Oakland Adventure Boot Camp

I love Anna & Jennie’s Oakland Adventure Boot Camp! I’ve been regularly attending for at least seven years; not only is it a great workout – it’s FUN! I love the women in my 9am class and love the fact that Anna & Jennie vary the workouts constantly, so it’s never boring. I’m stronger and in better shape than I’ve ever been in my whole life. As one of the oldest participants, I have no problem keeping up with the younger women!

I never thought I’d say that I «love» exercise … but I LOVE Anna and Jennie! Despite the fact that it’s 6:30am, I inevitably smile when I see them. They are extremely conscientious with what they do — ensuring my positioning is correct and that we always have alternatives. Plus they mix it up every day so I’m never bored. I have gained strength and endurance over the past several months and feel great! HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

If being out of shape was an Olympic sport, I would have had a gold medal. I was brutally out of shape and approached this is much hesitation. After my first meeting with Jennie I was at ease. She is compassionate, knowledgable, genuinely interested in helping each participant push themselves. She met me exactly where I was, and helped guide me to a more in shape body. She did a great job at providing me with the modifications so that I got a good workout at my fitness level. While I expected to feel bad about myself for being so out of shape, I left every one of her sessions feeling both challenged and respected. I have been a teacher and I know how hard is it to have lots of different levels in one class. Jennie is a five star instructor.
The early morning classes are much larger and as a result I found it a little harder to get a wide variety of modifications, and the excerises seem to move faster, but once I knew my modifications it was ok. Ana is a great trainer, but I feel like I will benefit from her workouts more when I need fewer modifications. Having said that, she is mindful to watch for folks who need modifications.
Why not 5 stars? It is pricey. A valuable investment, but pricey and may not be able to do this long term.

This is a killer workout. It was exactly what I was looking for — a lot of strength building activities, but also plenty of cardio. I attended the 5:30am (ouch) bootcamp for several months while I was training for a marathon and it kicked my butt every time. Anna and Jennie are so great — I have no idea how they teach the class twice in a row because I could barely walk after just 1 hour. They are inspiring, the class is motivating, being outside is incredible, and the group is friendly. I loved the class so much, but ultimately for me I need exercise variety (including yoga or other classes) and for the price I couldn’t afford another gym on top of this. I would absolutely recommend this class though.

I tried 3 other boot camps around the Lake before joining Oakland Adventure Boot Camp and this is by far the best! The workouts are challenging, can be tailored to all fitness levels, and most importantly fun. Anna and Jennie are not only great trainers, they are super funny and motivating which makes getting up at o dark thirty so much easier. Been with the ladies for 2 years now and couldn’t be happier!

Love, Love being a part of this awesome group of ladies! Jennie and Anna are wonderful and super friendly! I have noticed a big difference in my strength etc. They truly motivate me to want to keep coming back.

This is an amazing boot camp. The instructors are extremely knowledgeable (and fun!) and the peer environment is motivating, while allowing people to challenge themselves at their own pace.

I love boot camp. I’ve been coming for the last two years and am healthier and happier as a result!
Though they are the fittest two people in the bay area, Jennie and Anna are totally supportive and non-​judgmental. They provide authentic encouragement to everyone in the class, even the slow-​coaches like me.
This is a great place for those of us who need a little nudge to keep up those healthy habits.

these ladies are the absolute BEST!

This boot camp is awesome. I have been going off and on regularly for a year, and can now do a full fledged feet-​on-​the-​ground, body straight, push up!
I hear the 5:30AM and 6:30AM classes at Lake Merritt are extremely well attended and it seems like a very convenient time — if I could get up that early. Thank goodness they have the 9:00AM class in Temescal. The sun is out, and the birds are chirping, and the brook is bubbling and we are all running around the lake, and working really hard. Jenny and Anna know everyone’s names, they perform and check and correct everyone’s form, as well as keeping us aware so that we don’t injure ourselves.
It is a really hard workout with an excellent outdoor setting and awesome workout group! Keep going guys, I’m there!

