The women in Dave Calvert's boot camp were talking amongst themselves at the beginning of the class, but after nearly an hour of muscle-pumping exercises, the only person speaking was the instructor.
Calvert holds boot camps at 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. three days a week at Udall Park, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road.
"They have time to get a workout in and still go about their day," said Calvert, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and sports nutritionist.
"You can get an hour workout in and still get your errands done."
The sessions are in a relaxed setting - think less yelling and more encouragement.
"Everyone works at their own pace. You challenge yourself," Calvert said.
"It's not a competitive thing at all," said a sweaty Kathy Sawyer after a recent workout. "You compete with yourself."
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The participants tackle some 15 different exercises.
"It's something that we all need. It's mentally nurturing and nurturing for our bodies as well," Sawyer said.
Calvert sees friendships grow along with muscles.
"Everyone knows you need to work out, but knowing that their friends are there helps them," said Calvert, a former Colorado Rockies Rookie Team strength coach.
He has taken his experience training baseball players and translated it into training parents.
"If you train all your clients like multimillion-dollar athletes, you can't go wrong."
Contact photographer Dean Knuth at dknuth@azstarnet.com or 349-1625
