Try It: Milwaukee IMPACT Bootcamp!

As I’m writing this I’m in pain. You know, that “good” pain you get the day after a particularly intense workout that is your reward (or punishment) for pushing yourself as far as you can go? Well, yesterday I was invited to try out a bootcamp workout through Milwaukee IMPACT and I have to say that trainer/instructor Ambrose W.B. will be the nicest guy to ever kick your butt. I’ve never done this style of workout before and let me tell you by the time I left, I was already trying to figure out in my head how I was going to work something like this into my schedule.

What is IMPACT? Well, it stands for Intense Mixed Performance Accelerated Cross Training. Basically it’s an hour-long group fitness workout designed to whip you into shape- FAST. Although I just attended a single class, the program is designed to be two to five days a week for multiple weeks.  I quickly saw how dedicating to this program would get you great results.  One thing Ambrose said to me before the workout was that “not everyone is an athlete but I like to train you like you are.” My heart rate was up the entire hour through various drills, sprints, strength training and conditioning exercises.

To break it down, the first part of the workout focused on speed, agility and quickness.  It felt a little like training with a football team doing strides and shuffles back and forth across the field. The second section was all about strength. Though we were using dumbbells and resistance bands (as well as doing never-ending planks!) it was always broken up with intervals of cardio to keep our heart rates up. This section felt especially tough. I couldn’t believe that I was welcoming the direction to  run as something like a “break.”  When we were told that that last ten minutes would be strictly cardio conditioning I thought, “Isn’t that what we’ve been doing this whole time?” This last burst of energy was meant to give our metabolism one more boost before the final stretching portion at the end.

Why this is awesome: You get the benefits of a personal trainer with a much smaller price tag.  The groups are small so you still get one-on-one attention but you have the added fun of training with other people.  I chatted a bit afterward with a couple of class members who have been attending for a while now and they said their decision to train with IMPACT had changed their lives.  It’s not only about weight loss but a whole new way of life. Something like that may sound a little cheesy at first but being there and talking to them face-to-face, I believed it.

Check out the Milwaukee IMPACT website for more information. The current 21-day challenge is already in progress but there will be a new session starting up later on on the summer.

You can email Ambrose@impactmilwaukee.com if you are interested in joining in the middle of the current session.We’re also gauging interest for a Fit Milwaukee boot camp day so let us know what you think in the comments!