp activities. As we entered the workout room the next day, Vinnie and the other participants had remembered me and greeted me by my name. I was part of the group and just after one day! I was really touched by the feeling of camaraderie, as if the other boot-​campers were trying to say that we all need to stick together in order to ‘survive’ Vinnie’s workout.
I will definitely drop in on the class again when I am back in Phoenix. Now that I am home in Quebec, I frequent a boot camp class at my gym. Although working out is helping me get back to my pre-​baby weight, unfortunately, it is nothing like Vinnie’s class — much less inventive and more like the typical boot camp where the instructor points out all your weaknesses, and hovers over you, yelling at you. UGH, I hate being yelled at, especially in French! Life is too short not to be having fun while working out. While attending my gym class, I often make a silent wish that Montréal was closer to Paradise Valley so that I might be able to continue attending Vinnie’s Shape-​up AZ Bootcamp.