Working out with the greatest views in the city

Last week, we headed out to Lands End to meet up with Primal Fitness, a bootcamp class that meets in the outer Richmond District.

Primal Fitness was started about a year ago by Ray and Bridget Murphy, a husband and wife team who for several years, owned and ran a Crossfit gym in Atlanta.

Some people hear the word “bootcamp” and think they’ll be forced to do thousands of pushups, run lap after lap – all while being screamed at by bulked up trainers. But the reality of the modern bootcamp is that it’s a cross-breed of exercises and movements, designed to help you get fit by forcing your body to adapt and get stronger in ways it may not have before. And while trainers do push you when you need it, it’s a supportive system designed to be individualized and progressive, adapting to each participant’s fitness (and comfort) level.

We met Bridget and Ray for their 5:45am class in the parking lot above Lands End. Even though it was a foggy morning, you couldn’t help but take in the expansive view over the ocean. Could there be a more scenic place to workout?

There were about 15 people in our class, most of them veterans of the program. Primal Fitness has been running their bootcamp now for about a year, with meetups at Lands End and just down the hill at Ocean Beach.

Ray, a former US Marine, took us and a couple of other newbies under his wing, showing us proper form, reminding us what we were supposed to be doing, and checking in on us to make sure we were doing ok during the workout.

After some warmups, we launched into a set of squats, pushups, box jumps (jumping up on a low wall with both feet and stepping back down), topped off with a run down some nearby stairs and a sprint back up. Rinse and repeat – as many times as we could do it in 20 minutes.

Bridget watched over the veteran group, which was given a higher number of reps for each set since they “knew the drill”. While there wasn’t a lot of chatting going on during the challenging workout, you could tell that the group was very friendly and motivating (or sometimes lovingly teasing) one another.

Our 20 minute set was followed by some killer ab exercises that left me groaning, but feeling accomplished. We ended the hour long class with stretching as the sun came up behind us.

We really enjoyed the class, and recommend it for anyone looking to change up their workout routine, or who want to try something totally new. Even if you’ve never worked out much in the past, bootcamp can be a great way to explore new areas of fitness. Usually, people surprise themselves with what they can accomplish. And over time, they’re able to work their way up and see great improvements.

Ray and Bridget were good bootcamp instructors, keeping the class on task, keeping us motivated, and inspiring a fun, and supportive environment. Bridget even turned on her iPhone to belt out some tunes for us while we sweated in the fog.

Primal Fitness meets four days a week (Mon – Thurs), alternating meetups between Lands End and Ocean Beach. Bridget emails attendees the night before with instructions on where to meet and for those who just MUST know, they can see what workout is in store for them the next day on the company’s blog.

Sessions are 4 weeks long, and consist of 4 classes per week ($225). If four days a week is too much commitment for you, they also offer 3 day a week programs ($190), or 2 days a week ($160). In addition to great workouts, Ray and Bridget also offer nutrition counseling.

If you’re interested in checking out Primal Fitness, this might motivate you even more: They’re offering 45% off signups for their 7am class, as well as 10% off new signups to the 5:45am class (space is limited). The offer is good on the first month of classes only, and can be redeemed until July 16, 2012.

For more information on Primal Fitness, visit their website at primalfitnesssf.com or contact Bridget at bridget@primalfitnesssf.com.

Thanks to Ray and Bridget for a great workout!

Sarah B.