Tonya Ransom wants your body. But just for 28 days. She says you’ll feel great when she’s done.
Ransom is the creator of B.U.S.Y. Body Boot Camp, an innovative four-week fitness program in which she takes the workouts to where her clients are.
“I take people who don’t know what to do, and I ask them to commit to me for 28 days. Then, just like in the military, I act as their drill sergeant. By the end, they should be able to hear me in their heads,” she says, laughing.
Ransom’s regimen includes slowly intensifying workouts that build strength and endurance.
“We’ll set up a circuit of ten exercises, and give you one minute to do your best. The first time you do an exercise, you might last only 15 seconds. That’s fine because a week later, once you’ve gone through our strength and cardiovascular training, 15 seconds will go up to 30 seconds,” she says.
Ransom markets Boot Camp to businesses, churches, schools and other groups of people who lead busy lives. Her clients include McKee Foods, Hampton Inn, Ringgold Telephone Company and others. In each case, the benefits are outweighing the costs.
“If you can get your employees off their bottoms and moving, you’re going to see phenomenal results in terms of weight loss, lower blood pressure, increased productivity, better stress management and even camaraderie,” she says.
Before launching a Boot Camp, Ransom does an assessment of the group to determine where everyone is on the fitness spectrum and then tailors the workouts accordingly. She also lets everyone know what she expects.
“I expect to see candy dishes filled with healthy snacks; I want office gossip to turn into talking about Boot Camp; and I want people to hold each other accountable,” she says.
In addition to workouts, groups can order additional modules, such as Ransom’s nutrition class, in which she teaches people how to read food labels, schools participants on carbohydrates and proteins, and provides simple recipes for mealtime.
“My clients are busy people. They don’t have time for complicated,” she says.
Ransom says many of her clients say they don’t have the time to exercise and eat well. And she agrees with them. But she doesn’t enable them. Instead, she tells them they have to make the time.
“My clients lead hectic lives, and many are so focused on helping others, they neglect themselves. But if you’re serious about being successful and taking care of the people you love, then you have to take care of yourself. You can’t say you’re too busy and put yourself on the back burner.”
As a single mother and an entrepreneur, Ransom knows what it means to be busy.
“I have an 8-year-old, I teach an average of five classes a day, and I’m the cleaning lady, cook and yard man at home. I also have a business to run and I’m active in my church. Do I have the time to take care of myself? No, but I make it. I’m not going to do anyone any good if I’m dead.”
It’s clear Ransom takes what she does seriously. And she will go to any length to help clients who also mean business, including taking phone calls when one of her “busybodies” has an issue.
Having experienced many of the same challenges through which her clients are going, Ransom is able to lend an empathetic ear. She was overweight for many years, and while in the Army, endured the humiliation of not meeting its height or weight standards. Ransom worked out, but she did it alone, and without guidance.
After the military, Ransom went to work as a recruiter for the Chattanooga Police Department. There, she found that many of the women who wanted to go into law enforcement had the necessary education, but weren’t physically able to do the job. The inspiration for Boot Camp came when the department sent her to Cooper Institute in Dallas to learn how to put together fitness plans for people in law enforcement and the military.
“I saw strangers from different walks of life come together based on a common goal, and they were able to make it through the fitness program together, and then we were able to put them in the academy,” she says.
Ransom says Boot Camp can be life changing, but it’s not overwhelming.
“We’re not going to talk about exercising or changing your diet; we’re going to talk about changing the way you think. Your issue isn’t overeating; it’s why you overeat. And it’s not that healthy food is too expensive; it’s that you don’t know how to buy healthy food that isn’t expensive,” she says.
For more information, visit www.givemeyourbody.com, which also includes information on Ransom’s online coaching and details on how to get one free week of Boot Camp.