I’ve been working out with Anna for almost three years and Adventure Boot Camp (Anna/​Jennie) for almost two. Adventure offers amazing fitness classes as well as ½ marathon training (sometimes triathlon training too, I hear). After training with their Oakland ½ Marathon group last year, I wrote Anna and Jennie this thank-​you letter (which, I admit, reads unabashedly more like a gushy love letter, but it details the reasons I love Oakland ABC – rigor, results, and role models):
Thank YOU for the «AWESOME» race! I did, indeed, shave 13 minutes (I think) off of my personal record! This is certainly thanks to all of your training both at boot camp and in the official race training.
I find your classes, your clients (i.e., «Your Ladies»), and your training very motivating and inspiring for a number of reasons.
First, I actually see results not only in the mirror but – more importantly – in my energy, my enthusiasm (for life, work, parenting, is their a verb for wife-​ing?), my speed, my strength, my health, my ability to fend off all of the bugs and koodies that are always going around, and the list goes on and on.
Second, back to that speed thing, let’s face it; I don’t exactly have the perfect running body. I’ve played sports all of my life and have NEVER been among the fastest. In college softball, for example, I was usually number two batter and often sacrifice bunted to get our runners around the bases. I always wished I could be fast enough to beat out the throw to first, but my coach advised me to run it out only in case of an error; otherwise, he said that I’d never be fast enough. I almost want to e-​mail my old coach (who is really a nice guy and a runner) with my race stats to let him know that I finished in the top 10%! I don’t know if you’re familiar with the musical, «Wicked», but I think you’re helping me to «Defy Gravity!» (And I’m sure that just about everyone at boot camp thanks you for helping her defy gravity, in one way or another.) :)
Third, your «Ladies» are incredible! I don’t just mean the fittest, the strongest, or the fastest like you two (who are, of course, like our fitness idols) or even just Carolyn (who is seriously amazing) but I mean everyone. Each person I get to know in boot camp or in training is juggling so much, and they are all terrific role models for the real, working, mom/​woman. My most important goal in doing your training and your classes was to meet like-​minded/​like-​lifestyled people (who don’t think I’m insane or overdoing it with my work, family, fitness, etc., but who are also on the same sort of track). I definitely have found that support, especially in the training group, in which we started our own little e-​mail group and jogging/​running group. Even during the race itself, which is the first race that I’ve done completely at my own pace by myself, I felt so supported. My own family didn’t make it on time to see me finish (too fast for them, I guess!), but it seemed at every corner that there was someone from boot camp who just happened to recognize me and shout, «Go, Heather!» During the race, I was reminded again and again of how lucky I am to be counted among this group of ladies dedicated to their own fitness, which certainly helps us to give more of ourselves to others.
Lastly, your classes are awesome! I remember running around the lake at something like mile 10 and thinking, «Oh, we’ve totally got the home-​court advantage!» I also remember thinking, even at mile 10, «Boot camp is so much harder than this!» My legs felt pretty fresh and strong even through the end, not heavy like on cardio «breaks» after doing 1,000 lunges or squats. So, I’ve never filled out one of your feedback forms, but all of this pretty much goes for every class and every training session (yes, even the track workouts, maybe even especially the track workouts) that I’ve completed with you to date.

I’ve never been the gym type. And since I live in the hills, running isn’t too appealing. Hiking around Lake Temescal one day, I saw this group of women working out. I joined last fall and I’m never quitting. I love being outside, I love that it’s just women, I love that they make me work harder than I would ever on my own. Boot Camp kicks some serious derrière, but mine is pretty buff now thanks to Anna and Jennie.

Great boot camp, helped get me motivated and in shape. In the end, I found the 5am wake up time just a bit too early to do another 3 – 4 week session. I was looking for a boot camp to kick start my 2011 New Year’s resolutions and Jenny and Anna delivered!

I joined the Oakland Adventure Boot Camp to shed some baby weight and get back into working out after having my daughter. At first I was very nervous to be involved with such a large fitness group, and it was obvious that most of the women had been doing this for a while, but once I got over the initial shyness, everything was great!
I’m not sure how the instructors manage to be so perky and friendly at 6:30am, but it’s really motivating and I appreciate it! The workouts go quickly, so you’ve got to pay attention. I think it took me halfway into my second week before I was able to keep up. The class sizes are large, but I didn’t feel overlooked.
Overall, I am very happy with the experience. I may not have lost all the weight I was hoping to lose, but it’s not all about the numbers. I can see an obvious difference in my body when I look in the mirror, my clothes fit better, and I feel longer, leaner, and much less lumpy. Most importantly, I feel better about myself!

If you have the jingle and want some fun getting a great workout, this. is. it.
Both the instructors (and Mary, too) are very good at what they do. They are very careful; they watch you with those eagle eyes so you don’t get hurt, help you with tips and tricks and generally tweak your technique so you get the biggest bang out of your workout. Plus, they are really sweet about it.
This gushing praise is coming from me, the weakling of the class!
I am very glad I found them– thanks Anna and Jennie.

On a sunny Monday morning, as I waited for a running buddy to take a training run around Lake Merritt, I noticed this group of women squatting and hoisting weights and otherwise following instructions delivered in this delightful drawling voice (Jennie …) and I thought: I can do that! On Friday of the same week, when I spied them out there again, doing different stuff, I said ‘I wanna do that’ to my running buddy. So I signed up.
That was a couple of months ago. During my first 4-​week session, I was so bone tired, so stiff from engaging muscles I must have been ignoring studiously during my individual training, that I thought I was going to die! But I persevered, and I am glad.
Anna and Jennie run a fun, engaging program, during which you work up a sweat, share some smiles and get all your money’s worth in clear and direct instruction and really good workouts. And it isn’t just the workout. Every week for this Summer session, I’ve gotten upbeat emails offering me more challenges and nutrition hints.
I needed a jump-​start to my fitness régime. I was doing OK — I run half-​marathons — between running and cross training and strength training, but I was bored, staring into the gym mirror and counting my reps alone. And I figured if I was bored, then the workout wasn’t as effective. The Adventure Boot Camp has upped the ante. I have new tricks to add to my workouts at my gym, and I know I can sign up for 4-​week sessions periodically to throw a little muscle confusion into the mix.
I love this boot camp. I keep telling my girlfriends about it. And they keep saying the difference shows!

