I got a chance to take a class at Total Training Fitness in Laguna Hills. The owner, Tammy Neiman, has been a leader in the outdoor boot camp fitness , running a very popular, Irvine based one for nearly a decade, and has now opened her first indoor location.

It is beautiful inside – brand new, state of the art, with treadmills across the board. The classes are run in groups of 15-20 people. It is a circuit, you will be on the treadmill for five or six minutes and then swap out on the floor for weight training. and go back and forth between the two. This is a great workout if you’re someone who tracks your heart rate and try to get that extra caloric burn – you can full sprint on the treadmill, and then use heavier weights, and try to increase the rounds completed. You can also scale the workouts given to make it more intense if you would like.

The trainers are not only extremely motivating but are highly trained and experts in the in their field. Your form will be addressed and corrected. This is not common in most boot-camps and circuits, they are usually run like aerobics classes with everyone doing the same workout. Here the trainers are there to help, but the workouts are also projected from a Power Point on a TV screen so that you always know what to do next.

The Breakdown:

Skill Level: Although this is a circuit/boot camp style workout, it is aimed at the older, less fit population. You’re not going to walk in and see an instructor in a sports bra, flexing their six pack (not that there’s anything wrong with that), they are more concerned about getting you through your workout and getting to reach your full potential. No one is going to be yelling at you, drill instructor style, to bring “beast mode”.

Injury: They won’t address your injury or fix it, but they can work around it.

Daycare: No daycare is offered

Music: Loud! It has a set volume, and though it is turned down while the instruction is given, when the workout begins it is turned up to a set level they have for all the classes.

Final thought: Overall a great experience, a lot of fun energy, and they do a great job.