The Brooklyn Bootcamp

My thoughts after taking Freddie's Fit Club to the big apple.

With members of FFC in Prospect Park after my Bootcamp this weekend.

After a decade of running fitness classes in English in Buenos Aires, I’ve built up a very international community of health-conscious individuals—most of whom now live outside of Argentina, where they once pounded the pavements or pumped iron alongside yours truly.

One of the (very few) benefits of the global pandemic in 2020 was the decision to take Freddie’s Fit Club online when I had to close my gym for almost a year. Although I was initially reluctant to move away from in-person training, I soon realized that working virtually allowed me to reconnect with many of the people I had trained over the years who no longer lived in Buenos Aires.

Five years later, I’m working almost exclusively online with my fitness coaching members, who are now located all over the globe—while still maintaining a weekly Bootcamp and Run Club, as well as a handful of personal training clients in Buenos Aires. The majority of the people I work with online are those I previously trained in person. In a world full of faceless apps and copy-paste fitness programs, I believe that having a personal connection—or a shared history—with a trainer makes virtual training far more appealing and effective.

When analyzing the demographics of the people I connect with virtually, I noticed the largest concentration was in and around New York. That realization prompted my decision to visit the city. When my good friend Caro—a resident New Yorker and formerly the community manager and head yoga instructor at my old gym—offered me her support and a place to stay, I knew the Brooklyn Bootcamp was meant to be.

I created a WhatsApp group and started promoting the idea of the class a few months ago. I was completely blown away by the response: a mix of old faces from the gym days, current online members, and brand-new faces signed up and began creating some real buzz around the upcoming fitness event in New York’s biggest borough.

I decided to host the class in Prospect Park because it was close to where I was staying, and most of the attendees happened to be in Brooklyn. On the day I arrived in New York—after a sleepless overnight flight from Argentina—I decided to get some “movement medicine” by walking 35,000 steps (that’s a whole other story I’ll be writing about soon), exploring Brooklyn and Prospect Park to find the perfect spot for the class.

Of course, after some of the hottest and driest days in a long time, rain was forecast for the day of my class. Despite it being an outdoor event, I knew I only had one shot at this. If people were going to show up on a rainy Saturday morning, I would need shelter. Luckily, I was in the USA—the land of plenty—and Prospect Park delivered (see the photo below of the miracle location I ended up using). I got the full turnout I was hoping for.

It didn’t end up raining until later that day, but the spot was perfect for the size of the class, and we got in 60 minutes of strength and conditioning using bodyweight exercises and circuits. Some people were still claiming to be sore a few days after the class—a nice reminder that you don’t need weights to get an effective workout. (Being sore doesn’t necessarily mean a workout is effective, but people do seem to enjoy the sensation.)

As is so often the case with outdoor group fitness classes, it’s not necessarily the details of the workout itself that bring people from all over, but rather the sense of community, fun, and energy that comes from doing something healthy in a group setting. I always aim to plan a fun and accessible workout, but seeing everyone interact with each other before, during, and after the class—smiling and laughing throughout—and reading the messages I receive afterward, helps me understand that the community is the real star of the show. That’s what people are truly seeking.

After the class, we took some selfies and headed to a local café to continue our conversations over bagels, smoothies, and flat whites. I can’t express how happy I was to be reunited with so many familiar faces from my old gym and the parks of Buenos Aires—now gathered in a new setting, far from where I first began building the FFC community. I’ve been very fortunate that my classes have always attracted such positive, friendly, health-conscious members who continue to support my virtual endeavors. Whether it’s at my weekly Bootcamp in Buenos Aires or one-off events like last Saturday, I continue to welcome new faces into the community every week—and I’m truly grateful for that.

My observation from ten years of training people—whether in person or online—is that in order to stay consistent with exercise in the long term, almost everyone benefits from some element of human connection. Whether it comes from the people in your group class or the trainer guiding you, that sense of encouragement, support, and accountability often becomes the key to the non-negotiables of showing up and staying consistent. And as you all know by now, consistency is what leads to results.

Speaking of encouragement, support, and—most importantly—accountability, these are the key benefits of my online fitness coaching service. I aim to do two things for my members:

1. Create a customized plan that fits into their lives and aligns with their individual goals and circumstances. This plan is updated weekly to ensure continued progress.

2. Make sure they stick to the plan through daily check-ins that provide motivation, guidance, and a sense of accountability—because the plan only works if you actually follow it.

I offered all the attendees of the Brooklyn Bootcamp 50% off their first month if they sign up for my online fitness coaching service in June, and I’d like to extend the same offer to you, my readers. If you’re interested or have any questions, just reply to this email and I’ll send you everything you need to know about working together to achieve your goals.

Next year, I’ll be back in New York—this time for a longer stay and to host more fitness events across the city. If you’d like to join us, keep an eye on my emails. And of course, if you’re ever in Buenos Aires, I’d love to meet you at one of my weekly Bootcamps or Run Clubs. There’s room for everyone in the Fit Club, and you’d be a big part of what makes it so special.

Thanks for reading.

Freddie