Need a kick start your fitness regime? Lucy Dixon finds out if a bit of army style motivation will do the trick.

I’ve never understood people who drive to a gym to run on a treadmill for 30 minutes when they could just, well, go for a run outside. However, running doesn’t involve any much-needed (for me) resistance training and, quite frankly, can get a little dull. So when I heard that Regiment Fitness was running fitness classes outside, this appealed to me, particularly as the location was the top of Dunstable Downs, with gorgeous views of the countryside. The aspect of the class I was a little dubious about, however, was that it was a military-style training session – and I imagined this would involve being shouted at and made to feel sick with humiliation in equal measures.

Despite this, being game for anything (and desperate to shed some weight) I went along anyway and am so glad I did, as it was brilliant. Yes, there was lots of shouting, but it was all of the encouraging type. The instructors quickly learn everyone’s names so they can cheer as you attempt every task, whether that be lifting a log to do shoulder presses, crawling under a camouflage net or sprinting pulling a tyre on a rope (quite possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever done).

It’s not just the instructors that holler encouragement – other participants of the class do too. I would have joined in but was out of breath for most of the 90-minute session. Most of the activities are done in teams, meaning you get to know people straight away. These team tasks quickly become less like exercise and more of a game, lighting the competitive spark (another great tactic for making me try harder) as nobody wants to let their team down.

There was a real mix of ages and fitness levels at the class and the instructors easily tweak each activity to suit those with less ability in a particular area. That there is more than one instructor helps with this as there always seems to be one of them nearby if you’re struggling with something.

I did actually feel sick a couple of times during the class, but it was purely as a result of pushing myself hard, and not because someone made me feel like a wally. And best of all was watching the sun set across the Chilterns while feeling smugly knackered at the end of the session.

The Regiment Fitness team is made up of Steve, Dean and Dan (all currently serving in the British Army) and Shaun and Adam (both qualified and experienced fitness instructors). Visit www.regimentfitness.co.uk

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