Testimonials
Don't just take our word for it, people are singing our praises:
Joan Goodwin
I joined the Liverpool group soon after it started in August 2007. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the instructors and Mike for the most enjoyable five months ever! I am the kind of person who would buy the latest exersise DVD and sit on the chair watching it whilst eating a bag of crisps! so it was with great trepidation that I went along with my friend to the first class. Since joining I have lost some weight (I haven't started dieting yet, that's for the new year) but I have lost lots of inches from where it matters most, my waist, hips and thighs, so much so that colleagues have started commenting. I ran (ran!!) the Liverpool Santa Dash, and have been paintballing, I even found myself acting out the 12 days of Christmas dressed as a fairy in Sefton Park all this when I thought I was over the hill (I'm in my 50's) I have also made lots of new friends. Since joining, my husband and daughter have also joined and I ask the people that I work with - where else could you find yourself arm wrestling with your husband in the rain at 7.45pm in the dark on a November evening! I have even been muttering that I may take part in the Liverpool Women's 10K race in the summer (what am I saying!) None of this would have been possible without the support of Mike and his team. It's been hard at times and sometimes I feel like telling them where to go, especially when they push you to go that extra bit.
Kate Milligan
I never thought being shouted at by a man could be so much fun. Neither did I think the pain of fitness training could give me so much pleasure. What I am continually amazed at is just when I think I have reached the very limit of my physical endurance - I am told to get up, run round the pond, and finish off with ten press ups. And I do it. I have no idea why it works or how the Instructors get the results. I dont usually run round a park chasing a man. It must be their training. Personally I like the humour and the simple fact that its not a gym - its outdoors, there's no bank of tellies on the wall, nobody is wearing an ipod, and the view from the sit up position is the sky. People chat before the class and during the class there is a feeling of mutual support. The benefits of being fit don't need repeating here - but what bmf is also teaching me over and over again is that I can do so much more than I think I can. I put that down to the skill of a fitness instructor who can run in boots. Each class is different, each trainer is different, each park is different and each season is different. And it's so cheap.
Kati Noakes
I signed up for BMF last January in order to get fit before my wedding in June, but I did realise how much I would love it. And I have been a raving fan ever since. It is the best all over work out, but it is also so much fun. I think it is really different from the gym or fitness classes because it combines working as a team, being outdoors and uses different exercises to make every class different. It is the first time I have ever been really excited and committed to exercise over a long period of time
Jenni Regan
I am fairly new to British Military Fitness however I am already a convert. I think I must have something a little bit wrong with me as I thoroughly enjoy being chased round parks by men in uniform. amazingly enough doing classes in the rain is more fun than sunshine. After every session you really feel like you have worked and sweated and there is a great level of camaradary. They also cater for all levels and so you don't feel left out from sessions
Emily Ogden
I try and go 3 times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. Brit Mil Fit is the best exercise ever! It's outdoor, exhilarating and even when it's raining and cold it's actually great fun. The rain always looks worse when you are inside rather than in it. I attend the Hyde Park 7am sessions. It's an early start but worth it. It is amazing in the summer being up and about in Hyde Park at that time. And just as fantastic in the winter mornings too. However, now the mornings are getting darker I must say it does prove harder to get up. But I start my day with 3 alarm clocks, a glass of water, a black coffee and a banana. I then hop on my bike with a rucksack full of all the stuff I need for the day so i can shower, change and get to work. I then cycle the fifteen minutes it takes me to get to Hyde Park. In mid winter the morning session starts in pitch dark but it's surprising how quickly your eyes adjust and the light levels come up. Most mornings I screech into Hyde Park at 4 minutes to 7am and chuck my bike lights, rucksack in the back of one of the Brit Mil Fit Vans. They take all our stuff which is great! We line up on the grass in two ranks - a few regulars catch up quickly and after a bit of jogging on the spot we are off running into the park behind one of the army instructors for our 60 minute session. Another thing I love about Brit Mil Fit is the fact everyone gets on well; it is far more sociable than a gym. The 7am crew are mostly regulars and it's not hard to get to know people especially when you are giving them a piggy back! The work out is amazing with lots of running and different exercises. I find work much harder with them pushing me along than if I were to try the same on my own or in a gym. The time passes really quickly and when the class is over at 8am it's a quick dash over to Television Centre on my bike. I swoop in the gates, park up my bike, and then run round to the showers hidden in the basement to quickly get ready for work before jumping on the bus at 9am out to Elstree. It's an exhausting, but exhilarating way to start the day. I don't think I've ever been fitter and as I'm at the BBC I qualify for the corporate rate so £38 pounds a month and I can attend as many classes as I want. Although I think more than 3 would kill me off. I'd definitely recommend it. But most people prefer to do the evening sessions after work rather than put up with the early starts!
Liz Waite
I first joined BMF about 7 years ago and have seen it go from strength to strength. I joined because I've never liked using a gym and much prefer to exercise outside. My fitness has improved a huge amount as a result of BMF. The instructors are professional, friendly and encouraging; they have a clever way of pushing you to your physical limit during a lesson but you end up thanking them for it at the end! Some of my friends think I attend some sort of boot camp but it's not like that at all, it's for all abilities and I would recommend it to anyone.
