Lady LUX

Boot camp. The phrase may conjure up images of drill sergeants screaming orders into megaphones at unfortunate souls doing push-ups. But Angela Parker takes a different approach. A fitness expert from Body Inspired Fitness, Parker is best known for inspiring Chelsea Settles of the hit MTV show “Chelsea Settles” to lose an incredible 91 pounds in less than five months. Now with a special deal for new students, she is looking to create the same dramatic results for others through her 6-week Los Angeles outdoor boot camp.

“I teach my camps and my classes with a tremendous amount of excitement and there is no yelling,” she said. “There is no one way. There are no rules. I like to teach each class by showing people what they are already capable of doing and get people excited to try new things and to realize that no matter who you are or how old you are or your fitness level or your weight or your age, you can do every exercise.”

Each class is a completely new adventure, an inventive combination of cardio, strength training, Pilates, yoga, agility, incline stairs and anything else Parker decides to throw in.

“You never will quite know what to expect,” she declared. “You know that you always leave sweaty. You know you will always work harder than the time before. But in terms of what you do inside the session, it is unique in each session.”

The camp does not just change your body, but your attitude and your mind. It is not just a workout. It is a way to realize your strength, inside and out.

“Not only do you get these ridiculous results in a very short amount of time, but you start to see that you actually can do a lot more than you thought you could do. Your body is capable of doing so much more than we let our minds tell us. As the six weeks go on, people’s attitudes and outlooks over fitness and their bodies and their health really start to change,” Parker said.

While Parker bills her program as changing far more than just your body, her classes produce significant results in that department. In just 18 classes, students can expect to lose an average of 5 to 12 pounds. The real transformation is often in dress sizes lost: one to three sizes in six weeks.

Parker is proud of her 98 percent return rate, which causes her classes to fill up quickly.

Although Parker’s classes are group sessions, she works with each student one on one, creating the sense of having a personal trainer at your disposal.

Her programs are not thrown together but strategically planned from beginning to end.

“It’s not enough to come and sweat,” she said. “There really has to be serious programming behind it and a serious plan, or your body seriously won’t do what we all dream of it to do. We take the randomness out of it.”

Her formula is 40 percent cardio, to burn fat; 40 percent strength training, to burn more calories at rest; and 20 percent stretching, to keep muscles toned.

Parker was 19 when she discovered the passion for fitness that was to guide her life. Growing up a dancer, she struggled with its limits: Dancers are forced to follow structure, to do one specific thing in a certain manner.

She slowly began to explore a gym. Being “young and feisty” she checked out the machines’ instructions only to ignore them and use the equipment as she saw fit.

“It was exciting to realize working out can be anything you want it to be,” she said. “I just liked the freedom of understanding you can do it the way you want, and there is no way to do it wrong.” She fell in love with exercise and launched her fitness company four years later on that very principle.

Parker ascribes Chelsea’s dramatic weight loss largely to her belief it was possible.

“Even when it got hard, that never discouraged her,” she said. “She was just so ready for it. She was so ready to make those changes … I think so many people get frustrated when in just a few days or just a few weeks, they don’t see the results they want. But we really do have to recognize it takes a lot of work.”

Parker recalls one woman who attended boot camp as her last shot. If the camp did not make her feel better about her life, she intended to kill herself. During a session, she discovered the strength and will to live.

“Exercise is one of the most powerful things that is available to use to change our lives,” the fitness expert said. “Whether we weigh 350 pounds or we feel like life is hopeless or our bodies have gotten to a place where we don’t recognize them, exercise is the one thing in life we have power over and can use to truly transform us into something different.”

Finding that many young girls struggle with their weight and health, Parker decided to write a book explaining a program that mothers – the best examples girls have – can follow with their daughters. “90 Days to a Stronger Body & Deeper Connection with Your Daughter” includes workouts for the mother, workouts to be done together with the daughter, nutrition information and weekly questions that create dialogue and bonding over issues such as self-esteem, boys, school and more.

“Covering that process with your mother really gives these girls an opportunity to talk to their mother about the things that are keeping them from loving their bodies right now,” Parker said. “The mission of the book is to empower moms … and for daughters to not carry those things into adulthood.”

For the affordable price of $275 for first-time participants, the camp purports to shrink your waistline, increase your energy, improve your sleep and change your outlook. Classes are held Monday, Wednesday and Friday for six weeks at 6 to 7 a.m. or 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in Santa Monica, with a ladies-only option from 5 to 6 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. The next session starts Jan. 9. For more information, visit
bodyinspiredfitness.com.

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