Working out is one of my favorite everyday habits, so naturally through my active life I have tried lot of different workouts. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I received an opportunity to try a thirty minute workout at Fit Body Boot Camp here in Scottsdale. Fit Body Bootcamp is a team environment workout class that focuses on explosive moves to get your heart rate up, while working different muscle groups. The combination increases results in a quick amount of time.

Before the work out, Ashley Williams, the local owner of Fit Body Boot Camp sat down to chat on everything you need to know about this awesome gym!

How did you decide to get started with Fit Body Boot Camp?

My Husband [Chad Williams] and I started in San Diego. My personal training business had grown fairly large, but there was only so much time in the day. I started questioning if I should start my own business or hire personal trainers under me. After doing a Fit Body Boot Camp class, I thought, “This is the best work out I have ever done”. [Her and her husband] wanted to open a Fit Body Boot Camp in San Diego, but real estate is pretty crazy out there. It was hard to make owning a gym a reality there because there was such a high demand for restaurants, not gyms. We had family in Arizona already, so why not Scottsdale?

We found the perfect location [in Scottsdale]. We are one of the larger Fit Body Bootcamp Locations, the location used to be a gym so it was perfect. We ended up driving everything out here and it’s been a lot of fun.

Tell me a little bit about the Boot Camp, you said it was one of your favorite work outs. Why is that?

It’s done in thirty minutes. It’s super-fast and very intense, you get a lot out of it! I was always used to gearing myself up for that hour workout. Once you get here you don’t have to think about anything and it’s done for you. You will push yourself harder than you would at home.  I like to be pushed out of my comfort zone. The workouts are always different. I had never done battle ropes before, and it was the coolest thing.

You get the cardio, which often people hate doing on their own, and you get the strength. So it’s a really nice combo. With Fit Body Workouts specifically, members will lose fat really quickly but gain muscle. And that’s the ideal combination.

About how many calories can you burn in a class?

That is a good question, we’ve had people burn 600 calories. For me, a really good workout is 350 calories.

Wow! How many classes do you offer?

We have 8 classes Monday-Thursday, 6 on Friday, and 2 on Saturday.

That is a lot of options. Do you focus on different types of workouts with the different days?

Yes, we change it based on body area. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are full body, Tuesday is upper body, and Thursday is lower body. Saturday is super Saturday, so we do something fun like supersets, the ladders, or a group song at the end, which is super fun [laughs], that’s everyone’s favorite. Saturdays are the time to test yourself. My husband, Chad, plans the Saturday workouts, so he makes it his own challenge to make it really tough.

Tell me a little bit about your coaches, how do you go about selecting them?

I like to see enthusiasm. And how passionate they are about fitness, I can always teach them how to correct form, but I always like to look for enthusiasm and passion.

What would you recommend for a first timer: AKA me?

Go a little bit slower. The first workouts always hard and your body doesn’t know what to expect. We always tell people go about half speed, don’t go full out. If you go full out, you might be a little too sore the next day. Just take it easy, bring your water with you and if you need a break, take a break.  Eventually those breaks will get less frequent and your stamina will increase.

I’ve heard from some members have told me that there is a big sense of community. How do you keep up the positive energy and get participation?

That’s a good question too! Chad and I love our members. They have become our family. It’s amazing, you build these relationships with people. People who may be negative end up fizzling out anyway, it doesn’t feel right for them.

Personally, I like positive encouragement. I’m not a beat down trainer, so I like to bring encouragement to training. A few of our members have said “I’ve never been yelled at so nicely” so that’s me, that’s my style, and my coaches follow that as well. I want us to be a loving a community, we can get to the goals in so many different ways.  My objective is to pay attention to what each person likes, so it’s a personalized experience. I like to ask what is everyone’s why?

That’s awesome! Do you offer meal planning services for people?

Yes, I try to get people to come see me monthly. You can only make slight adjustments. I want people to learn there is a lifestyle diet. It’s not a three-week diet, it’s not a six-week diet, we are going to find the lifestyle diet for you. So sometimes it takes a while.

I’m always working on mine, and mine is always changing. We should be able to adapt and learn. Changing things as our bodies change. What is making you feel achy or bloated? It’s one of my favorite things. I am constantly trying to learn and keep everyone up to date on the current information by educating them.

Where would you like to take Fit Body Boot Camp in the future?

I think it would be fun to franchise another location in Scottsdale. Having multiple locations, members can go to other gyms owned by us if they wanted to.

From the short amount of time I spent with Ashley, I could tell she had this infectious energy that drives the environment here at Fit Body. I couldn’t wait to try my very first class. Thirty minutes- this would be no problem for me, I’m pretty physically active. Ha. Ha.

This work out is no joke guys.

Five minutes into it and muscles were burning, burning in places I didn’t even know I had muscles. We did five different exercises for two minutes each, and then repeated the movements. They consisted of plank arm extensions with a resistance band, Bosu ball burpees, battle ropes while lunging, walk overs, and finally ab work with the exercise ball.

You honestly have never felt a real burn until you’ve tried to use the battle ropes for two minutes. It got to the point that if someone had said “continue on with the battle ropes and you will have a million dollars”- I would not have a million dollars today. It was that hard.

Being a thirty minute workout, this is the real deal. You will definitely see results and get thirty minutes back to your day.  And besides that, Ashley is the sweetest gem you will ever meet!