Dr Michael Laurino
I joined BMF in June this year mainly to try and lose weight and improve my cardiovascular fitness, but also to help with work related stress. I think it has probably been one of the most satisfying and effective forms of fitness I have done and rarely, one I have actually managed to stick to! I've achieved my goals and am now trying to get my friends and patients to sign up as well. It is infinitely more interesting than being stuck in an airless gym. I love it.
Dr Chris O'Nions
The main reason that I keep coming back to the sessions is that they genuinely make me feel physically and mentally fitter. Within a few months one's body begins to look different (so long love handles) but even after a few sessions, one's emotional well-being improves. This is because the exercises do what the instructors say they should, but also because the instructors are able to push you, to push yourself harder. So you competeagainst each other and yourself, which is very motivating. Having tried the gym for 6 years I can honestly say that BMF has enabled me to motivate myself to become fitter then I was able to achieve previously.
Fee Blunt
I joined BMF back in December - having turned up for a class with my sister, brother and boyfriend. Jeremy took the session and was brilliant. My sister went back to LA a different woman and my brother covered himself in glory by being sick behind a tree. Still I was hooked, my brother was signed up against his will and we've been going ever since.I really love the classes, I love the fact that enough people go that you can always put yourself in a comparable group. I love rolling in mud and thankfully so far have not yet landed face down in dog crap as I fall into a press up. To echo everybody else's testimonials BMF is the best exercise I've done since school and I leave feeling less stressed and happier.
Su - Three Peaks Challenge
Did I really do it ? Haven`t quite come down to earth yet but when I do I`m sure it`ll be with a huge bump of cosmic proportions !! What a team we were. It was quite amazing to put together 9 people who didn`t really know each other & after just 48 hrs, we became great friends.You guys at britmilfit were true professionals in all you did. The planning & organizing was outstanding allowing us to concentrate on just the easy walking bit !!!!! Thank you all for what will always be one of the proudest moments of my life. It was a huge personal achievement for me. I will be looking on the website for my next challenge.
Victoria Murray
Well, I've really gone and done it this time! My cousin Claire and I joined British Military Fitness on Wednesday night. I have no idea why, other than I guess fast approaching 33 with a good deal more flesh than I had at 23. So, we psyched ourselves up, donned sensible clothing and footwear and off we went clutching our membership forms and a bottles of water. We arrived at the meeting place 15 minutes early as instructed by the BMF website and there was not a soul around. This was good for me - I'd made the effort to go, nobody was there which meant I could legitimately go to the pub and get myself on the right side of a bottle of pinot. However, just as I was reaching for my key, a car pulled in behind us. Claire and I slunk down in our seats for fear of being noticed and spied on the occupant of the car. My heart sank and my bowels turned to water as out of the car sprang a rather large chap with a neck like a joint of beef wearing army trousers. Ordinarily, I would have feigned a breakdown in order to grab such a specimen's attention, but when I saw him retrieving a rucksack and a clip board from the back of his car I went off him altogether. After much deliberation and "no, you first" - ing we got out and gave the chap a coo-ee as he wandered off. There we were in our "sports" gear clutching our membership forms. Sadly it turned out that we were in the right place. I was on the verge of saying that I wasn't allowed into parks with strangers when we rounded the corner and joined a rather fit group of eager looking people. Quite where they'd come from I don't know as they didn't pass us. Probably ran/cycled abseiled in through another entrance. The army man seemed very pleasant and was pleased we'd joined. So pleasentries out of the way, we were all issued with bibs - green for super fit, you can't catch me salad munching types, red for can't wait to be a green and blue for the who ate all the pies brigade. Sadly I was blue bib numbered 78. Well, those of you that know me well, will know that I would rather be late for work than run for the train, am built for comfort, not speed and smoke and drink more than my share. Off they set, the greens all high speed and long limbs the reds hot on their heels and me, hands on hips with a you have to be joking look on my face when suddenly like a clap of thunder I heard GET A MOVE ON NUMBER 78!. So off I set looking for all the world like Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin. I did 2 circuits albeit with a mini walk when I thought no-one was looking and I was knackered. We then went into a whole host of sprints, squats, jumping, quick directional changes, press ups, sit ups, something hideous called a burpee which is like a squat with a star jump at the end then back to a squat. Then we were told we had 45 seconds to run back to where we had started for a water stop. Well, I'd no sooner staggered there and got my lid off before I was being bellowed at to rejoin the group! Anyway, today I can hardly move. In fact breathing is an issue due to the immense lactic acid build up in my intercostals muscles. I've had to postpone an attack of hayfever as I couldn't bear to sneeze.. AND I'M GOING AGAIN TOMORROW MORNING though I'm not stupid, I'll leave Blue Bib 78 for some other sucker they can get shouted at instead!! See you all soon. You won't recognise me; I'll be the one with shoulders like a Russian shot putter and stomach like a washboard standing to attention at the bar.
Natalie Jacqu
Handcuffs, uniformed men and a dirty weekend..After a long week at work, what more could a girl want? Well I got a lot more than I bargained for with an ESCAPE AND EVASION exercise.
I actually paid to be abandoned in the wilds of Dartmoor, starved of food, deprived of sleep, hunted down, and then interrogated...WHY?
C McDonald
Can I just say how much fun I had training last night. It was absolutely pouring down but we carried on and had so much fun. Richard took our group and he definately kepy us going through the storm....excellent stuff.