We all know the positive health benefits that come with exercise.

It can help you to manage stress, prevent chronic health conditions, help you feel better about yourself, improve your sleep, manage anger and improves your metabolic rate, which helps prevent weight gain.

However, when it comes to prying ourselves out of our nice warm beds in the morning, we tend to lose sight of these health merits.

Three days a week a bunch of keen bootcampers are putting us all to shame as they are put through their paces by personal trainer and owner of BC Fitness, Andrew Gittus.

Andrew, who took over BC Fitness four years ago took a personal interest in fitness after a workplace injury left him frustrated during the rehab process.

“After injuring my back I felt like I wasn’t getting better quick enough and the rehab process was frustrating,” Andrew said.

“I found that lifting weights was helping to manage my recovery and from there my interest in the fitness industry grew.”

Having always had an interest in sports and fitness, Andrew soon got involved in bodybuilding but realised that he had much more to give.

“While I was training as a bodybuilder I realised my interest had developed into helping others. “I was at a crossroads in my life and decided to start my personal training qualifications, with a focus on rehab.”

The sessions Andrew holds are based in Launceston and run on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6am and 6pm for one hour.

“Our sessions are challenging but achievable. There is a huge variety from boxing to aqua fi t, tabata to trigger point release and even drills and high intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions,” Andrew said.

“I believe in not focusing on one or two exercises, the key is to get everything moving properly and you can work as hard as you want, or scale it back to suit your fitness level.

“Because of the way I structure the sessions you can be an elite athlete or a complete beginner and still benefit from the workout.”

The bootcamp sessions are open to all fitness levels and cater for ages 16-100, with Andrew’s main focus being on enjoyment.

“We have people there who are 18-60 years of age, it is a huge variety and it is all structured around enjoyment and getting the most out of bootcamp to hit your goals,” Andrew said.

“I try to make the sessions as fun as possible, if you aren’t enjoying them, then you aren’t going to come back and you won’t be getting the best out of your fitness.

“The best thing about the group of bootcampers is that they are all really supportive, they work hard and we have a lot of fun.”

Andrew believes that while it is hard to get motivated over the winter months it is important to get out, keep moving and do something that you enjoy.

“Whether you are continuing or starting your fitness journey it is so important to keep up the motivation over the winter months.

“Yes it’s cold out, you are lacking motivation and you feel like you should be at home in the warmth, but if you work on getting out and moving you will have more energy and lessen the risk of injury or seizing up.

“Make sure you are still doing what you enjoy, if you don’t like being outside, find a gym or bootcamp that run indoors and have fun.”

The other side of keeping fi t over winter is the dreaded word, diet, and the constant battle to not over indulge. Andrew offers nutritional advice to both his bootcampers and personal training clients, preferring to guide them to the right choices, rather than laying down the dieting law.

“It is all about balance and achieving a lifestyle change that is manageable, if I can show you the good things to eat, how to read nutritional labels and how to make smarter choices then it is much more manageable than a strict diet that doesn’t allow for flexibility.”

So if you are thinking that braving the early mornings for a bootcamp or gym session is for you, the best way to stay motivated is to enlist the help of a friend.

It’s always more fun to exercise with a buddy and when you are accountable to someone else you are much more likely to stick to your exercise plans. “The hardest thing to do is to get started,” Andrew said.

“Joining with a partner or friend is much easier and you can motivate each other to keep going.

“If you are worried you are going to be judged, I can guarantee you that won’t happen, everyone is there for their own reasons and once you get across that first hurdle and you are enjoying your sessions you start to reap the benefits and meet your goals.”

BC Fitness runs weekly in Launceston and throughout the winter months only train indoors.

Andrew also runs personal training under the BC Fitness banner, this can be done one on one or with a small group of friends, in a gym or at your house.

Check out the winter edition of In The City, for more.