Thrilled to be mentioned by The Times in their feature on outdoor workouts. Word is spreading on the benefits of boot camp!

It’s a humbling experience when you meet someone that truly embodies the indomitable Human Spirit .   Christina’s been training with me on and off for four years now. A mother with two young girls we’ve always had a great laugh whenever she’s been able to join me on camp and, over time, we’ve become firm friends. Of course we all have patchy periods of training for loads of reasons,  it’s just that in her case,   it’s been on and off because she’s fighting cancer.   In the entire time I’ve spent with her I’ve never known Christina miserable, look for sympathy or bemoan what’s happening to her. All I have ever known her do is grasp life with both hands, every day. She shares the most positive spirit and a kindness of heart with everyone she comes into contact with and, despite the immense scale of her own challenges, she’s still putting time and energy into helping others, raising money for a succession of charities.

Her latest quest  is to raise funds for the Royal Marsden Hospital who look after her and so many others like her while they face down this most devastating illness.  She’ll be be  taking part in sponsored  6k run on 30 April and I’m proud to have been asked  to join her.  In my case it will probably be a 6k fast hike as the man-child /baby Luca (now weighing in at nine and a half kilos!) will be coming along too!

If like me, you believe in the indomitable human spirit  then please help Christina to help others by sponsoring either of us. Visit  www.justgiving.com to make a donation.  Type in either me or Cristina Bottrill under sponsor a friend  then double click on the page.  The rest should be easy, just follow instructions!   I’d be really grateful.  Lots of love.  Kate x

I’d like to share an email we had recently. It’s feedback like this that makes it worth getting out of bed (that early);

“I started Boot camp about 9 months ago and I was not in good shape at all. Two years prior to that, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a bi-lateral mastectomy. I lost all of my upper body strength, gained 20 lbs and was feeling very low about myself – a good friend persuaded me to try Adventure Boot Camp.

In my first session, the run was a walk for me, I was barely able to do a few crunches and I could not do one press-up. I just broke down in tears. Kate is a fantastic motivator and has continued to gently push me along with positive reinforcement. It is great to be outdoors with a great group of women, all just basically trying to stay healthy.

It is nine months since that awful morning when I couldn’t do one press-up – now I’ve just done 31 press-ups in a minute! I feel so good about myself, have lost most of the weight that I had put on and I am a happier person because I am back in a body that I feel comfortable in.

Thank you!

Fran

The guys at the office came across this interview with Richard and Judy. As one of the ‘originals’ I was really pleased when I was asked to go on the show to talk about the comeback of the Gladiators Programme on Sky. I was ‘on the couch’ with fellow ABC evangalist James Crossley  (Hunter, who runs the camps at  ), Mike Lewis ( Saracen) and  Nicky Diamond (Scorpio ). It was  a great laugh and good to catch up on old times, but above everything I was struck by just how much all the guys are a great testament to how you can maintain energy and vitality by making exercise and good nutrition an essential part of life as you grow older. It really is the only effective way of holding back the clock.

‘With the snow blanket falling to cover our training spaces this week I was reminded how lucky we are to have such a beautiful exercise environment right on our doorstep’

All the more reason to be agog when I stopping  by the coffee shop near our office after training today I heard two ladies behind me in the queue complaining about the gym they belonged to.

“The trouble is,” said one, “since they had that big membership drive there are so many new people that the place is packed and they all seem to arrive at the same time as me. Last night I actually had to queue to get on to some of the machines.”

I was so tempted to turn round and ask them why they felt they could only get fit indoors!

At Bootcamp we exercise outside every day, except when the rain is really heavy, and the ladies who train with us will all tell you that it’s perfectly possible to get fit and stay fit with just a pair of dumbbells, a mat, a pair of running shoes – and access to that great big playground created by nature.

We are seeing more and more evidence that exercising outside helps you to exercise better and feel better. When you are exercising outside your body works harder to regulate its temperature and resist the wind, while you are filling your lungs with fresh air, not someone else’s perfume, cologne or sweat! It really is so inspiring to work out among the trees and hills.

Just ask yourself whether you would prefer to pound away at the treadmill plugged into your iPod in the gym or, like we did this morning, stretch in the sun shining through the trees and then hike through the snow filled wood?

Working out in the open air means you are exposed to natural light, which is our only source of vital Vitamin D. And as your body is forced to work harder to adapt to ever-changing surfaces and contours it helps improve core stability and work that midsection which is the bane of so many women’s lives.
There are so many natural and man-made features which you can use to help you in your workout, stretching against trees, benches, railings or other equipment, and running up and down flights of steps or with the natural rise and fall of the land. You can even alter the intensity of exercises such as sit ups by positioning your mat on level or sloping ground.

Don’t forget the wonderfully energising effect which you get when you work out outside – it’s a feeling you just can’t get in the gym.

And can you remember when you last queued to use your local park or sports field?

See the latest action from our Camps