Getting a boot out of exercise

A "boot camp" in Franklin is offering everyone the opportunity to shape up without shipping out, with instruction provided not by a leathery and large-lunged drill sergeant but by the reigning Mrs. Bikini Universe, to boot.

Franklin Boot Camp is a five-week whirlwind program, suitable for all ages and all levels of fitness or un-fitness. The cardio-based course is flexible enough for participants to set their own pace yet intense enough to enable the committed to get in the best condition of their lives.

"It's what you want it to be," says director Kim Whittaker, who was, indeed, crowned Mrs. Bikini Universe for 2007, at a competition in Miami. "You can pick your own level of intensity, but it's all about having fun."

No Camper Left Behind could be the motto of the enterprise; there are never any tests to pass, but just like any other school, everyone's expected to get there on time. Classes last an hour, and incorporate strength training, aerobics and muscle toning with agility drills, resistance training, calisthenics, yoga, circuit training, various cardio exercises including an obstacle course, stairs and running, and even games, for a varied and complete body workout. The benefits? Improved strength, endurance, flexibility and cardiovascular health, decreased body fat, enhanced self-image and confidence, improved mental toughness, mood and energy level - same as regular boot camp, without the humiliation. The classes are a mere $15 each, and no one is asked to do more than he or she is ready to do.

When Whittaker was asked by her own personal trainer to consider entering the Mrs. Bikini Universe competition, she didn't know if she was ready. "I was in shape," she says, "but my fear was being on a stage in front of people. I thought I might as well go ahead and overcome that, and I did. The hard part was the dieting." The determination to start and follow through with something, the courage to venture into the unknown, the experience of meeting fellow adventurers - all this is part of what she tries to enkindle and encourage through her program.

Whittaker grew up in southern California, and loved the beach, the outdoors, sports and the sun - but hated the gym. Then, during a bad time in her life, she decided to get healthy and started working out. She liked it but felt she wasn't doing it properly, so she found a personal trainer and worked with him for six years, and eventually she heeded the call to pass along what she'd learned. She got certified, and worked part-time as a personal trainer and full-time in investment banking - fiscally by day, physically by night.

The opportunity for a change of scene - away from the hustle and bustle and high cost of living of L. A. - arose, and she and her husband, Michael, a composer and writer, moved to middle Tennessee. He'd been here before, visiting friends, and liked it, and after she saw it she didn't need any persuading, especially as it was also an opportunity to pursue her new passion full-time.

The Franklin Boot Camp has sessions in the Franklin Rec Center and in Kim Whittaker's private gym. Her current class has 15 members, most of whom plan to renew for another five weeks - and who ever heard of anyone wanting to go through real boot camp again?

"This is definitely not a military-style program," she says. "I push them but I don't yell at them.

"I kill them with kindness."

Contact Kim Whittaker at the Franklin Boot Camp at 615-477-3776. Visit www.franklinbootcamp.com.