Full Spectrum Functional Fitness
At Kokoro Camp, emphasis is placed on the following key fitness components:
Strength. Aside from endless amounts of push-ups and squats, there was the functional aspect of strength development through bear crawls, duck walks, and running on the beach with a 25 pound rucksack strapped to your back.
Stamina. Each day challenged us to continue at a high rate, race after race and rep after rep for several hours at a time.
Work capacity. Your work capacity never diminishes. We finished doing the same intensity and number of exercises the last minute of the camp as we did the first minute.
Endurance. It seems to go hand in hand with stamina, and often did. Yet, it was distinctly tested during particular "evolutions," as the varying events were called, that lasted for several hours at a time.
Durability. This extended to our physical and mental (don't forget the two go hand-in-hand) durability. From jumping into 60 degree ocean water and performing flutter kicks on our backs to over an hour of pushups on a cement floor carrying 25 pound rucksacks. How did we rest between sets? Kneeling down.
And finally, there is little in your life you will find as rewarding and enduring as making it through a mentally and physically challenging experience that pushes you to new limits—akin to challenging one of the world's tallest peaks or traversing a vast ocean or desert.
When you come out the other side and take a glance at who you once were, you understand. You know in the deepest corner of your being that you have reached new heights, surpassed self-imposed limits and are now a much better athlete, family member, co-worker and overall person.