Anyone for a piggyback, or a burpee in the sea? Gayle gets stuck into a military fitness session on Balmedie Beach.
I’m lying flat on my back in the North Sea doing sit-ups in the chilly water.
Surprisingly, I’m not that cold.
That’s probably because I’ve been whizzing up and down sand dunes, performing burpees, squats and lunges and generally putting my body through the mill.
My heart’s racing, my blood’s pumping and my adrenalin levels have shot through the roof: it’s a great feeling.
I’m at Balmedie beach taking part in a military fitness workout led by instructor and army veteran Norman McConnachie.
As well as sessions in a trio of Aberdeen’s parks, he runs fortnightly Sunday morning bootcamps here on the beach.
And folks, let me tell you, I’d normally be enjoying a lie-in, or a big breakfast, on a Sunday morning!
But today there’s no hanging about. Meeting up with Norman and the group in the beach car park, I notice I seem rather overdressed, with three tops, leggings, buff, hat and gloves.
Other folk are mostly wearing just shorts and some are even sporting vests.
“You’ll get really warm,” warns Norman, and while reluctant to remove my cosy layers, I take heed.
After a quick chat, we jog up a wooden boardwalk and down into a vast expanse of golden sand circled by dunes on all sides – a bit like an amphitheatre.
We run round a giant puddle sitting in a hollow, and then Norman instructs us to splash through it. I hadn’t expected to get drenched quite so quickly!
Then we’ve to run up and down dunes, which is knackering, and even more challenging – we have to “crab crawl” our way up the sand backwards. It’s gruelling work and my legs are burning!
Next, we jog down to the beach – through a rather grotty looking burn that flows into the sea. It’s a burn I’ve always dodged when walking the dog but today there’s no avoiding it.
We take it in turns to do sit-ups on the dunes and then sprint into the sea where we perform a range of exercises, from burpees and squats to lunges an press-ups.
Then, the moment I’d been dreading – teaming up with someone to give piggybacks!
I’m paired with Pamela Dawson who’s strong as an ox and has no trouble carrying me into the sea where we again do a range of hardcore exercises designed to push us to our limits. I will never love burpees; they’re the devil’s work.
When it’s my turn to give Pamela a piggyback, I manage better than expected. Maybe I’m not the weakling I feared! It’s a liberating experience!
Pamela and I then do some partner-assisted abs exercises – in the sea and while waves crash over us.
After we’ve all sprinted back and forth and given each other more piggybacks, Norman tells everyone to run into the sea and keep going until we’ve jumped over five waves.
One man goes speeding in and the rest of us follow. When the salty water passes my waist, I bail, but others go in right up to their armpits!
Our final task is to form a human “crawl tunnel” into the sea. Standing in a line, the person at the back has to crawl on their hands and knees through the “tunnel” of people, getting splashed by the sea as they do so. It’s extremely invigorating!
There’s a great sense of camaraderie and team-work – everyone is hugely supportive and encouraging – and Norman is a great motivator.
As we walk back to the car park, I notice everyone has huge grins on their faces, myself included; I can see why people get out of bed to take part!
A bonus is discovering someone’s brought coffee and biscuits and we get stuck in while we chat.
Very shortsightedly, and stupidly not thinking I’d get soaked, I brought neither a towel nor a change of clothes with me. Thankfully Norman has a spare towel, Wullie the photographer lends me a pair of socks, and a lovely lady gives me her jogging trousers. Cheers folks – I promise to return these soon!
Norman set up Military Fitness Training in 2004 after leaving the Forces and reckons it’s the “best way” to get fit while having great fun with others.
“Whether you want to improve your quality of health and lifestyle, lose weight, tone up or become a professional athlete, sessions can be tailored to suit,” he says.
“Classes get the most of out of the outdoors environment, whether the park or the beach.”
INFO
Military Fitness sessions take place in Aberdeen’s Duthie Park on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6pm to 7pm, Hazlehead Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6pm to 7pm, and Seaton Park on Saturdays from 10am to 11am. military-fitness.info/
Balmedie Beach bootcamps run most fortnights through summer on Sundays from 10.30am to 11.30am. The next one is May 15.
Military Fitness Training members compete in OCR (obstacle course racing) events.
Beach Ballistic, Scotland’s only beach-based OCR course, runs on August 6 and 7 at Balmedie Beach. Participants choose from 8K, 16K or 32K challenges.
“Obstacles are set in the unique, challenging coastal landscape, including a dip in the North Sea,” says Norman. “It’ll be a test of strength, stamina and mental toughness.” beachballistic.com/
Norman also has Newfoundlands Yogi and Cindy, fully-trained water rescue and alternative therapy dogs. They visit hospitals, care homes, schools, and a range of other venues, helping people with behavioural issues, depression, autism, stress
and anxiety.
