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A fine line between heaven and hell |
| Posted on Jun 06 2009 |
A fine line between heaven and hell?
By Gillie Sutherland
Bootcamp. The word in itself suggests a painful experience, and you would be forgiven for thinking there may be less extreme ways of losing weight or changing your lifestyle. After all, it’s a natural human response to avoid pain, and most people will do whatever it takes to get out of putting in some hard graft to get the results they want.
Not those brave souls who put themselves through Bootcamp. These women know that fad diets, expensive beauty treatments and cosmetic surgery aren’t the answer. They know that Bootcamp isn’t a quick fix, yet it’s the reward they seek, and their motivation boils down to the simple fact that the pain of staying the same is far greater than the pain that could ever be endured during one week at Bootcamp.
Still, as I watch these women respond to the restricted diet, the gruelling exercise regime, and the denial of all their vices, I wonder if they truly realised the extent of what they were letting themselves in for. Either they have a compelling reason for being here, or they are completely bonkers, I’m not sure which as yet.
Halfway through the week, hundreds of tissues later, I witness what the military mean by "breaking" people. My initial reaction is a strange mix of horror and sympathy, and I just want to take them away from it all, and give them a big mug of hot chocolate and buttered toast. But I can’t, and this feeling soon dissipates as I see the cathartic effect it is having on them.
Breaking through their own personal boundaries , accessing an inner strength they never knew they had, the women continue beyond this point with steely grit and determination. Moving closer to their goals, and seeing light at the end of the tunnel, they realise that their only limitations have been those that they have placed on themselves.
This is certainly not a health spa, but it’s a million times more effective if you’re looking for a life-changing experience. For many, this is the biggest challenge they have ever faced in their life. The end result is the realisation that we are stronger than we think we are, capable of much more than we thought we were, and that we can do it, even when we think we can’t.
After Bootcamp, these women are experiencing a renewed capacity to deal with whatever life throws at them, and a feeling of empowerment, personal strength, that will stay with them for a very long time. They arrived wanting to lose weight, they ended up losing many of the self-limiting beliefs that we tend on place on ourselves as we get older.
I’m watching women who haven’t exercised in years, who haven’t ever risked anything through choice before, take the plunge and climb waterfalls and abseil off bridges. It is possibly one of the most incredibly rewarding, and life-affirming moments they have ever been through.
I want to remember their faces, the looks of relief and elation, that only come through facing your demons head-on, and taking a challenge that requires more from you than you’ve ever given before.
This is not a feeling you’re going to re-create by lying face-down with hot stones down your back, or candles in your ears. This is the tough stuff that actually makes a difference to you as a person, and how you deal with life. It’s only through the pain, the hardship, the breakthroughs, and the fighting on when you feel like you can’t do it anymore, that you feel this sense of achievement, empowerment, inspiration.
Ridding themselves of the baggage that has held them back, as well as the extra pounds that have made them miserable, these brave Bootcampers hang up their combats feeling a whole lot lighter than when they arrived.
Last changed: Jun 06 2009 at 5:19 PM
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