| American Gladiators Champ Ally Davidson puts on Boot Camps |
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Ally Davidson is shouting out to the 100 or so fitness enthusiasts assembled around her on a recent Wednesday evening. And she is serious about getting everybody moving.
The participants (or contenders, as she calls them) have arrived at a soccer field in Dallas for Camp Gladiator. Ms. Davidson recently inaugurated the boot-camp-style workout for those who'd like to benefit from a few of the training techniques that helped her win the American Gladiators competition in August.
Ms. Davidson, 25, you may recall, was the Dallas advertising sales rep who auditioned for American Gladiators on her wedding day. After winning a $100,000 prize in the competition, she's using the cash to finance what is now her full-time enterprise: launching Camp Gladiator and a daily training regimen aimed at helping her win a permanent spot on the show.
As you might suppose, a woman bold enough to sneak off on her wedding day for a reality show audition is not afraid to ask the participants to do crazy stuff.
"You will get to know the grass, and your clothes will get dirty!"
There aren't a lot of places where adults can come out and play games, Ms. Davidson says, but at Camp Gladiator, grown-ups play hard and burn calories doing it.
Like many boot-camp-type workouts, Ms. Davidson's approach involves a quick succession of short, intense bursts of exertion, boosted by high-fives and lots of yelling through a bullhorn. But she describes her style as "positive and joyful," and it is.
"What d'ya love? Tell me what you love!"
Keeping cadence with jumping jacks, the contenders respond: "I – love – Camp – Gladiator!"
The group of exercisers, most of them women ranging in age from 20s to early 50s, are jumping, running and, yes, rolling around in the grass, cheered along by Ms. Davidson. The workout is fast-paced, consisting of high-intensity moves: sprints, push-ups, hamstring kicks, arm pumps, running in place.
"It's a lot of exercise in a short period of time," says contender Julie Burns. "She is so motivating. Every class is different."
"Do you remember what the challenge was on Monday? It was to get here today for the next class. You made it after a long day at work. Give yourselves a hand!"
After a very brisk warm-up, Ms. Davidson leads the group to the field she's readied with a grid of orange cones and tennis balls. It's time to play a game from American Gladiator. Contenders must race past opponents, around the cones, hitting the ground to retrieve the balls. There's no tackling, but the drill pushes quickness and agility.
Next there are more drills, teaming up contenders in sequences of moves using sandbags, medicine balls and jump ropes.
"Keep going! I know it's hard, but you can do anything for 60 seconds!"
Ms. Davidson says that while training for the show, she got much better results by using high-intensity intervals. "It's so much better than just jumping on a treadmill," she says. "You work so much harder when you're surrounded by other people who've come together with a common goal. The No. 1 problem with most people is motivation. It's hard to go out and do it yourself, where you're really pushing yourself."
The concept is working, and it's wearing out the contenders.
"I'm 42," groans Kim Wagner as she pauses on the sidelines. "This is really hard."
She joined Camp Gladiator along with a group of about a dozen girlfriends who play softball together.
Next, the group gets a short break while Ms. Davidson tells her story.
"Three years ago, I was in a snow ski accident and I broke my neck in three places. It was a Christopher Reeve break. I was ½ inch away from being a quadriplegic. The reason I'm telling you this? We are incredibly blessed to be able to come out here and do something like this. This is not a job! This is a privilege!"
The hourlong session concludes with a tug-of-war between two groups of contenders. The group breaks up as the sun sets, with contenders laughing and back-slapping as they drift back to their cars and Ms. Davidson tossing off a few last words of encouragement.
"Great job! We were working hard today. You kicked your own butts!"
"A lot of people tell me, 'This is stuff I haven't done since I was a kid,' " says Ms. Davidson. "It's cool to see adults getting excited about running and jumping and getting dirty." |
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