I didn't have it too tough, says features writer Michelle Crawley, I was at The Camp for just three days and didn't experience the full (week-long) course. I was also already something of a gym bunny before I arrived and I'm probably not taking the 5.30am alarm calls fully into account... But it's certainly a whole lot easier to get into shape when you've got a personal chef (Allan – the most popular man at the women-only residential camp) preparing utterly delicious meals, however small they may be! And finding motivation is definitely less difficult when you've got a group of super-fit former Special Forces military fitness instructors keeping you occupied from dawn 'til dusk. Plus I knew that three of the ladies on my course were making return visits, so it couldn't be all that torturous, surely?Getting away from it all
Based at a secret location in beautiful Dumfries and Galloway, The Camp uses a packed timetable to ensure you're working at your optimum fat-burning zone (around 60-70% of your maximum heart rate) from 6am to 8.30pm. This means that although you get a bit puffed out you're not completely exhausted by each "detail". The huge variety of activities on offer each day – everything from map reading to cycling, hill walking and self-defense classes – helps to keep your brain busy too, and means there's little time to think about the lack of food, your aching muscles and what everyone else at home is getting up to without you.
In the event I rather enjoyed the 'getting away from it all' element of the experience. It can be tricky to get a phone signal at the 3,000 acre estate, there's no internet access and a daily newspaper delivery quickly begins to feel like quite a luxury – I just you not!
Smells like team spirit
On my two-hour drive from Glasgow I did begin to wonder if being in such close proximity to 20 or so other whinging women could prove to be harder work than abseiling down a 100ft crag (we did that with comparative ease!). But with everyone in the same boat it is remarkably easy to form a bond with your teammates, which seems to happen in no time at all. Everyone is dressed in nondescript gym gear and is make-up-free, on the whole, and you've hardly a moment to make small talk before you move into the next task. Indeed, it's that feeling of team spirit that keeps you going when things get tough.
Moira, a petite Zimbabwean lady on my team, said that she'd achieved things she never thought possible thank to the support and motivation from us, her teammates. And it's comments like (and the fact that my jeans are noticeably rommier) that have continued to inspire me on return to civilian life. Now all I need is that flapjack recipe!
Best bits: Discovering the beautiful countryside of Dumfries and Galloway, realising that half the battle is in your head, rounders with a Swiss ball (has to be seen to be believed), and Allan's flapjacks – yum!
Worst bits: Getting up really early, sit-ups on the grass when it's ice cold, realising that you don't actually need that much food to function, going home early – boo!
This is not for you if... Even your trainers have high heels, you don't like being told what to do, you're looking for facials and pampering, you don't like rain!
A week at The Camp costs from £1450. The course runs at various times throughout the year.
T: 0870 033 2375
E: enquiries@thecamp.co.uk
W: www.thecamp.co.uk
