Boot camp

Kathy Painter was waiting for the pain. She was preparing for her second day of North Pinellas Adventure Boot Camp for Women and still wasn't sore.

"Tomorrow, I probably won't be able to move," she said with a laugh.

The experience so far? "I absolutely love it."

Prior to starting the course, she explained, Boot Camp owner and trainer John Kent had given a nutrition seminar for his clients as part of his boot camp package. He followed that up with a visit to a supermarket. There he and the women visited every aisle so that Kent could point out both healthy and unhealthy foods.

"He made me realize what I was eating was not good," Painter said.

Painter was at Kent's late afternoon boot camp on East Lake Road, south of Keystone Road, in a large field near the Life Path Christian Center.

Kent began his boot camps in October 2007. They meet at 5:30 and 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays at both the field near the Christian Center and at Brooker Creek Elementary School, 3130 Forelock Road. Camps last for four weeks and cost $299.

Certified trainer

Kent is a certified personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise. His one-hour workouts incorporate a large number of techniques, including core, cardiovascular, flexibility and resistance exercises. Kent also uses games and obstacle courses.

"That's what makes it cool," he said. "When you show up, you have no idea what is in store for you."

On a recent evening in the field near the Christian center, with hip-hop music in the background, he led about 25 women through a series of exercises. They included walking or running, jumping rope and marching.

Next, he introduced a game that incorporated activities such as running, obstacle courses, jumping rope, push ups and stepping.

Demie Angelocci paused at the jumping rope station.

"That breeze feels good. You start appreciating the simple things," she said and then laughingly predicted before she sprinted off to her next activity, "I'm sure he has another torture."

Kent appeared aware of individuals with difficulties. If they have even the slightest pain, he insists on their seeing a doctor before continuing boot camp, he noted. When one woman began to break into a run, he cautioned her to walk because she had a knee that was acting up.

"Good job, good job," he kept repeating and explained, "This is not a militant boot camp. There's no breaking down of anyone."

Rather, he said, he teaches by encouragement, enthusiasm and humor. "We train them physically but also build them up emotionally. I'm their biggest cheerleader but also their accountability partner."

Sign up again

About 70 percent of the women, such as Felicia Mann, sign up again after their first camp, Kent said.

Mann was on her second camp. She wanted to make it clear she isn't a fitness buff. "I absolutely hate exercise," she said. "But he makes it fun."

The hour-long sessions have become important to Mann, a wife and mother of a 2-year-old daughter. "I lose myself when I'm here. It washes away the daily stress."

She has also noticed changes in her body. Since signing up, she has gone down two pants sizes.

Several of the women mentioned the supportive, light-hearted atmosphere both Kent and their fellow attendees created. "It beats exercising by myself," said Krystal Overbeck.

Her aunt Diane Overbeck appreciated the camp's setting. "Being outdoors is part of the experience."

Age range

Boot Campers' ages range from the 30s to 60s.

Kent has seen women have emotional reactions to becoming physically fit. A client burst into tears after she had run.

"I thought she was hurt," Kent recalled.

But these were tears of joy. She was crying because she had thought she would never be able to do such strenuous exercise as running.

Such incidents pump up the already high-energy Kent. His is the best work possible, he said. "I get to see people that have been stuck for years come back to life."

For more pictures of the boot camp, go to the Suncoast News Web site, keyword: women boot camp. For more information on the camp call 727-420-8139.