Not only does Noel do a mean Stevie Wonder impression, he’s been seeing great results! He made some major moves in life and is reaping the rewards with a new, healthy outlook! Great work Noel and man… maybe you should think about a career as a Cardioke master!

1. What motivated you to start bootcamp?

I got to a time in my life where I just didn’t want to live the way I was living anymore. My job and lifestyle were making me a little unhealthier every day. I was getting out of breath just tying my shoes! So, I left my job and decided to start all over with a new life. I had several friends that had done this bootcamp/meltdown program and I saw huge results from these people.

2. Describe your bootcamp experience so far.

I have learned so much about eating healthy, exercising efficiently and feeling good! I get bored really easy so it is fun to be learning a new exercise routine every day, every week and throughout every class. The coaches are amazing and the system truly works. What I love most about the bootcamp is that it gave me a huge kick to get me going in the healthy direction of life.

3. What’s been your favorite part so far?

I used to dread working out and usually talked myself out of it pretty easily. Now I have to talk myself into taking a rest day! And overall, I am excited to be healthy again. It was only just a few weeks ago that I was eating fast food on a daily basis. Now, I couldn’t imagine wasting a cheat meal on a Big Mac!

4. What has been the most surprising part of bootcamp?

I remember my first week in one of Adam’s classes, we had to do the pulse pushup and I never struggled so hard in my life to do that. By week 3, those “beautiful” things came back around again and it was so much easier to do. It’s amazing how fast your body can transform in such a very short time when you feed it the right fuel and treat it in a healthy way. The other surprise is craving classes. I am excited to go to class every day and I can’t imagine skipping a day of exercise now.

5. What has been the most challenging part of bootcamp?

I would say that the most challenging part has been the ability to push myself a little harder every workout. It’s easy to coast through a workout to some degree but I try to do something a little extra every time I walk through the door at NGPT. I found that there is no magic to weight loss but the harder I push, the faster I can lose that next pound.

6. How has your interaction been with your coaching team and the NGPT community?

I like the fact that I can be honest with the coaches and if you have a challenging day, they are very supportive. Marcey and Cardio Bill have been awesome! It’s not about being perfect all the time but it’s about doing the best that you can do. That is something beautiful you can carry on to every aspect of your life. Here we are as a group trying to overcome one of the biggest challenges we will ever face and it helps bring us all together. We all started at the same point and it’s nice to be able to encourage a new person to get through those first couple days of soreness! The fact that we have all been there makes us such a unique family in this community. That’s hard to find throughout your life and I appreciate every moment that I get to spend at NGPT because you never know where your next path will lead. So thank you Adam and the whole team at NGPT for making this place available to us all. And thanks to those that come to class and help each of us push through to the next day. Everyone at NGPT has saved many lives and added years to all of ours. I greatly appreciate all the help that you all have given me!

This week, Christopher tells us about his initial fear of an “Adam Class”, finding out that he’s stronger than he thought he was and how much he wishes a sweet potato could just be a vegetable. We all want sweet potatoes to count as a vegetable Chris! Your’

1. What motivated you to start bootcamp?

I thought I was helping out my roommate and friend Amy Cope when I said I’d do boot camp with her. As it turns out, she was helping me. I now am more mindful of my eating habits and actually look forward to my spin classes. And I had to buy smaller jeans, tee shirts, and workout clothes because of my body fat loss.

2. Describe your bootcamp experience so far.

I had such a positive experience with boot camp that I signed up again for the October one. I have found everyone at the gym to be encouraging, welcoming, and supportive. One of my co-workers said to me, “It’s like you’ve joined a cult or something.” And I replied, “If you mean I’ve joined a group of people who want everyone to be healthier and feel better about themselves, then yep, I’m in that cult.”

3. What’s been your favorite part so far?

I love spin classes: Lauren and Trish are great instructors, the music helps the time to pass, and I control the intensity of the workout.

