These days, boot camp classes are everywhere. Offering HIIT workouts with minimal equipment, they often bill themselves as the easy answer for people trying to figure out how to lose weight quickly and effectively.

Today we're going to answer the all-important question. Is there more to this training method than just being the next big fitness fad?

The quick answer is yes. Many people often over complicate matters when it comes to working out and boot camps are just the latest in a long line of gimmicks which are really just offering what's existed in gyms around the world for decades already.

In fact, if you stroll into any gym in your local area you will see countless fitness enthusiasts putting the foundations of a boot camp workout into their regular gym routine. Circuit classes have existed for decades. Likewise, high intensity interval training has been around for years. Both principles are widely adopted by outdoor fitness classes.

The reason this phenomenon has become so popular is the marketing behind it. Sadly, this often leads to rival companies saying more outrageous statements in a bid to try to get more members than their main competitors and it can lead to people expecting miracle results. It's not rare to see advertisements for this type of class associated with statements about getting extremely fast weight loss in ten minutes per day, while eating whatever you want for the rest of the day.

While the general marketing behind boot camps tend to be quite misleading, the theories the style of training is built upon are actually very solid. Any high intensity interval training workout is going to get your blood pumping and your heart reaching the upper scales of it's ability. This will lead to weight loss and will improve your fitness. If you incorporate resistance training into the routine, which most trainers do, then you will also notice an increase in strength, too.

All of the hype surrounding this type of training, which is often merely a company's attempt at competing with it's rivals, can lead to the whole thing being labelled a fitness fad. Yet the workouts themselves are proven and they tend to stick to the basic exercises such as squats and push-ups.

The one area which still stands in the boot camp's advantage, of course, is the group atmosphere it promotes. There are many people who find it difficult to push themselves without others around them doing the same thing. This is where boot camps and fitness classes are first rate. However, those looking to join purely because of the fitness benefits are quick to notice that the actual workouts are very basic. Because of this realization, the whole boot camp phenomenon is now dying off and people are beginning to get the same effective workouts at home without the need for memberships.

Ultimately, boot camps are a mixed bag. While the science behind their HIIT workouts is sound, if you ask a boot camp trainer how to lose weight you're not going to get a miracle answer and the marketing behind the whole gimmick often discredits it's product. While you could certainly get the same physical results by yourself, if you place a huge importance on working out in a group atmosphere then boot camps could be just what you're looking for.