Boot camps were brought to the UK by Robin Cope, a retired British Army officer, in 1999 “as an alternative form of group training to gyms” (BMF, 2012). However, Wikipedia suggests that the fitness boot camp concept did not reach our shores until 2005 (Wikipedia, 2012). The idea of British Military Fitness (BMF) was to… Read More
2000s and Celebrity Boot Camps
Celebrity Fit Club was a reality television series that followed eight overweight celebrities as they tried to lose weight for charity. Celebrity Fit Club aired in the UK from 2002 to 2006 and in the US from 2005 to 2010; the US version was called Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp from 2008. Split into two… Read More
1980s and 90s, and US Shock Incarceration Programmes
Such was the hope for shock incarceration programmes in US prisons that young, non-violent offenders could be diverted from a life outside the law using the same tactics successfully employed by the military to turn civilians into soldiers. This reliance on a military atmosphere still provokes controversy over boot camp programmes, with proponents arguing that… Read More
1960s and 70s, and the US Army Correctional Training Facility (CTF)
In 1968, the US Army Correctional Training Facility (CTF) was established at Fort Riley, Kansas, in response to public demands during the mid-1960s that society should attempt to rehabilitate criminals in confinement rather than just confine them. Its mission was to return military inmates to duty with improved attributes and motivation through intensive training, supervision… Read More
1950s and the Royal Canadian Air Force
According to an article published in the Washington Post on 31 March 1998, the Royal Canadian Air Force Workout inspired the fitness movement of the 1950s (Krucoff, 1998) and, as such, civilian boot camp workouts can be considered throw backs to 1950s military-style exercise. During the late 1950s, Dr Bill Orban designed the Royal Canadian… Read More
1940s and the United States Army
During World War Two, and the post-war period, the US Army used intensive basic training as a strategy to rehabilitate and reform soldiers who committed criminal behaviour. This approach was utilised to reduce costs and overcrowding, successfully returning 42,000 soldiers to active duty (Anderson et al., 1999). References: Anderson, J.F., Dyson, L. & Burns, J.C.… Read More
19th Century Beginnings
A military training approach was first introduced in 1888 at the Elmira Reformatory in Elmira, New York (Anderson et al., 1999). This new training approach was implemented to invoke discipline and keep the inmates active, rather simply allow them to suffer boredom and inactivity. This lasted until 1920 when the horrors of World War One… Read More
Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute 