When UW-Whitewater Associate Director of Recreation Sports Therese Kennedy heard about the Munger Training Systems fitness boot camp, she was a bit hesitant to jump back into fitness after three years of inactivity.
Yet months of classes and 40 lost pounds later, Kennedy said she thinks she made the right choice.
“It’s really enjoyable,” Kennedy said. “It’s just a great group of people.”
Every Tuesday and Thursday, Kennedy and a group of friends from the community wake up before the sun to get to boot camp at 5:30 a.m. After 35 minutes of an intense, step-by-step workout, Kennedy said she finds herself dripping sweat.
“I can tell how I’ve gotten stronger and that I can do the exercises longer than when I first started out,” she said.
The MTS fitness boot camps are run by UW-Whitewater Strength and Conditioning coach Lee Munger and assistant Jeremy Squires. Created in the beginning of June, Munger said he wanted to create an outlet for Whitewater community members to get reconnected with fitness through an instructor driven, work-at-your-own pace type of workout class.
“It was something I started for the community,” Munger said. “My focus was mainly on creating a program that was quick, efficient, and that worked around jobs too.”
Held at Whitewater High School, Munger’s camps include an always changing line-up of circuit workouts ranging from ladders to medicine ball throws to push-ups. Munger breaks the 50 minute total-body workout into 2-3 minute stations, and lets his members work at their own pace.
The workout class is different and totally unrelated from what Munger does as the UW-Whitewater strength and conditioning coach, because it isn’t targeted towards the college athlete. Instead, Munger said he decided to create a class for people looking to get in better shape, maintain a healthy lifestyle, lose weight and gain strength at any age.
“[This month’s members are at] all different levels of fitness and ability,” Munger said. “I have people in their younger 20s all the way up to 60 some years old.”
Kennedy said she enjoys the class because Munger is so easy to work with.
“He truly is doing this for our well-being,” Kennedy said. “It’s not that he’s trying to make money on the side … he truly cares about the individuals and our success and what our goals are to create a healthier lifestyle.”
Munger’s boot camps have a two-day and a four-day plan and charge $100 for the two-day option and $175 for the four-day option. As a personal decision, Munger is donating 20% of the proceeds towards Whippet Athletics and the Treyton Kilar Field of Dreams.
“This is just something I’m doing on the side … to try to make a difference in the community,” Munger said.
For those looking for more information on MTS fitness boot camps, contact Munger at [email protected]. Munger has 10 to 15 open spots left in the Aug.-Oct. sessions. MTS will continue to hold sessions throughout the entire year for anyone looking for a workout group that works well around schedules and caters to individual fitness levels.
