FightCamp Success: Working and Working Out From Home

FightCamp was created with the idea of elevating the at-home workout experience and making the best of an in-studio boxing workout accessible to anyone, anywhere. We love hearing stories of those who have joined FightCamp and are making progress with their workouts and loving what FightCamp can do for them and their fitness.  Here is a story submitted by Jared Brewer. 

I’m 34 years old, married and work from my home ‘office’ in a small town in

Vermont. I don’t enjoy most group fitness classes and I get bored lifting weights at the gym (not that there are many options in rural Vermont). 

I wanted to share my story with everyone because I know there are other remote workers and “retired athletes” like myself out there looking for something to motivate them and get them back into shape and into the competitive mindset. Working remotely is tough and FightCamp has filled a void in my life by helping me get back in shape with something competitive and accessible from my house.

My whole life, I’ve stayed in shape by playing competitive sports and I grew up playing hockey, soccer, and baseball. When I hit my competitive peak in those sports I continued to play in "adult recreational leagues" to feed my competitive nature. When that wasn’t enough, I also dabbled in competitive boxing at Boston Boxing.

When I started working remotely in a small town, staying active became more and more of a challenge. I didn’t have the built-in walks to work and around the office and there certainly was not a competitive boxing gym nearby. I really needed something to keep my attention, push me to get better and most importantly something I could do at home - or very close to it.

Fast forward a few months, and Tommy Duquette, a friend of mine, starts posting about FightCamp on his social media accounts. I know Tommy from my "boxing days" in Boston. While Tommy was training for the Olympics and competing on a national level, I was going to the same gym to get in shape and see if I could hang with the competitive team. I can honestly say that I was in the best shape of my life when I was working out at Boston Boxing. That got me thinking – maybe I’ll get back into it?

I thought about the program and wavered (mostly because I had to consider dropping some money on a heavy bag and the "group fitness" aspect certainly wasn't my thing), but a few weeks later I decided to pull the trigger and give FightCamp a shot.

Now, I am two months into my FightCamp workouts and I am couldn't be happier that I decided to do it.

The music. The instructors. The energy. Those elements are contagious. Even

though the instructors can’t see me, I know Flo, Tommy, Hitman, etc. would be

disappointed if I just stopped and quit. I honestly have kept going because of an

instructor talking to me through my TV – sounds stupid saying it out loud, but you will know what I mean if you take a few classes.

I actually got my heavy bag a few weeks before I decided to try Fightcamp. I

figured, boxing is a great idea and I’ve done it before, so do I really need someone to guide me through workouts when I know what to do?

When I was on my own, I’d do some light jump rope, situps or planks, then I’d hit the bag for a few rounds and call it a day. It felt pretty good. But then, I did some Fightcamp workouts. I was dripping sweat and exhausted.

Being a somewhat experienced boxer and generally in pretty good shape, I tried jumping straight to a 45-min intermediate workout, but quickly scaled back to work my way back up to those. The workouts are tough and the mix of boxing stuff and ground stuff is what makes it so good. On my own, I tend to just hit the bag over and over again and end up doing way less core/legs. I needed someone to tell me to do that or I’d slack.

Did I mention I’m ultra competitive? Being able to hit a punch target or beat

my last score is motivating. Nowadays, it almost feels like if I don’t

track my workout, then it doesn’t count. I’m excited to see even more features

on historic workouts and tracking improvement – and I am sure the FightCamp

team is working on some great stuff.

I work from home and share a car with my wife, so it is nice and easy to be

able to turn on a workout anytime. I can throw on a 15 or 30-minute workout

during my lunch hour. Now, there are no excuses for not making it to the gym because I don't have to go there to workout.

I can hear Tommy now, "showing up is the hardest part." But the only thing stopping me from showing up at home to work out is me. No excuses.