The Sergeant’s Program

I started working out with The Sergeant’s Program a few weeks ago and it has been a wonderful experience. My sarge is Liz and she brings a wealth of knowledge, professionalism and enthusiasm to every session. She really takes time to get to know the clients and invests in their fitness success. After over a year of searching for a fitness program that best fits my needs, I’m so excited to have found the right one. Highly recommended!

I have joined recently through Living social — Chevy Chase/​Candy Cane Park. It wasn’t good experience at all to be honest. First of all the Sergeant program are not organized for example were chase by a police car one day then we discovered that Sergeant program don’t have a permit from the park… How you can bring all of these people without permit. Then instructors have to meet us in another location. I spend 10 minutes trying to find where are they the second day.
Second thing the only thing they do a lot during the camp just running. I don’t need to run with them at 5:45am I can do it on my own.
If you calculated they are so expensive… First you go out of nowhere; this is a gas in the car. Second if you missed the class you will not attend another one this is lost…
If you joined any Gym they will have a plenty of classes and there will be suana, machine to work out. So I would wake up at 5:45am to run
They run almost three days M– F. What is left two days for cardio?
The Boot camp is a big Joke… I have lost weight because I used to work out on my own
The trainer such a nice guy. and the group are wonderful
For me I will never do Boot camp again — — — Good Luck

The Sergeant’s Program is a great workout for those people who are able to get up every morning and hall their butt to the location. The biggest barrier to getting in shape with this program is that the locations are not convenient for people who don’t have a car as taking the bus becomes exhausting every morning. If you aren’t committed to going at least 4 days a week, do not enroll in the camp. If you are committed to getting there and consistently go 4 or 5 days each week, you will see and feel results.
My sarge, Courtney, is really encouraging and a positive example for our class. She knows a lot about health and wellness and is gracious when people aren’t able to finish exercises. She takes time to get to know everyone and you can tell she loves what she does and cares about everyone in her class.
For those of you who are looking for an intense cardio workout every day, I would say that this is not the program for you. There are lots of push ups, abs, and planks, but all out cardio (i.e. running) doesn’t happen more than one time per week. Overall, the work outs are not the most difficult I’ve ever done, but if you do them every day, you will be sore, lose weight, and get stronger!

So I tried this out for a month with the Groupon. Woke up at 4AM everyday 5 days a week. I followed all the instructions (drank 2 cups of water half an hour before, drank water after), and in addition limited my junk food, took protein after the workout, logged my food, and was basically intense for the month.
I. felt. great. I was sore for the first week and a half, and then the other classes I was tired after the class, but always felt amazing and energized for the day. Lost 3% body fat in a month, which is super-​fantastic. I think the class had a very good combination of cardio mixed with ridiculous reps and a variety of workout for the whole body.
There are numerous locations, I think most/​all are outdoors, and they offer a large class in one location usually on Saturdays and holidays.
** the below may vary by instructor/​location **
My instructor was awesome. She came and peeked on you and called you out when you were cheating yourself. My classes were fairly decent-​sized (fluctuated from 10 – 25) so enough attention was given. And they do weigh-​in and body fat twice a week if you want.
BUTT BUSTER every other Friday. oww. but so worth it.
Pros:
* Only need a towel/​yoga mat and two hand weights
* Outdoors, so no limit to space
* No real repeat of exercises – only a couple sets, lots of variety
* All pretty standard/​easy-​to-​follow/​maneuver so quick learning of exercises
* Instructor called everyone by their last name (It felt so official hahaha)
* If we didn’t count reps loud enough, she made us do more (also official. it created a good bonding/​group environment)
* Multiple locations & times to choose from – I don’t think you can jump between them, though
Cons:
* Outdoors, so we also worked out in cold/​rain. DEFINITELY did situps during a 1-​minute flash hailstorm. Most intense moment of my life. lol
* Pricey, as most fitness/​bootcamp classes tend to be
* Most classes are 1 hour, but mine was only 45 minutes because of the slot I chose
* Wednesdays were «cardio» days, so we just ran a predetermined path
* Somewhat the same from week to week – encountered a bunch of repeat exercises.
Check the schedules/​locations on their website!

My review would be 3 or 4 stars for the class itself, but it has changed to 1 only because they have the worst business manager (her name is Paola Neira) ever. I hurt my ankle a few months back and needed to get a refund for the remainder of my contract because I could not put weight on it anymore. The injury obviously was not by choice, but she said there was no refund. I asked for a written document of this policy and where it is located on their website — both are nonexistent. She was very rude and flat out said no refunds whatsoever. So just beware when you sign up for a contract with them to ask what their policies are because it’s not online… it’s just what she says it is. I asked for a supervisor and apparently she is the supervisor. She later indicates that she will speak with corporate, so I asked to speak with them, but he was «out of town.» I just feel like she is talking out of her butt just to get me off the phone and she was very unprofessional. I’ve been with the program for over 2 years — paying $ 99/​month and this is the service that is provided. I would not recommend joining until they have a terms and conditions and hopefully a more professional «business manager.»

This program has a lot of different locations and different instructors at each location.
I started classes at the Chinquapin location (King Street, Alexandria) and didn’t enjoy it at all. The class is extremely crowded which makes it difficult to see what the instructor is doing and how to do the exercises as well difficult to just move around.
They tell you to bring a mat or towel and weights but the instructor consistently had us doing exercises on concrete and gravel and not on the mats.
I am not in the best shape and can’t do a push up without being on my knees and it is extremely uncomfortable to be on concrete and gravel.
Also — according to the website — mondays & tuesdays are upper body, wednesday is cardio, and thursdays and fridays are lower body. I worked out my upper body on my own on Thursday and went to class on Friday (supposed to be lower body day) and found at that the instructor was doing an upper body workout.
I ended up leaving half way through class and doing my own workout in the park.
I’m sure this program works for some but I already workout on my own but I enjoy going to classes and liked that I could do this in the morning before going to work.
I’ve decided not to attend the classes anymore and do workouts on my own.

Don’t let the name fool you — the exercises are hard, but the people are easy. My «sarge» rocks! I started bootcamp a month ago, able to do 4 push ups, jog 5 minutes (maybe), and not able to get my shoulder blades off the ground on crunches. Now after 4 weeks, much ibuprofin, and a lot of laughter, I can do 40 push ups (with breaks every 10), a 2 mile jog, and 30 crunches all the way up. This is fun!

My life changed when I joined the Sergeant’s Program a few years back. I lost 20 lbs and got rid of my cubicle butt. I went from barely running 5 minutes to running a ten mile race! They offer bootcamp style classes that are held 5 days a week, outdoors, year-​round at various locations around DC, MD & VA (however, if the weather’s really bad, each location has a backup site).
The only equipment you need is a pair of dumbbells, good shoes, and a bottle of water. The workout is a mix of cardio, strength, and core that will challenge everyone – from couch spud to fitness stud.
Even though class sizes vary from a few people to 20+, you feel like you are getting personal training from your instructor. It’s not some cookie cutter gym glass where no one makes eye contact and you can barely hear the instructor over the music. There is a lot of camaraderie – I guess you can’t help but bond with other people crazy enough to get up at 5:30am and run around outside doing «burpees» and «ranger runs».
It sounds hardcore, but it’s actually a great group of normal people from all backgrounds improving their lives. I had to stop going due to my work schedule, which I hope to change soon so I can get back to it.