Soldiers of Fitness

[Pieman]

I would like to reccomend this program to all recruits here. It is a course called 'Soldiers of Fitness' and is a Army style fitness course taught by a couple of ex-regular force turned reservists of the PPCLI. Currently, there are only two locations, one in Edmonton and one in Calgary.

Their website is here:
http://www.soldiersoffitness.com/

For the past three months, I have been going to this course 5 days a week, the improvement in my physical shape has been nothing short of outstanding. The course uses authentic Army style training and they cover everything you will see in basic except the obstacle course. It is probably not as hard as the real thing, but it is still very hard. Without question takes a lot of effort and heart to complete even for people who are in great shape already.

Each day we do sit ups, push ups, bent knee crunches, chin ups. We run everywhere. We sometimes run with large 80 lbs. poles called 'Misery'. We sometimes run with a large 200 lbs. log called 'Pain'. We do hill training. Sometimes the Sargent puts a 15 lbs. backpack on us and gives us steel rods weighing 10 lbs. and we run 6km with them. Everything is done together as a team and you are constantly pushing each other.

Each class is 1 1/2 hours, and is very fast paced. We are constantly kept moving by the instructors, and each day is different, even after three months I have no idea what is going to happen when I show up for class.

It is hard, but it is some kind of fun! I enjoy every minute of it.

If you are not in Calgary or Edmonton, you should try to locate some kind of program like this is your area. You never know, there might be one around.

 

[Jaxson]

sounds cool, i wish i had something like that in my area.

 

[GO!!!]

Actually, it's quite a bit harder than the PT in Basic training. I've seen those guys at the Kinsmen centre some mornings, they get the cock put to 'em pretty good!

Just out of curiosity I wonder how much it costs?

 

[D-n-A]

The cost of Basic Training is $348.00 CDN.  Modified Basic Training is only $248.00 CDN. Both programs include an authentic SOF T-shirt when you join. Upon completion of the course candidates will receive a certificate and class picture. 

 

[Infanteer]

Lol, I remember one of the instructors (K.S.) from work-up training - from what I remember, he was a very good NCO.  Good on these guys for having some success at this and kudos to Pieman and others who have the initiative to get ahead of the game before heading off to St Jean.

GO is right, you'll be on top of things after being under these guys because they don't have to worry about stupid WATC rules when they train you.

 

[Warvstar]

Pieman thanks for bringing this to my attention, Although I dont have the time now(full time school and 5-7hr work), I will certainly check this out closer to my expected basic training date. Question, if I have done martial arts for the past few years, and am very fit, would this training still benefit me? Im thinking yes because it will prepare me for BMQ.

 

[D-n-A]

http://www.soldiersoffitness.com/faq.html

I am already in shape, will I get anything out of your program?

Absolutely! Soldiers of Fitness is more than a simple fitness course. Our program is designed along the lines of a realistic military boot camp, complete with all of the challenges, intense exercise, and personal rewards of actual military training. If you ever wanted to test yourself and your abilities, or if you have ever wondered what a military boot camp would be like but haven't been able to fulfill that dream then SOF is what you're looking for!



I am a very self-motivated person so why should I pay you to make sure I workout every day when I already do?

You may workout every day, but do you get the most out of your workout? Our program will help those who need motivation to workout regularly, but it will also provide someone like you, who already has the discipline to exercise on a regular basis, with an extra boost to get you faster, stronger, and fitter than ever before. Take the sprint drills for example, you know if you've tried to do sprints on your own that they are: a) no fun, and b) hard to make yourself go faster than the last time you did them. Even if you are the solo runner type, you will appreciate having other runners to compete against and our drill instructors are there to motivate you to move your body faster than ever before! That's just one example, but you get the idea. Bottom line, we know you'll love our program and we know you'll see results.

 

[Springroll]

That is an awesome program!!!

If we had something like that out here, I would be in it in a second!!
Thanks for posting the link. I am going to pass it on to some family in Edmonton.

 

[Britney Spears]

Another plug. I've previously worked with both the guys mentioned on the site, and I can attest that they are top notch people, both in terms of physical fitness and competence in general.

 

[Standard]

I'm having a hard time finding anything around my area that suits me as far as class/group fitness activities go.  I live in Oakville where everything is aimed towards the 40+ "gentle workout" crowd or little kids.  Going out to Mississauga or Burlington are my only real choices: Toronto just isn't practical.  I've been searching through the net and the phone book, but not sure I'm looking along the right threads.  I'm looking for a good martial arts place for a beginner (preference towards Muay Thai for it's notoriously good conditioning and reality-oriented style) or a "boot camp" style fitness class (i.e. Soldiers of Fitness) located as close to the border of Oakville as possible.  I work in Mississauga and get home around 4:30-5:00 and I'd very much like to make the trip home most days before going out anywhere.

So far the only place I've found is Kombat Arts which looks good, but it's a little deeper in to Mississauga than I'd hope, of course if there's no closer options it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.  I'm just doing a continuing search and appreciate any input from people experienced in this area, or are simply better at searching than me.

 

[Crimson]

There is now a Vancouver branch of SoF for those who may be interested. I know I am.