4. What has been the most surprising part of bootcamp?

For me the most surprising part of boot camp is that even though I’m over 50 and have arthritic knees, I can still climb a jacob’s ladder, lift a kettle bell overhead, and hold a sumo squat for as long as needed. It has made me realize my body is more powerful than I gave it credit for.

5. What has been the most challenging part of bootcamp?

The most challenging part of boot camp was signing up for an Adam class. I was scared the first one I took with him, but he made it fun with the musical trivia and encouraged everyone no matter what level of fitness he or she was starting at. I had traumatic experiences with gym teachers in junior high and dreaded a repeat of that. But Adam and his team are nothing but supportive and accommodating.

6. How has your interaction been with your coaching team and the NGPT community?

All my coaches at NGPT have been positive and supportive. My nutrition coach Tobie was great with her wise advice and suggestions when I wanted to go rogue and count a sweet potato as a vegetable. I have made friends at the gym and know that when someone needs help the gym will be there. The sign at the gym that says we’re more than a gym, we’re family isn’t just an advertisement. It’s a fact.

Brandie just completed her very first Meltdown Bootcamp today! She saw some phenomenal results and a huge drop in her body fat percentage in just 8 weeks. Read on to hear about her fears, doubts and how she has continued to conquer them all. At the same time she tells us all about gaining strength and a brand-new family at NGPT.

1. What motivated you to start bootcamp?

I was at a point where my excess weight was incredibly uncomfortable and when I looked in the mirror I didn’t think I looked like “me”. I have always struggled with my weight, but I had gotten to a point where I was tired a lot, and I was so out of shape that I could not walk from the parking lot to my office without getting winded. I really wanted to be healthier, but other things I had tried had not worked out for more than a few weeks. After talking to another client about their success, I decided that I could see what it was all about. My goal in the beginning was to simply try to stick to the program for the entire 8 weeks. What was cool is that my son was looking over my shoulder when I was investigating it - and he joined in with me!

1. What motivated you to start bootcamp?

“Mommy, are you getting a baby in your belly? Because it’s REALLY big!” The week my 4 year old had that conversation with me was the week I signed up. I’d slowly been gaining pounds for a couple of years, and although I had been trying (I thought) to lose weight, I was getting nowhere. I was frustrated, getting tired of wearing baggy shirts all the time and felt out of control. And I wasn’t pregnant by the way.

2. Describe your bootcamp experience so far.

At this point, at the end of Week 6, I can look back and see I’ve been through all sorts of emotions as I’ve worked through different aspects of the program. I can tell you though, I LOVE IT. I’ve had some moments of struggle, days when I’ve felt tired and aching beyond belief, but I am seriously loving it. I feel back in control again. Well I say that, I’ve managed to fall off the scales at weigh-in and knock over the giant water bottles in class - but you know, MENTALLY I feel in control…

3. What’s been your favorite part so far?

THE RESULTS! I feel so much better about myself, and can wear parts of my wardrobe again that I thought were banished to only my younger self. I’ve loved seeing my strength improve and the ability to complete a class that I had to (literally) crawl around in my first week.

4. What has been the most surprising part of bootcamp?

I’ve learned so many things - about myself and about good eating and exercise. I’m most surprised about the effect of accountability. I thought I was one of those supposed ‘adults’ who was pretty good at doing things simply because it was the right thing to do. But apparently not - because having to report my eating habits to someone every day has been the thing that’s really changed my behavior. The shame of either lying or owning up to my cheats has really kept me on track - I’m not too different from my four year old really. [P.s. Coach Ray - I’ve owned up to all my cheats, for the record!]

5. What has been the most challenging part of bootcamp?

Getting my feet in the TRX straps. Seriously - I need a class for that whole ‘get your feet in and flip over’ move.

In the beginning, it was hard not weighing myself every day. In my ridiculous cycle of non-weight-loss that I was in, I’d weigh myself every day, and reward myself if I’d dropped a pound, and punish myself if I’d gained it back. Only weighing in every two weeks has forced me to keep my eye on the longer term goals and make better progress.

