Are you still raising those pretty pink dumbbells or catching up on your reading on the elliptical machine at the gym? Get real. If your new year resolution is to get in shape, 30 minutes on the treadmill or focusing just on the bench press ain’t gonna cut it. To really trim off those late-night kebabs and beers, high-intensity interval training (HITT)—60-90 second bursts of exercise with short rest periods that take as little as 20 minutes to do—is the way to go.
Don’t be afraid to lift weights and chug protein shakes either—piling on muscle gives you a leaner look and it’s virtually impossible for a woman to get bulky no matter how much weight she pulls—unless she’s also eating like a sumo wrestler. Outdoor group exercise classes has gotten really popular in Hong Kong in recent years and they are a great way to get fit, force yourself to rise at the crack of dawn (if that’s your thing), and be part of a community. Here are our five favorite fitness boot camps — and you will find no pretty pink dumbbells here, promise.
Offering 45-minute sessions for six days a week at 6, 7, and 8 am in Hong Kong Park or the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park, the women-only BikiniFit is a brutal interval training workout that incorporates strength exercises, weight-lifting, kettlebells and TRX suspension, usually in a circuit. Thursdays are yoga days and Saturdays are boxing days, which makes a nice variety. Other than the highly effective workouts designed by internationally-recognised Australian trainer Alex, BikiniFit also offers a supportive community with workshops on nutrition and goal-setting to kick your butt into shape within weeks.
Crossfit
Crossfit is the exercise program of choice for military officers, police academies, and elite athletes, with 7,000 affiliated gyms worldwide. Comprising mostly of basic but powerful functional lifts like deadlifts, squats, pull-ups, presses, these exercises push our body to the max by mimicking the basic human movements of jumping, climbing, throwing, hitting, and so on. Dedicated to those who want to get extremely fit, the Hong Kong Crossfit gym is located in Central with classes throughout the day.
Coastal Fitness SMAC
SMAC stands for strength, mobility, and conditioning and sessions take place outdoors on the Happy Valley infield on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings, with an indoor version held on Saturday mornings. Other locations include Kowloon, Aberdeen, Island School, and Victoria Park. The SMAC program combines running, bodyweight movements, TRX exercises, and kettlebells into two to three workouts that last an hour.
Circuit 25
Circuit 25 is an ultimate 25-minute workout that, like all effective fitness boot camps, is inspired by HIIT and Tabata intervals. A typical Circuit workout will involve 25 seconds of stair-running at maximum effort followed by 10 seconds of rest followed by another 25-second burst of exercise. After interval training, group members do another 25-minutes of cardio to cool down. If you are motivated enough, you can even do these exercises at home, which are shared on their website and needs zero equipment. Of course, doing it outdoors with others early in the morning will definitely keep you going longer.
Hailing from Malaysia, Original Bootcamp is another outdoor-based fitness training program that blends high-intensity interval training with Crossfit and Kettlebell-inspired concepts as well as bodyweight drills. Structured in four-week blocks, each session is one-hour long and is offered 8-9 pm three days a week at Victoria Park. Like the other outdoor programs here, Original Bootcamp incorporates park facilities by utilizing playgrounds, tracks, stairs, and benches as part of the workout, making it fun and stimulating.