 

[ThainC]

Hey,

    I just completed my first month of the course, "Basic" as it were.  Very fun, enjoyable, and tough.  K.S. was my instructor for the second half of the month, Reed was my instructor for the first.  In fact, thanks to two of the "Corporals" I have an application package to sign on with the Primary Reserves through the RESO plan.  I enjoy it, just wish I could pull off 5 days a week.  Perhaps soon enough I'll be able to, but for now 3 days works for me.

CST.

 

[youravatar]

There is now a Vancouver branch of SoF for those who may be interested. I know I am.

Apparently it's prety good, we have a girl on my course who was with the program and her PT isn't as bad as the other girls in our coy.

 

[GO!!!]

Apparently it's prety good, we have a girl on my course who was with the program and her PT isn't as bad as the other girls in our coy.

Now that is a ringing endorsement of a few things!!

 

[daftandbarmy]

Looks a bit wimpy to me… if I was 10 years vounger 

Weapons of fat destruction

This boot camp is definitely not for the pink and frilly

Thirty minutes into the first 1½-hour workout and there are two guys in the bushes throwing up. It's somewhere around 6 a. m., not a good start to a Monday work week. And there are four weeks to go.
Welcome to boot camp for nine-to-fivers. Soldiers-of-Fitness is a basic training program that pushes participants to their physical limits and teaches them to work within a team environment to achieve common goals.
SOF, as it's called, is the brainchild of former Canadian soldiers who are now in the reserves and have taken military fitness and training techniques and modified them for the couch potatoes of the world. It's for those who don't like a gym environment yet want to improve their fitness and endurance.
Over the next four weeks, these 20 or so "recruits," about two-thirds of them women, will be introduced to an array of running, exercises and props, including "misery" -- two 10-foot-long steel tubes filled with rebar -- and "pain" -- a six-foot-long tree trunk about 2½-feet in diameter, which takes four people to move.
Recruits will haul them up and down the hills of a Toronto park, aided in part by grads called OPTers (on-going physical trainers), who have chosen to return for more of the same.
Platoon members will take their "rifles" -- 4-foot pieces of 2½-inch tubing -- and crawl through mud, do chin-ups, prisoner squats and a variety of different push-ups and sit-ups.
They will run stairs, toss 20-pound sandbags, dead lift a 45-lb weight until their arms can no longer raise it and push a van full of steel up a hill.
There will be "missions," where the recruits have to spot and disarm "explosive devices" -- yellow ribbons strategically hidden in the bushes where they will be running. They are disarmed by the "platoon," conducting a series of exercises.
It's all done under the watchful eyes of military corporals and fitness instructors.
The program culminates in a final graduation day, where the troops will use their new physical endurance and military tactics to take over a target and avoid the tennis balls being shot at them by the enemy.
It's not like the boot camp of the movies. There's no sergeant yelling obscenities, but there is discipline. Soldiers form ranks on command and failure to follow orders results in additional exercises.
Yes, muscles will ache, but the beauty of the program is that it doesn't matter if participants are runners or couch potatoes. It's designed so that people can push themselves to the max. But the platoon is only as strong as the weakest person, so no one gets left behind. Colleagues shout encouragement when a participant starts to lag and everyone works together to achieve the objective of that day's mission.
Still, those who attend, and they range from the self-employed to police officers, real estate agents, stay-at-home moms and executives, say they love it.
Take Erica Reddy and Samantha Hewit, realtors for Royal LePage Signature in north Toronto. They wanted to do a boot-camp-type fitness program, but didn't want to do one from those "frilly pink Web sites. We wanted something a little more hardcore, a little more exciting," says Ms. Hewit, 26.
"Our jobs are really stressful and this just adds a healthier aspect to the fast-paced nature of life," she says.
Jean Seaborne, 48, an RCMP officer, has been in the Toronto program since it started in May. "I love the camaraderie, the fellowship and the push," she says.
SOF ( www.soldiersoffitness.com) operates in Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto. Participants can sign up for a five-day, four-week program for $400, or the modified training program, which is three days a week and costs $200. Corporate sessions are also available for companies interested in building team spirit.
http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=727799

 

[Shamrock]

While these programs are effective in the short term, I've often wondered how participants fare over the long term.  How well do clients retain the motivation to continue exercising after the course is finished?

Any sports psychologists on?

 

[Franko]

At $400 a month....methinks they don't fair for very long.

Regards

 

[Fusaki]

Lets get down to the real issue here:

Who's the chick? She looks like way more fun than the better then the bitter NCOs I normally PT with. 8-9 with her in the morning, then shower, back at work for 10. Every day, without exceptions. I'll do it for Queen and Country. Pro Patria.

From the staff photos:
http://www.soldiersoffitness.com/photo_thumb.php#

Mamma and Pappa were layin in bed
Mamma rolled over this is what she said:
I'll give you some
PT
Good for you
Good for me

 

[Greymatters]

Its not the first boot camp style training Ive heard of over the last few years, as they seem to fade into the background after the initial news coverage.  Perhaps with a wider potential customer base in the Toronto area, they will have a better chance of staying in the black financially?

 

[Shamrock]

Soldiers of Fitness have been around for at least four years.