Sisters folks go to boot camp

Fitness enthusiasts and adventure seekers have a new and refreshing way to get fit. Bend Adventure Boot Camp is now in Sisters. It's a four-week group fitness program designed to melt off pounds and shape up muscles while breathing in the pine-filled air of Sisters Country.

People of all ages, fitness levels, and body types come together with the same goal of investing in themselves. The group is led through a warm-up followed by an ever-changing circuit of drills that include body weight exercises, resistance training, and obstacle courses (agility ladder, floor rings, and alternating-height hurdles). Each workout includes fat blasting exercises such as lunges, squats, push-ups, and wall-sits, that utilize the great outdoor setting.

Each camper works in a group environment but has the opportunity to move forward at his or her own pace and fitness level.

The owners and trainers of Bend Adventure Boot Camp since February 2009 are Victoria Adelus and Josh Field. The duo packs motivation, creativity, and their love of fitness into each camp. Their strong passion for the fitness industry allows them to lead by example and commitment.

Adelus is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, NESTA Certified Boot Camp Instructor, and recently earned first place in her height class as a National Physique Committee figure competitor at the 2010 Oregon Ironman Championships. She is also a reporter and the weekend news anchor for Bend's NBC affiliate, KTVZ.

Field was a member of the U.S. Coast Guard for seven years. During that time he was appointed as the Health and Wellness Coordinator of his unit. Field is a Cooper Institute of Fitness Certified Personal Trainer, NESTA Certified Boot Camp Instructor, and a NPC natural bodybuilding competitor.

Tami Jones, owner of Metamorphosis Hair Salon and a first-time camper, was stair-stepping on a park bench.

"This workout is fantastic!" she said. "I come here right after work and it makes me feel great. I belong to a gym, in fact most here do, but we love being outside and we long for more of a workout, it's so energizing I just have to do it. Besides, it's simply beautiful out here and the trainers are great; I want to give more to them."

Kristin Meucci, an employee at Black Butte Ranch, finds the camp in Sisters enticingly convenient.

"They offer so many schedules that you can always find something that will work for you," she said. "I did two camps in 2009 for a total of eight weeks and loved it. I had to come back to keep the routine going. Each session is exactly the motivation I need."

Not all campers arrive at boot camp in their physical best. One camper has recently battled brain cancer.

"Almost five years ago I was diagnosed with brain cancer while out of state on vacation and had an emergency craniotomy," she said. "I also have no thyroid or parathyroid glands from a previous cancer. After much occupational, speech and other therapies, including radiation and multiple chemotherapy treatments, the last one being three years ago, I have been seizure free for some time with no new evidence of tumor growth and felt like I wanted to start feeling healthy again.

"I already walk a couple miles per week, but had literally done nothing strenuous in years. I grabbed the Sisters Recreation booklet with their offerings, and came across the boot camp. I must admit that after the first class, I thought I was in over my head, but both coaches wanted to see us do what we can, so I am."

Boot camp meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Village Green Park at 5:30 p.m. The next camp starts on June 29. For more information vistit http://www. bendadventurebootcamp.com or call 541-350-5343.