Every morning, graduate student Stephanie Vollmer is at The University of Memphis at 5:30 a.m. to push, pull and run for an hour in the dark and cold. And when she’s done, she feels great.
Vollmer takes part in a boot camp program sponsored by the Continuing Education Department and taught by Tony Ludlow, a former Marine and current teacher and athletic director of Memphis Catholic School.
Ludlow, a Marine for ten years, was a Marine Corps drill instructor for two years. So according to him, this is a program similar to what one would expect at Marine training camp.
“I love the program,” Vollmer said. “It’s unlike any other exercise program. People actually care if you show up or not. It’s not like the gym, where nobody notices.”
Accountability is definitely a part of the program’s success, according to Ludlow.
“If someone doesn’t show up, I call them or e-mail them that day to find out why,” he said. “I’m a teacher, so if you’re going to skip, I want a note from momma.”
This is the first semester that this monthly course has been offered in the catalog for continuing education at The U of M.
“Ludlow was teaching the program on his own,” said Continuing Education Coordinator Barbara Budynas. “When he came to us and wanted to teach it here, we thought it was a good idea. Fitness programs have a good response at The U of M, so we’re always open to new ideas.”
According to Vollmer, the class has jumped in size from seven people, five months ago when she began the program, to about 20 people now.
The class is taught Monday through Friday from 5:30-6:30 a.m. at the basketball court in the Elma Roane Field House on campus.
“I’m a morning person, so I don’t mind waking up so early too much,” Vollmer said. “But it’ll be a lot easier once winter is over and we’re not running in the cold.”
Ludlow tries to encourage people who are not so morning-oriented by being excited himself.
“I just show up in the morning and I’m pumped, and I guess that rubs off during the routine,” Ludlow said.
Enrollment is at the beginning of each month and the program goes through May. According to Budynas, enrollment is handled on a rolling schedule, so interested students can sign up anytime. The class costs $180 a month and is open to anyone interested, not just U of M students.
The boot camp is a time-effective program to attain a maximum fitness level in a minimum amount of time, according to Budynas.
“The boot camp isn’t like on television, with somebody screaming in your face,” she said. “But it is a no-frills program based on Ludlow’s military experience. There is no exercise equipment involved, so it’s a lot of push-ups, pull-ups and running.”
The boot camp program has two divisions: fitness boot camp and maintenance boot camp.
According to Budynas, in the fitness boot camp the participants and Ludlow work together to find a fitness level appropriate to each person. When the person meets that fitness level, Ludlow promotes them to the maintenance boot camp, where they work to maintain that fitness level.
According to Ludlow, if people will give him 100 percent effort and 80 percent attendance, they will see results within a month.
“I can definitely say that the program works,” Vollmer said. “I can see a lot more muscle definition and I feel much stronger. I’ve also lost about 20 pounds since I started.”
The results of this program are probably due to Ludlow’s slogan: “No dancing. No mirrors. No music. No spandex. And no crybabies.”
