Three local boys are enlisting your help to drop off Christmas presents for the Marinesí Toys for Tots program. In exchange, they will help you drop off a few holiday pounds.

Brothers Jeff, John and James Rowling will be holding a charity fitness bootcamp beginning at 9 a.m. this Saturday, Dec. 20 at the McDermont Field House in Lindsay. Admission is free with the donation of a new toy to the Toys for Tots program organized by the U.S. Marine Corps.

ìWe all know that we probably put on a few extra pounds over the holidays,î said Jeff, ìso why not work off some extra weight before we put it back on and give back to a great cause.î

The high-energy bootcamp is more easy going than intense training. Participants will be asked to do a variety of fun activities with a fitness twist, such as playing laser tag with a weight belt, running through an inflatable obstacle course and taking a turn on the climbing wall. The activities switch quickly between four, 20-minute activities with time to rest in between.

ìYou are going to work up a sweat and burn some calories, but you wonít feel like your working out, at least not until the next day,î Jeff said. ìThis is what I call a total out-of-gym experience.î

Bootcamp fitness was a natural for the Rowley boys whose father, Gary, served in the U.S. Air Force. After being raised in the Philippines, Gary and his wife moved to Visalia to make their home. All of their sons (including two other brothers) competed in local athletics and have gone on to work in a variety of fields including boxing, coaching, dance, and even being a stuntman.

After an entire career in performing arts with Universal Records, Disney and SeaWorld, the 30-year-old Jeff is now training to be a professional boxer and is certified in a variety of sport and fitness related fields. Jeff has trained extensively at both LA Boxing and the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. Along the way, he has received certifications in personal training from the National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM), International Fitness Professionals Association and Sports Trainers Association.

ìEven as a boxer, there are days when I donít feel like going to the gym and training,î Jeff said. ìThatís why this program is different because its more about having fun and getting results than doing the same thing all the time.î

Many people in the area may know 23-year-old John, a 2003 graduate of Exeter Union High School who also coached basketball at Central Valley Christian and was an assistant football coach at Woodlake Union High School. John is awaiting certification from the NASM. Joining them will be 31-year-old brother James, whose fiancÈe, Vickie Limos, worked with Kaba Modern, finalist for MTVís Americaís Best Dance Crew.

ìA lot of people have problems reaching their fitness goals,î John said. ìBut this is the kind of thing that anyone can do. I wish they would have had this when I was a kid.î

Jeff said the fitness bootcamp will begin a more regular schedule at McDermont next year. Participants will start at Level 1 and attend three, 55-minute sessions for four weeks straight. After a week of recovery and rest, participants will move on the next level, until they complete Level 3. Jeff guarantees that in the first session, participants will lose 6-14 pounds, 2-3 inches off their waistline, a higher metabolism and have more muscle mass and less fat.

ìThis is specifically designed for people who have tried everything else but have never been satisfied with results,î Jeff said. ìNo one else is doing anything like this.î

For more information about the fitness bootcamp, call John Rowley at 623-8631. All of the toys donated this Saturday will go to Toys for Tots. Since its inception, Toys for Tots has touched the lives of more than 160 million children. To learn more about the Toys for Tots, visit www.toysfortots.org.

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