Day 1, Champneys boot camp, Henlow Grange.
It’s 9.30pm and I still haven’t unpacked my bags. My newspapers which I picked up this morning remain crisp and unopened.
Since arriving at Champney boot camp at Henlow Grange at 11am, I’ve not had a minute to draw breath. My reason for joining the week-long group is to shed a few pounds and improve my fitness level, and the programme started instantly, without a moment to lose.
As you can see from my beautifully prepared chargrilled tuna salad lunch, the nutritional content is high, but portion sizes are moderate (yes,, that is half a new potato), calculated at 1500 calories per day for women, and 1700 for men. I have started eating much more slowly to savour every mouthful, chewing each morsel of food about 20 times to make it last longer.
What makes this week all the harder for everyone is that we cannot drink tea and coffee, only herbal teas, and it is alcohol free too, of course, so it is a thorough detox as well. Although my room should have been cleared of tea and coffee, the fact that it has been overlooked is tempting, but I will not succumb. I am sipping camomile tea instead, and a fresh slice of lemon and grated ginger has been delivered for my room to drink with hot water first thing tomorrow morning before our 7 am power walk.
My fellow boot campers have varied needs for coming here. Some are slim and super-fit already, but enjoy high levels of fitness and pushing themselves really hard to the next level. Others, like me, need that extra boost to kick-start a healthy lifestyle that remains constant. There are a couple too who are obese. A few have tried other boot camps before, even in America. There is one guy who appears very fit and toned and has booked up a second boot camp week later this month at Champneys in Forest Mere.
I’m wondering how addictive this is going to become for me too!
The afternoon was spent on an hour long country walk and we then played bench ball, a kind of netball without the nets, though I still wearing my leather walking boots which hopefully meant I burnt off extra calories. It brought back school day memories I ran around the pitch at full speed. I was intrigued to observe how this competitive element gave even the least fit members in our group an extra spurt of energy. Maybe that’s the secret to book camp activities, make them all competitive!
After a snack of three dried apricots and some seeds, we then dived into the large pool for aqua fit. I looked on enviously at other Champney guests who lounged around the pool reading magazines and chilling then.
It was then time for a welcoming and soothing, thallasotherapy treatment in a heated pool with various minerals to draw out toxins and jets to press against areas that needed that extra pressure. Now you can see why there was no time to unpack, because after a shower, it was time for dinner.
There was an additional flurry of excitement at Henlow Grange throughout the day. When I arrived at Henlow, the receptionist made a call to their dining room to book in one of the hugely successful boy band One Direction which has just taken America by storm. I asked which one, and she told me they were expecting Louis Tomlinson.
My sons were dead impressed and asked me to take a photo. A waiter even showed me which table had been reserved for him, but when I looked later, the place was taken by another fit looking guy. We are not sure why this happened as staff really believe that the One Direction star had booked in.
It wasn’t hard work for all of us though as one of our fellow boot campers was excused from the day’s activity. He signed in, attended the welcome talk, and then left for Wembley to see the Chelsea-Liverpool game. He will have lots of catching up to do tomorrow.
I am impressed by the staff who can’t do enough for your, and our trainers Richard and Lewis are lovely. The whole group is very supportive of each other and I am looking forward to getting to know them better throughout the week.
*I am a guest of Champneys.
P.S. The One Direction mystery is solved, I was told that it was Louis’ parents who came here.
I wonder how much a week of boot camp costs .. far more than most people can afford at the moment so I hope you enjoy your stay 🙂
Hi Sally, yes, I can understand it might seem that way. However, many people have been before, some of them several times, because they feel it is such good value with really lovely food, surroundings, treatments, classes, and the pool too. And these are just ordinary people who work hard to treat themselves to what gives them pleasure. People are increasingly health conscious, they are too busy for exercise and this course gives them a tremendous boost. I can see why there is such a huge demand for fitness breaks like this.