I discovered this camp 5 month before getting married. Weighing in at 165 lbs, I reached my goal (well almost) weighing in at 142. Dropping 23 lb. Combined with WW I saw results immediately, losing 5lbs in the first session… doing it the healthy way kept the lbs off for a while. I have returned several times throughout the years and enjoy the women that teach the class.
WARNING: If you decide to have a one-​on-​one personal session with JENNY, she will push you and make you work out REAL hard, but that is why I love these gals.
I have nothing but good things to say about Oakland Bootcamp

Okay, I had a serious problem no motivation to exercise and no time. two kids single mom how the hell do you work in «going to the gym» etc.
Answer: get up at 4:30 am stretch in my living room, move drive 2 minutes to boot camp. Put my phone in baggie in sock in my bra (emergencies for kids to call) Do one hour of vigorous training, IE: cardio, weights, etc.
Go home take shower get kids ready for school etc. and be the super single working mom role that I signed up for (well kinda) ! I feel GREAT!!! I am definitely hooked on this and it’s only been two weeks. I have signed up for another 5 day a week session and will then switch to a 3 day a week session each month.
Literally this was the only way to get myself motivated and doing it. I swear I already feel the difference.
The trainers are great, energetic, nice and cute! the women in the group are nice too, Oakland Boot camp have created a really cool program –using the public space for a really awesome workout… plus, if you need to do lower impact stuff you can likewise for those who can do higher impact.
The only downside is that I had trouble with following the moves and was concerned about my form and doing the exercises correctly, so I just try and get there early enough so that I am in the front row. The terrain is also a semi-​annoyance in that it’s not always the best for balance etc. and the groups of women sometimes fairly large (due to a construction project that is interfering with our space).

I did three sessions in this bootcamp, and it was really good for what it was. It got me off the couch for the first time and these two women are great. They do give you a good workout, particularly if you’ve never worked out before. BUT, and here is the reason for the two stars, the classes are WAY WAY WAY too big. Its entirely too easy to get lost in the crowd and I didn’t realize I was doing some exercises wrong until weeks into the program, because there is no way they can actually interact with each person. Also, I wasn’t really «motivated». I know… I know… my motivation should come from within… but, when you have been a couch potato… sometimes you need the motivation to come from your trainers.
Again, I really like Jennie and Anna. And, in no way is this a reflection of them. I really think its just the way the program is set up. Having 30 people in a class with 1 – 2 trainers just isn’t going to work. Plus, its not a progressive program. (i.e. same class pretty much month after month). It seems like the course should be based on ability and get progressively more difficult. But, again, with the way the program is structured, and training 30 people at the same time, that is impossible. Plus, its really expensive if you plan to do it for any length of time.
I joined another east bay boot camp, (FitBoot in Alameda) and its super hardcore, which may not be for everyone, but after a very short time, the difference in the two programs is dramatic. Lots of personal attention and progressive training.

I’ve been kind of down lately but I found my prozac — boot camp.
I have used my babies as an excuse for my roundness for too long. Now that my youngest is 2, I don’t think I can technically call anything on my body «baby fat». And at some point during the past few baby making years I have lost track of my waistline — I have no idea where it is and I am determined to find it.
Since you can’t post Missing Waistline on milk cartons, I signed up for the 5:30 boot camp at Lake Merritt for 4 days a week. I am not a morning person. But what I feared more than the 5 am daily wake up call was the pre-​camp evaluation where they record your weight and measurements to compare to post camp results. All my fears were realized and it was confirmed that my waist is OFFICIALLY missing. I figure if I could get through the humiliation of that experience, I could get through anything.
The first week kicked my ass! I walked funny all week and I was exhausted from getting up at such an ungodly hour.
The second week was challenging but I was in less pain and I found I had more energy.
This is my third week. I just signed up through the end of the year.
In all honesty, I was hooked from day one. Anna and Jennie are amazing trainers. They work you hard, encourage you, and also manage to make you laugh at 5:30 in the morning. I love the variety of the workouts that are incorporated into the training — I could never work out like that on my own, at home or at any gym.
Also, as much as I complain about the early wake up call, I actually LOVE starting my day in the dark and watching the sun come up during the stretches. Boot camp is habit-​forming. It is truly my prozac. I still don’t know where my waistline is but I don’t really care. I feel fantastic and I’m certain I’ll find it soon.
NOTE: they also offer classes that start at 6:30am and 9:30am. Also, this boot camp is just for the ladies
UPDATE (1÷10÷08): I’m on my sixth camp and have no intentions of quitting. I look and feel so much better but more importantly, I am so happy to be addicted to exercising again. I am also happy that I have shaved off 2.5 minutes from my 1 mile run time since I started boot camp — I signed up for my first ½ marathon in May! Sadly though, I still haven’t heard from my waistline but I don’t think that’s due to lack of exercise — it must be my genetic makeup. *sigh*