Arena District Athletic Club Offers Bridal Boot Camp

After Charlie Martinez heard her coworkers talking about the fitCAMP workout at the Arena District Athletic Club, she decided to check out the facility and its offerings. Since she works at Nationwide down the street, the club is convenient for pre-work, lunchtime and post-work workouts. The 26-year-old, who is getting married in September, is now trying the club's new Bridal Boot Camp. And, she's blogging about it, too: You can follow Martinez's quest to get fit for her nuptials on the Arena District Athletic Club blog. Columbus Bridechatted with Martinez to learn more about the Bridal Boot Camp (the two-month program ranges from $349 to $529, depending on the options you choose) and how it's going so far.

What does the Bridal Boot Camp entail?

It's a two-month club membership. It includes unlimited access to their classes, and we did a personal health assessment as well as a pre- and post-body assessment. It goes through where I'm at health-wise and what I'm physically capable of doing. One of the things I've noticed about the club is the philosophy behind the club is different. It's more about holistic health. I had a session with one of the personal trainers this morning and I said, "I don't think I've lost weight but I feel stronger. I think I've even gained weight." But he explained to me that it's muscle.

There two options: One option includes twelve 30-minute sessions with a personal trainer. I go to between three and four of their classes every week, and every week I have a one-on-one with a personal trainer. It's been awesome. I've always been a cardio girl, so I've been trying to vary things up. It's nice because I've gotten a lot more comfortable doing things I wouldn't have done before. I would have never used a TRX but I've been to a few of their TRX classes at lunchtime. It's all suspension training. Option two is the two-month club membership, the pre- and post-body assessment, plus you get 8 weeks of fitCAMP [a unique group fitness workout].

What have been some of your favorite workouts?

TRX training is one of my favorites. That's done with their personal trainer Charles Gibson. He's hilarious. He calls his class adult recess. There are all these rules…if we have a larger class he'll make a circuit through the room. As you're moving around the room, you can never walk-you have to do bear crawls or hop around. All the movements are very fun and he keeps it high energy. He showed me all kinds of great moves with the TRX. Sometimes we'll mix in the stability ball.

Booty Bar is another of my favorites, on Wednesday nights at 5:45. You take your shoes off and it's a lot like dance. That one is so fun and you feel so elegant doing it. I left there and my buns were burning.

Will you keep up with a workout program after your wedding?

I love how the Arena District Athletic Club is so convenient. I started doing this to get ready for my wedding, but now I think I'll become a member. It's so much more personalized and convenient. I love being able to break up my day and go get in a workout at lunch. They offer everything; they have hairdryers. One of my big excuses was not wanting to bring things to the gym in the morning. They provide all of that, which is one of my favorite things. Working out with the trainers has helped a lot. A lot of what we've been doing is back to the basics. This is how you do a squat, this is how you do a deadlift, this is how you can do a pushup. Today I learned four different ways to do a modified pushup.

To learn more about Bridal Boot Camp, visit the Arena District Athletic Club's website.

-Heather Weekley, @heather_weekley