Boomer Friendly Boot Camps

How to Get Started

Getting a Boomer-Friendly Boot Camp going at your facility involves a few key steps. Ask yourself the following questions:

Who do we want to target?
Boomer-Friendly Boot Camps target men and women aged 55-70. Whilst some instructors may elect to open the program up to younger and older people, feedback from a pilot project conducted in 2008 suggested that Baby Boomers themselves value having a program that specifically targets their age group.

Beyond this, you may wish to consider:

  • Do you want to include men, women, or both?
  • Do you want to target people who are less active (i.e. currently doing less than 60 minutes of physical activity per week), or people who are already moderately active?
  • Do you want to target any particular group in your community (e.g. people from a non-English speaking background)?
  • Are there any seasonal factors in your community that will affect take-up at different times of year?

Your answers to these questions may shape what sort of Boomer-Friendly program you want to offer, what season and time of day you run the program, and how you promote it.

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 What kind of program do we want to offer?
The Boomer-Friendly Boot Camp concept is extremely flexible. Depending on the needs of your target group, as well as your instructor’s inclinations, you could:

  • Design a circuit training-type program that focuses on general fitness
  • Design a program for general fitness that is game-based
  • Design a program that provides fitness training for a range of sports
  • Design a program that provides fitness training for a particular sport (e.g. tennis, golf,  softball)
  • Design a program that provides opportunities for participants to try a range of sports
  • Offer an aquatic Boomer-Friendly Boot Camp
  • Offer a combination of these

See the Instructor Guidelines in the Resources section for further guidance.

TIP: No matter who you target, you are likely to get a wide range of ability levels in your Boomer group. This means activities need to be flexible; it’s a good idea to have a number of modified versions of the same exercise up your sleeve to enable everyone to participate at some level.

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When should we offer the program?
There are no limitations on what time of year the program can be offered. However, programs offered in late spring, summer and early fall can take advantage of the weather to offer an outdoor boot camp. Feedback from participants in a pilot project indicated that the outdoor setting was a significant factor in program enjoyability. The outdoor venue can be changed throughout the program to provide variation for participants. Finally, hosting the program outdoors can also significantly reduce costs. However, instructors should feel free to exercise their creativity in developing programs that can be delivered in a range of non-gym indoor settings in winter.

What time of day you run the program depends on who you want to target. Mid-morning is a good time if you want to target women and retired Boomers. Remember, though: many Boomers (particularly men) are still working, so you may wish to consider running the program in the late afternoon or early evening.

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What kind of equipment will we need?
Running the program does not require a lot of equipment. Some Boomer-Friendly Boot Camp instructors have run an entire six week program using only resistance tubing and features of the natural outdoor environment (e.g. fences, trails, stairs, bleachers, telephone poles, lined sports fields, dug-outs). Others asked participants to bring their own equipment for inexpensive items like rubber tubing, tennis balls, etc., or asked participants if they had equipment they could share with the group (e.g. a spare tennis racquet or golf clubs).

Equipment that Boomer-Friendly Boot Camp instructors have used in the past includes:

  • Agility ladders
  • Slalom poles
  • Coloured cones
  • Medicine balls
  • Hand weights
  • Bosu balls
  • Balance boards
  • Slastix
  • Tennis balls
  • Tennis racquets
  • Broken hockey sticks
  • Basketballs
  • Softballs
  • Dragon boat paddles
  • Golf clubs
  • Ropes
  • Foam noodles
  • Badminton racquets and birdies
  • Beach balls
  • Ping pong balls
  • Nordic walking poles

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What fee structure should we use?
The Boomer-Friendly Boot Camp structure is flexible. Past Boomer-Friendly Boot Camp leaders have offered the program as:

  • Drop-in only
  • Session based (6-10 weeks)
  • A combination of these

The advantage of a session-based structure, from the Boomer participant’s point of view, is that they have committed money up front and this may encourage them to keep attending. The session-based structure also means there is a defined end point, which may help participants stay motivated to complete the program. Finally, having a defined beginning and end date means it’s easier to see exactly how much improvement they’ve made.

The advantage of drop-in, from the Boomer participant’s point of view, is that they can come on their own terms, and can fit sessions around other commitments. Offering drop-in may be a good option if you particularly want to target people who have not done much physical activity before; getting them to the session in the first place is the biggest challenge, and they may be unwilling to commit up front to a form of fitness they know little about.

A third alternative is to offer a session-based program (with a minimum participant registration number for the program to go ahead), but allow drop-ins. This gives participants both options, but ensures you have sufficient funds up front to run the program.

The pilot project showed that pricing is an issue for Boomers, as many have retired and are on fixed incomes. This needs to be taken into account in the pricing structure, and this may affect what kind of program you offer and which facilities you use.

How do we promote the program?
For ideas on promoting the program, go to Tips for promotion

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