This week, it’s been tough fitting in all the minutes of exercise. However I’ve found little corners of time when I can sneak in an extra 15 minutes here or there, and then I really feel like a winner!

6. How has your interaction been with your coaching team and the NGPT community?

There’s a lot of love for everyone coming from right over here. The highlight of my morning is getting my daily email from Coach Ray with his feedback on my progress. Mostly it’s positive, but when he tells me I need to be tough and stay the course, that really motivates me for the day. Every instructor is SO GOOD at what they do. They are motivating, challenging, good looking (fewer burpees please.) Did I mention how good looking they are? And then to the NGPT community in general - everyone is so encouraging of each other and helpful (including trying to shoe-horn my feet into the TRX straps. Thank you kind lady ahead of me in class this week.)

It’s been nothing short of a wonderful experience, my only regret is that I didn’t sign up sooner.

1. What motivated you to start bootcamp?

Recently, I have been working out at home with good success….So I thought. While working out at home, I had been considering another Meltdown, my first was in 2009. (Lost 46lbs) While I was in consideration mode for meltdown #2…. Adam sent me an email and said, “love to have you back the studio again”….So here I am… Down 13lbs in the first 2 weeks! And way stronger…. After two weeks, I could do more and better pushups than I did in the last several months at home! Thanks Adam!

Welcome back to another entry in our Bootcamp Diary! This week, we are talking with Whryne! She has taken her Bootcamp by storm and has surprised herself by how much she enjoys the exercise and how hard it is to get all of those liquids in each day. Big thanks to Whryne for sharing her experience with the rest of the NGPT Gym Family!

1. What motivated you to start bootcamp?

Well….how much time have you got? It all started when I was a little girl. And I do mean actual little girl. My grandfather had five sisters and they were ENORMOUS beautiful women with wonderful clothes and amazing hats. My grandma was also the picture of painted church-going perfection and I remember riding in the back of my Grandpa’s Oldsmobile in the early 80’s. Our family was close so we often traveled together and because I was ‘little’ I had to sit in the middle of the back seat underneath the sweet smelling but GIGANTIC arms of my aunts. I remember thinking right then that I wanted to be BIG! So I started working on it and sometime around 12 or 13 I was big enough that my family noticed and declared that I was an actual person and took me right out and bought me tons of girdles and long bras. I was always happy to be big (yet surprisingly flexible) and so I flounced right through high school and college quite pleased with myself and all my curves. I had a ‘limit’ which was two parts. The first was that my decolletage must always overshadow my tummy and the second was that I should always be able to move and dance a certain way. And then there were four babies and a couple of surgeries and the next thing I knew my tummy was peeking past my cleavage and moving wasn’t so great. Around May of this year I had a fasting blood sugar test that was high and I knew what was coming next so I immediately changed my diet because my mother and grandmother ultimately passed from complications of diabetes and so by the time my A1C came back I had already fully committed to losing weight as my doc said that dropping just 10% of my body weight could mean not having to take insulin! Sometime in June, before I could talk myself out of it I quite literally swerved into NGPT and begged Tobie to take my money!

This week’s Bootcamp Diary features Mark H! After an injury sidelined him from his Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training, Mark was looking for a way to get back into shape and was inspired by some of our current members to check it out. We are so glad he did! In less than 3 weeks, Mark is already seeing fantastic results and we can’t wait to see where is after 8 weeks! Read on to hear more about Mark’s personal experience so far with our July Bootcamp.

1. What motivated you to start bootcamp?

My initial thrust to start bootcamp was seeing the results of the always beautiful Ivy Jennings. Brad Wilhelm saw results as well but you’d never know that judging by his Facebook activity and the number of tank tops he wears (love you, Brad. Smooches!). Five years ago I had two surgeries on my L4/L5 intervertebral disc. At that time I was training Brazilian Jiu-jitsu almost daily. BJJ was my mistress. I was a 175 pound, lean fighting machine. Then my spine had enough. The surgeries, subsequent rehab, and new physical limitations led to a 40 pound weight gain. The lifestyle of not changing my diet or drinking habits coupled with seeing Ivy and Brad’s awesome transformations led me to finally pull off the band-aid and take my health seriously.

2. Describe your bootcamp experience so far.

The experience has been great. The first couple of days were a little daunting. However, my body and taste buds changed over the course the first two days. I didn’t miss salt, sugar, or other rich and tasty treats as much as I thought I would. I’m on my 18th day as of this writing and I feel amazing. I feel energized and satisfied after meals instead of lethargic and sleepy. I wake up every morning without the groggy, foggy head I experienced only weeks ago. My first weigh-in was a few days ago after 14 days on the plan and I lost 9.2 pounds and 1 inch off of my waist. These results would keep me motivated and committed even if I didn’t like the diet or exercise. The bootcamp plan is also not as difficult as it seemed at first. I LOVE the fact that my meals and exercise requirements are spelled out for me so clearly.

3. What’s been your favorite part so far?

My favorite part so far are the group classes. Entering any new group or social circle can feel like the first day at a new school. I’ve never felt that way at NGPT. People of all ages and fitness levels are sweating, grunting, and cursing Sabra (a fitness coach at NGPT) for those blasted burpees she so sadistically requires. Anybody nervous or apprehensive about working out in a group setting will quickly forget those fears once they start sweating. I promise.

4. What has been the most surprising part of bootcamp?

The most surprising part of bootcamp for me has been the results. That may seem trite but it’s the truth. I’m not only talking about the measureables of weight, waistline, or body fat percentage loss. The most unanticipated results for me are the improvements to energy levels and mental health. It takes so much more for me to feel frustrated or angry. I have energy to work 8-10 hours, exercise, and have a social life. I’m like a bad dog: I need to be ran ragged everyday so I don’t misbehave or eat the garbage. Bootcamp is the game of fetch to my hyper, angry Fido.

5. What has been the most challenging part of bootcamp?

The most challenging part of bootcamp has been meal planning. The requirement of eating every three hours, 5 times per day requires planning and dedication. I even have the advantage of working at a restaurant where lean protein and vegetables are everywhere. Still, I would not be able to eat the right food at the right time without prior planning. I also believe that this meal spacing is the main factor in my sustained energy throughout the day. Another challenge has been completing seven burpees in the middle of my set of ten burpees which were demanded of me because Sabra’s lifeforce is drawn from my sweat and tears.

6. How has your interaction been with your coaching team and the NGPT community?

This is a tough question because I’m not a skilled enough writer to capture my feelings. The coaching staff is inspirational, they genuinely care about members, and are goofy while remaining demanding. I’ve been exposed to exercises I never encountered in all of my days in sports. They will make a lighthearted quip that makes you smile and forget that your legs are numb and you should probably have second heart to do things you’re doing. They are also demanding. Technique corrections are always given with a respectful, caring tone. The bootcamp title doesn’t mean you have R. Lee Ermey screaming in your face.

My fellow bootcampers are just as inspiring and amazing. The range of age, fitness level, and experience is vast. Everyone is at NGPT for the same reason. The culture at the gym makes you feel that you can ask the person at the station next to you what a “thruster” is and not feel silly. You can draw mettle from the seasoned bootcamper who has lost 80 pounds or the new bootcamper at their first class. You can roll your eyes at Sabra together because, well, more burpees. We’re in this together and not for a second has anyone made me feel differently.

We just want to say thanks to Mark for giving us a glimpse into his Bootcamp experience so far. Whether it’s your first Bootcamp or your 20th Bootcamp we know that one of the best things about NGPT is drawing inspiration from each other. Maybe something Mark said has inspired you. And oh yea, be sure to encourage Sabra to give Mark a few more burpees to do. He seems to really enjoy those. Keep an eye out for the next entry in the Bootcamp Diary!