The dirty line

So every year since we began operating it never fails that we "catch a boot camper" doing something they are not supposed to. Something that will derail their progress during the cours of the month.

The first time it happened was in the third or forth month of our first season and I got a call one Saturday afternoon. I was driving with my husband and two of our instructors who lived in Brookhaven called me. "You have got to get over here to Brewsters, there is a boot camper eating an ice cream cone!" And that is how it began...every where we went, we ran into campers. Sometimes doing regular things like going to the grocery store, other times doing not so regular things when participating in the boot camp program, like walking out of the pizza joint, or drinking a beer.

So last night when I got the call, it came from another lead instructor at a different camp. She and a friend overhead the girl at the next table talking about one of our workouts. And then they saw the beer. Immediately they called me and described the girl. I knew it would be one of two people based on the description. So now I had a decision to make. Wait until the girl wrote it down in her log, ask her directly or do nothing.

Being that this is the first week of boot camp and that St. Patrick's Day is coming up, I decided to see how group persuasion worked on her. Now this is a very delicate situation that sometimes can go very wrong. So a few minutes before the workout began and after I checked through the books of both candidates, I started to talk about food and good restaurants to eat at. I cautioned against drinking green beer and partaking in other alcohol related activities this upcoming weekend and then transitioned into the idea that drinking a beer at the restaurant just down the street from our neighborhood probably wasn't a good idea. And then I asked if anyone did so last night? I gave them plenty of time to answer and then I laid down the law - 60 squat thrusts for the group. That was enough to put this girl over the edge. She cautiously admitted it and saved the group extra work. And I let her off with only extra credit. Then I joked with her that she should find another watering hole for the next 30 days or maybe even give the program a try and not drink at all.

I thought I was being a pretty good sport about it and she laughed, too. But when it came time for the extra work at the end of the workout that she agreed to do, she quickly had an excuse why she couldnt' do it. I have to be at work at 7:30. Well that is where my patience ended. So 20 squat thrusts and 1 minute later she was on her way.

The point of this story is that The American Boot Camp Company's boot camp is an accountability based program - not just a workout routine. Without the nutritional plan, hydration check and asbtenance from junk food and alcohol, the program doesn't work. And as a lead instructor, it is often hard to convince people of that. Unfortunately it usually takes about two weeks. The frustrating part to me, is that for this girl, I didn't get two weeks because I am certain that she will drink this weekend. And that is so disappointing because on Monday, she won't see the progress that everyone else will. And on Monday, I will have to fight hard to not let her cross that line and give up.

So how will I do it? I will smile through the squat thursts and do them with her (and the rest of the group). Maybe no one will give into the temptation of Green Beer this weekend... I guess we will just have to wait and see.