What makes one boot camp standout from the rest? To answer that question, we sat down for an interview with Courtney Prinzo of Rock Body Fitness to get a better idea of what separates Rock Body from the rest of the pack. Her positive attitude and affinity for helping others achieve their goals has set a strong example that is sweeping the fitness world in Austin. Here is what she had to say.

1)       What is your favorite aspect about being a trainer for Rock body?

I have a job where I get to help people everyday, which is very rewarding and exciting! We have clients in all shapes and sizes with all different types of goals and when they begin to reach those goals, it makes us remember why we are in this business!

2)       How is Rock Body different than other boot camps?

I can honestly say all of our Rockbody Trainers actually look at each camper as a person and not a dollar bill. We are the most affordable boot camp and all of our trainers have regular 9-5 jobs, including Brian and myself. It’s so great that we can actually enjoy our training and not be stressed to “pay the bills”. We know that each person has a life, a family, a job and things come up, so we make sure that even if you have to take a week off, you will not lose that time. If you paid for it, you will get to use it. No other boot camp lets you do that!

3)       What do you hope that your clients get out of their experiences at Rock Body?

I hope that each person gets exactly what they signed up for. If you are here to lose weight, we can help you achieve that! If you are here to tone your muscles, we can do that! If you want to meet new and active people in your community, we can do that too! Rockbody is not just a place to go to workout; it’s a community that is growing quickly and helping to shape our future!

4)       What is your favorite type of exercise?

One thing I think we are known for is our BAND SPRINTS! We LOVE THESE, and our clients love these too! Anything with bands is a great way to workout and to keep it fresh, we come up with all sorts of ideas.

5)       Can you provide any tips for people who are new to fitness who want to stay on a routine?

My main tip would be to do one thing at a time. A lot of people try and start a fitness routine at the same time of changing their eating habits. If you are discipline enough, then GREAT, do it!  However, it is always easier to do one first and get into the routine of it before adding in the second.  Another sound piece of advice is consistency. If you are going to make a commitment, be sure to stick with it even when you don’t feel like it because of a tough workout or a long day. Once you make the commitment, stay on track. You will glad that you did.

6)       Did you always want to help others achieve fitness goals?

Brian and I have always been active. We have played sports and loved to do anything competitive. After we got married, I started attending boot camps all over Austin. There were some that I LOVED and some that definitely rubbed me the wrong way. One day, I came home and starting thinking about how awesome it was that Austin has become such a fit city! I decided I wanted to learn more about what was going on in my body, so I studied for the NASM exam. I then offered free boot camp classes to my neighborhood for 3 months and trained everyone for free because I loved it so much. It was definitely something that grew as time went on. When I had attended some other boot camp classes prior to opening Rockbody, I felt like they were just going through the motions to get paid and not 100% on board to really help me and others.  That was my motivation in wanting to help other people!

7)       What can a first-time boot camper expect on their first day?

A First Time Bootcamper is always fun to have! They don’t know what to expect and are so nervous! Basically though, they can expect a totally different type of workout than they are use to. People don’t do what we make them do whenever they go to the gym, so they really can’t prepare for it. We will however walk you through every exercise, correct your form and make sure you are enjoying it J You may not like it during the hour you are in class, but we guarantee you will keep coming back for sure!

Getting rest and staying hydrated are great habits to practice when participating in any type of physical activity – especially long-term physical activity, like participating in a regular fitness boot camp. However, there’s another important habit to practice that is often overlooked. Stretching.

You’ve most likely seen people along the trail or at the gym in all kinds of silly looking poses and thought to yourself,  ”I don’t really need to stretch, I’m pretty flexible as it is.” But, stretching can do a lot more for your body than simply increasing flexibility.

As you increase your flexibility, you also help:

• Improve muscle balance around a joint, thus improving posture
• Reduce the chance of injury when playing a sport or in every day activities
• Increase the blood and nutrient supply to muscles and cartilage, thus reducing muscle soreness after training

It is important to stretch after doing any physical activity. When muscles perform any exercise, they tighten and shorten as a result. Stretching them out helps to restore and improve their length. It’s easy to find ways to incorporate stretching into your routine. For example, when doing strength training, you could stretch each muscle group directly after performing each set.

When stretching, each major muscle group should be stretched slowly and with control. Hold each stretch at the point of mild tension or tightness, not to the point of pain.

Whether you’re participating in beginners boot camps, boot camps for moms, or any personal training program – you’re more likely to feel great and excel in your activity when you practice stretching on a regular basis.

Unlike a car, your body can receive some benefits from working out on empty. A recent study that was published in The Journal of Physiology shows that an intense working out before consuming breakfast increases your body’s ability to metabolize fats and creates increased levels of a muscle protein that plays a role in regulation of insulin sensitivity.

What that means is, since your body does not have carbohydrates readily available to use for energy after a big meal, it has to burn already available fats for a fuel sources. However, this could potentially cause your performance to suffer somewhat if you don’t have adequate fuel to burn. This is why many athletes consume large amounts of carbohydrates as fuel.

If you are trying to lose weight, this may be a helpful tool for you to use when you are working out. The next time you wake up to go to your Rockbody boot camp, you may want to try avoiding eating until after your workout. Seeing how refueling post workout is optimal for recovery, you want your body to be able to recover at it’s highest level while still reaping the benefits of teaching it how to efficiently use fat stores in the muscles.

You’ve just completed a session with your Rockbody boot camp. The body is exhausted both mentally and physically and you have just successfully completed the first step in making gains in fitness. However, the process doesn’t stop here…

In order for your body to maximize those gains from all of that hard effort that you’ve put in, you need to be able to recover to allow your body to further adapt. Fitness gains are actually made in the recovery process and not the actual workouts themselves. That isn’t to say you can lounge around all day and expect to be fit, you obviously have to workout to start the process in the first place.

It is through recovery that your body allows itself to adapt to all of the stresses you put it through while working out. Daily exercise is one of the most healthy things that you can do for your body, however scheduling multiple hard days in a row is a common mistake that can lead to fatigue, injury and a weakened immune system.

In order to become, faster, stronger, and more fit you need to do the work, but at the same time you need to be sure to take care of yourself. Here are some tips that you can use to help yourself recover from all of those tough Rockbody boot camp exercises.

1. Cooling down. Doing light effort jogging or walking after a hard workout helps your body to remove lactic acid in the muscles that was built up during the workout. This will help you to be less sore the next day and is especially beneficial if you have another workout session that evening. Along with this, dynamic stretching after the workout is just as important as the cool down.
2. Plan on a recovery meal post exercise. As soon as you are done working out, you have about a 30 minute window to help replenish glycogen stores. As a general recovery rule, food or drinks with a 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio help to more efficiently restore glycogen depletion.
3. Rehydrate. Hydration post exercise is essential for recovery. Water supports metabolic functions and helps in the nutrient absorption and transfers in the body.
4. Massages. These help to stimulate blood flow and increase circulation. Along with that massage styles such as A.R.T help to break up built up fascia that can cause injury, stiffness, and soreness in the body. Using tools such as a foam roller or “the stick” can help break up stiff, tight muscles.
5. Sleep! While the body is sleeping, some of the greatest muscle repairs take place. During your sleep, your body produces growth hormones which not only repair damaged muscles, but promote tissue growth as well.