Boot Camp Instructor Knows Drill

Cindie DeMello looks nothing like a drill sergeant. But this friendly, intelligent and personable woman runs a boot camp in Barrington that can get you fitter in as little as two weeks.

Of course, DeMello's boot camp isn't the military variety. Her Quick-2-Fit camp is about kick-starting a plan of fitness and healthy eating that she hopes will stay with participants after they leave their two weeks with her or one of her six personal trainers.

Growing up in nearby Massachusetts, DeMello was exposed to fitness via her mom's work as a personal trainer and fitness teacher.

"I come from a family of fitness people," said DeMello, although she joked that the closest her dad gets to fitness training "is a game of golf."

For DeMello, her two sisters and their extended family, however, fitness is very much a part of their lives.

After graduating from high school, where she worked as a personal trainer at a gym in Westborough, Mass., DeMello headed to Springfield College to gain her BS in exercise science in 1994 before setting out for some California sun.

After a couple of years working for others, DeMello started her own gym in Newport Beach, Calif., where she created her boot camp workout program to satisfy the demands of clients who were looking for quick results.

The lure of home proved too great for DeMello.  In 2007, she moved back to Barrington near her sister, Pattie O'Connor, who runs spinning classes at Body Natural Fitness Center at 306 County Road.

A meeting with center owner, Al Farina, led to DeMello setting up camp there, where she started Quick-2-Fit, offering two week or four week boot camps plus an ongoing maintenance program, and personal training services, as well as sports conditioning for high school athletes.

In keeping with her belief that fitness is for anyone, DeMello is happy to accommodate anyone, no matter what their level of fitness or ability, and finds it immensely satisfying to see the change that occurs in her clients in such a short space of time.

"Those changes are not only physically, but emotionally," said DeMello.

She said clients will arrive at boot camp feeling very dissatisfied with their fitness, or upset that they no longer can do the things they used to do.

Small classes allow DeMello to provide the individual attention that motivates participants to make significant health changes relating to diet and exercise in a small amount of time.

"Fourteen days later, they can conquer the world," said DeMello.

She said she has had camp participants tell her later on how they went after a new job, or tried something else after completing her camp, that they might have been afraid to do before.

DeMello said she thrives on seeing the boost in self-esteem people gain from completing boot camp.

"It's a lot of 'I can't believe I did that,'" she said.

DeMello said it's important to her that people finish boot camp feeling fitter than when they began, although she does do measurements using a tape measure and skin fold calipers at the start and end of camp, so participants actually do see measurable results, as they may not lose weight, only fat and inches.

"We have a 100 percent success rate," said DeMello.