After two years of being exclusively for women, the Argyle Adventure Boot Camp fitness program has added a men’s only session to their schedule. According to the Argyle Adventure Boot Camp calendar, the new men’s only sessions will begin Sept. 15 and end Oct. 10. Participants may sign up for three, four or five-day sessions per week and each session lasts one hour. The men’s only session meets for workouts at 5:30 a.m. in the parking lot of Cross Timbers Community Church on US-377.         

    Fitness instructor and Adventure Boot Camp Master Trainer Kelli Calabrese has led the fitness program since the Argyle-based camp was set up in 2006. With 22 years of health and wellness expertise, Calabrese described the Adventure Boot Camp method as a self-paced program that combines diet, exercise and education. Despite the visualization that comes to many people’s minds when they think of boot camp, Calabrese said the program is not designed to be like military training. “It’s not at all an environment where people are being embarrassed or demeaned or pushed beyond their limits,” she said.         

    Calabrese said the success of her women’s only camps led to requests for one specifically for men. According to her, many men desire to get back into shape for the same reasons that women do. “It begins with somebody making a decision and usually it’s based on some type of pain in his/her life.” Calabrese said that pain may be from a person not being able to fit into their clothes anymore or a severe lack of energy. According to Calabrese, many of the boot camp participants are older people, who, in addition to having tried and failed other fitness programs, struggle to reconcile the demands of their aging bodies with the need to stay in shape. “I have people who haven’t exercised in 40 years. I have people who have had knee surgery or other orthopedic conditions,” she said. Calabrese said she sometimes separates her participants into groups based on their abilities and conditions in order to better serve their individual needs and goals.         

    Calabrese, who has an Associates in Biology, Bachelors with High Honors in Exercise Physiology and a Masters in Clinical Exercise Physiology and Cardiac Rehabilitation, said she employs the best trainers and instructors she can find. “All the coaches that I’ve hired are extremely experienced. They all have a minimum of a master’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science,” she said. Calabrese selected athletic consultant Brad Jurica to lead the new men’s only session. Jurica said he’s working on his Ph.D in Counseling and Sports Psychology in addition to his new role as an Adventure Boot Camp instructor. According to Calabrese and Jurica, the men’s sessions will be a little more intensive than the women’s camp and will focus more on strength training. A student of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts, Jurica said he plans to throw in some martial arts exercises into his sessions.         

    Tom Church is one of nearly a dozen men that have already registered for next week’s sessions. Church was encouraged to join the camp following his wife’s success in previous sessions. “I figured I’d give it a good shot and see if I could get some results from it,” Church said. In addition to the new men’s camp, two more women’s only camps have also been added to the calendar. According to Calabrese, the two new women’s sessions are an alternatively-timed 8:20 a.m. session at Argyle Intermediate School and a 5:30 a.m. session at in Denton First Baptist Church. The instructors for the new women’s sessions are Jamie Roberts and Laci Wallace, respectively. To register for one of the camps or for more information log on to the Argyle Adventure Boot Camp Web site: http://www.argylebootcamp.com.