WHAT IS BOOT CAMP?

Fitness boot camps are designed primarily for women (although men are welcome at a few); typically run for an hour a day, five days a week, in four- to six-week sessions; and peg themselves to be the ultimate out-of-gym experience.

"That unknown factor keeps people from doing it. But we really try to make it fun. We use as much variety as we can every day," said Jesse Judd, certified Adventure Boot Camp trainer in Meridian. "So we'll do obstacle courses, games, whatever it takes to keep it fun. It's quite a challenge, but it's going to be as fun as you make it."

WHAT MAKES THIS APPROACH DIFFERENT?

"Women are sometimes intimidated to go to a gym. Or you have people who are so sick of being in a gym -doing the same routine with the same equipment," said Johnny Escamilla, boot camp instructor and CEO of the Boise-based Fit Club. "Being outside, we have so many different abilities to use everything. I've worked in gyms for nine years, but after being outside, you have the ability to do obstacle courses, do circuits, run hills. It alleviates boredom."

"It's habit forming," said Jennifer Moortgat, a 48-year-old mother of two from Boise, who started Fit Club boot camp in September and has been participating ever since. "What I really like about the Fit Club boot camp - because I've tried a lot of different ways to get back in shape, going to the gym, having a trainer, different classes - is it's outdoors. It's so nice to be outdoors.

"It's not so great when the alarm rings at 5 o'clock in the morning. But once I get myself there, I feel like a million bucks," she said.

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM THE EXPERIENCE?

"Expect to get dirty; expect to sweat; expect to work out in the rain and mud; expect to learn hand-to-hand combat while losing fat and gaining strength, self-image, self-confidence and self-respect," according to the Web site for Critical Tactics Training & Performance, which offers a non-traditional boot camp that incorporates 20 minutes of self-defense training including punching, kicking and ground work, five days a week for a 6-week session.

"It's a lot of work," said Critical Tactics senior instructor Sheila Kilborn-Jones. "It's almost like 'The Biggest Loser' because they're working so hard, doing so much five days a week."

WHO IS BOOT CAMP DESIGNED FOR?

"We have a huge range of fitness levels, ages and abilities. So everyone is working out at their own level in that hour," Judd said. "So, if we're doing a minute worth of push-ups, in that minute you can do one push-up, or if you can do 30 push-ups in that time, great. We have people who have never worked out before all the way through marathon runners."

WHAT ABOUT MORE, AHEM, MATURE WOMEN?

"I have tons of 50-year-olds and later-50s and one 62-year-old. I have one 59-year-old, who has been a member at Gold's Gym for years, and has battled with weight, and she asked me, 'What do I need to do to feel comfortable coming into this camp?' " Escamilla said. "We take your current exercise level, and even though you're in a group setting, we customize a program to set your personal level of intensity, frequency and resistance training."

WHAT ABOUT WOMEN WHO ARE ALREADY IN GREAT SHAPE?

"The key to getting faster and having more endurance is to build strength. So for marathon runners, or if you're doing Robie, the stronger your upper body is, the better off you'll be," Escamilla said. "Flexibility, endurance, speed, agility - it makes a huge difference in time."

HOW SOON DO CAMPERS SEE RESULTS?

"You're going to start feeling change in two weeks. Every body type is different. But if you dial yourself in and you're disciplined, you'll get results," Escamilla said.

WHAT ABOUT NUTRITION?

Many boot camps incorporate nutrition programs, via daily food diaries or logs that campers are expected to maintain throughout the program. Each Adventure Boot Camp session, for instance, begins with a nutrition seminar - for campers and their guests.

5:30 A.M. IS REALLY EARLY. ARE THERE ANY OTHER OPTIONS?

"(Starting at 5:30 a.m.) allows working women to place fitness in their schedules," said Meridian Boot Camp regular Tina Kierce. "Mothers can do it before their children wake up, and it's done and out of the way."

Because of the high demand, Meridian Adventure Boot Camp, which has been in the Treasure Valley for one year, is expanding this year to add locations in Star and Eagle at the traditional 5:30 a.m. time, a 9:30 a.m. camp in Eagle, and a 5:45 p.m. camp in Meridian.

Fit Club also offers a Saturday evening camp at 4:30 p.m., where you might run into Amanda "Mandi" Kramer, the Boise cosmetologist and mother of two who appeared recently on "The Biggest Loser," according to Escamilla.

And other boot camps in the Treasure Valley offer mid-morning, weekend and evening camps as well.

WHAT ABOUT PRICE?

Most Treasure Valley boot camps range in cost from about $99 to $300 for a four- to six-week session which runs one hour a day, three to five days a week.

WHY ARE MOST BOOT CAMPS ONLY FOR WOMEN?

"Right now it's an all-women camp," Judd said of Adventure Boot Camp, which started about a decade ago in Orange County, Calif. "We've been around for about 10 years, so we've tried just about everything. But we've found that most women want to work out with women. That tends to work the best. And you'll see people who didn't know each other before camp, now they're going out to dinner together. It's a big bonding experience."

Brenda Gutierrez: 377-6440