I purchased a Groupon deal and was excited to join Morning Crunch Boot Camp since they claim they're the #1 boot camp in Los Angeles, which includes their 12 locations (Culver City, Downtown LA, Glendale, West Hollywood, Los Feliz, Marina Del Rey, North Hollywood, Northridge, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, West Los Angeles).
The North Hollywood location, next to Studio City, was the closest boot camp location for me. Sean was our instructor, who holds numerous personal trainer certifications. I found him to be friendly and nice but even though he holds all these certifications, he has trouble leading and modifying exercises for a group of fitness enthusiasts, especially when there's 10 or more boot camp clients in one class.
I'm sure an one-on-one, personal training session with him is fantastic but instructing a group of people in a boot camp setting is a different animal and that's where he doesn't excel in.
I realize that I got a deal via Groupon but if you want me as a long-term client, then here's your chance to impress me.
I've had private trainers in the past to help get me in shape but I'm typically paying about $50+/session which can get expensive after a while when you're on a limited income, but the personal attention is amazing and you learn how to exercise properly and safely.
Working out with Morning Crunch Boot Camp, I found that most exercises needed some sort of modification since I haven't worked out in a while and the exercises were too advanced for my ability and after talking with two other ladies, they expressed the same concern also.
I expressed my concerns with Sean, he said he would provide more modifications to the boot camp group, but I noticed very little difference; therefore, I would ask for his assistance but by the time he came over to me, the exercise routine was practically over. Again, it just seems he has a difficult time, managing a larger boot camp class with different fitness levels.
Now, keep in mind, I'm not weak by any means but some of the boot camp exercises are way to hard to perform even for some season athletes. Give me a workout that challenges me but not so hard that I can hurt myself with. Plus, the routines are a bit remedial since I've taken some boot camp classes from a local gym.
I spoke with Dulcinea, the Morning Crunch Boot Camp owner, to express my complaints and concerns about her Morning Crunch Boot Camp in North Hollywood, she was completely unprofessional and was offended by me when I expressed my concerns to her of my boot camp experience. Upon speaking with her on the phone, I decided to ask for a partial refund which she immediately denied my request and told me that I should finish off my North Hollywood boot camp classes instead. What a scam and so unprofessional!
Thankfully, Groupon has a much better refund policy than Morning Crunch Boot Camp, and I was able to have my refund processed.
So basically, if you don't know any better, you better hope that your Morning Crunch Boot Camp instructor knows what he or she is doing when instructing a boot camp class and if you hurt yourself, be prepared that the Morning Crunch Boot Camp owner won't help to resolve the issue and that the boot camp instructor may not provide you with any safer exercise alternatives -- only expect to follow their "one size fits all" format.
Surprisingly, I noticed at the same North Hollywood location there was another boot camp group. I decided to approach the instructor about my concerns to have my exercises modified for any advanced moves and inquire if it's common for boot camps not to provide alternative exercises in certain situations and/or for certain individuals. He assured me that his boot camp was different.
Von James, the boot camp instructor, explained to me the importance of providing a dynamic routine that must be modified for the different abilities of the clients and how most new boot camp instructors or even most boot camp programs in general, just don't have the desire or the necessary experience to provide modifications for so many boot camp exercises for so many fitness levels.
He offered to let me try one of his "Extreme Burn Boot Camp" classes. I did, and immediately saw a difference and feel between the two boot camps. I observed that Von James' was very attentive and able to accommodate each of his clients needs immediately, unlike my experience with the classes at Morning Crunch Boot Camp.
I ended up joining his boot camp program and I actually pay slightly less than the Morning Crunch standard rates, more classes are offered, and my boot camp experience has been so much better. If the other Morning Crunch Boot Camp clients are smart like me, they won't walk to Extreme Burn, they'll run!
Anyway, if the Ripoff Report had a star rating system, I would rate the Morning Crunch Boot Camp boot camp 2 stars out of 5 stars. Most of all, I hope you don't become scammed like me and you can learn from my Morning Crunch Boot Camp experience.
I now realize the importance of trying out a boot camp or fitness class before committing long-term, since once they have your money, they're most likely unwilling to work with you to resolve the issue.
So why do I call Morning Crunch a scam? Because they falsely claim to be the #1 boot camp in all of Los Angeles, they falsely claim that their boot camp routines are fun, and they falsely claim they you'll be motivated during class. But most of all, when you voice your concerns, you're pretty much told to shut up and deal with it; therefore, Morning Crunch is a scam in my book!