Boot camp sends workout back to the basics Program modifies tried-and-true exercises for boredom-free workout BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer EDISON - Ryan Toth says your body is the ultimate gym. He has no machines to work out with, no televisions or techno music. In fact, there are no walls. All Toth needs to conduct his Total Core Fitness Boot Camp are bodies and space and a 40-pound sandbag named "Sandy." Total Core Fitness Boot Camp is a back-to-basics workout group founded by Toth, where members take classes with an instructor in exercises similar to that found in military physical training. His 6:30 a.m. classes cater to the busy man or woman looking for a quick, strong workout before they go to their jobs. "We have such a high request for this because people want to wake up, work out, go home and then go to work," Toth said. Toth, of East Brunswick, had been a trainer at traditional gyms and noticed something similar in the people who went there: they were getting bored. So Toth took his expertise and love of stripping exercising down to its basic parts and developed the Total Core system, which includes updated versions of tried-and-true aerobic and calisthenics exercises. The kicker: it changes every day. "We never repeat the same routine, ever," he said. The Total Core system includes obstacle courses and partnered exercises that made member Sheila Donohue of Metuchen nostalgic. "It's all the exercises we used to do in gym class that you stopped doing," Donohue said. She said that the diversity of the workout, the fast-pace tempo and the socialization make for a quick workout. "It goes a lot faster" compared to other workouts, Donohue said. "Your hour's over fast because you're constantly switching up." While the term "boot camp" serves up Kubrick-esque visions of hollering drill sergeants, Toth's classes are much more tame. He does not yell, he simply motivates the participants to push themselves harder, work out more fluidly, and perfect the mechanics of body movement that he says are all you need to get and stay in shape. The proof is in the pounds and inches he says the average person loses over a 20-day session. On average, he says, participants lose 10 pounds and three inches over the monthlong session. Add to that a change in nutrition regimen, he said, and the amount of weight lost could be greater than that, all the while using nothing more than a few light weights, some hoola hoops, and your own body weight as resistance. Toth keeps the workout routines fresh by adding hikes through Roosevelt Park in Edison, where the class meets, and setting up obstacle courses. The constant changing of the workout keeps people from becoming bored, Donohue said. But it also proves that diet and exercise are the keys to weight loss. "There is no magic pill to lose weight," Toth said. "The only magic pill is good diet and good exercise." Toth said that his reason for starting the program was to give people a better idea of how to work out, not just how to use the machines at the gym or take part in a routine workout class. He wanted to give them an opportunity to do all kinds of workouts, and at a time that is convenient, fitting into their schedule. The demand for a 6 a.m. class, he said, has him thinking about changing the time. Most of all, Toth wants people to be informed about their bodies and to learn that working out can be fun. "It's time for the parents to be able to go to camp," Toth said. More information for Total Core Fitness Boot Camp is available online at www.totalcorefitcamp.com. Classes are available in East Brunswick and Edison.