At Rancho Cortez, we run programs for 2 weeks to 60 days or longer.  Programs can also be tailored depending on how much time you have. We do not treat men and women any differently. We treat every person with the same care and give them space to take a class or go on a hike.

What women come here for is for a private space because they are dissatisfied with something in their life. They are coming here because they want to change it. They want to press the pause button on their life at home. We hear, “I need to change “this” and maybe I could do it easier if I went somewhere and did it.” For young women, it’s sometimes all about how they look. The reasons we often get are primarily for dating and self-esteem. These women want to lose weight or they want to get into the military or they want to look good before their first job interview. They want to look good before they go to college and make new friends. We also get the women that want to shape up to fit into a wedding dress.

Many times it is at a turning point in their life. They want to go into the next chapter a better version of themselves. So, that’s their overall reason for paying a woman’s fitness camp to support them in their new life.

Health And The Scale

For these young women, all they care about is losing weight. We want them to realize, or at least get the kernel in their mind, that it’s really not so much about how they look. It’s about how healthy they are. The scale is important because, you know, it’s the standard measure that we use, but it’s not the most important measure. We emphasize that it is more important that you eat healthy food and that you stay active. Our philosophy focuses on everything in moderation. Whether it’s exercise; you don’t want to never exercise and you don’t want to over-exercise. Our effort is to train people to go back to their home life with a renewed focus.

We don’t encourage completely eliminating every food that you like. Some of these diets are just ridiculous. You can’t eat anything white or you can’t eat any meat or you can’t eat this or you can’t eat that. It’s more about eating natural foods and eating in moderation.

The stress is probably the number one thing that people should address before they even worry about all the rest of it. We ask the question, what do I want to do with my life? Am I around the people that I want to be around? Am I living where I want to live? We try to help women find the answers to questions like these. How am I handling the stress that I do have? Do I have a spiritual life? Do I get out into nature at least for five minutes every day? So, do I know how to meditate? Do I know how to self-calm myself? That’s all just as important as what you eat and how much you exercise in any  fitness camp that you choose.

Health Regime Without The Screens

The older people usually enjoy the time away from their devices. Visitors get access to good internet from the lounge and dining hall. The younger people are driven crazy by the fact that the internet signal is bad in the cabins. In fact, we’ve had some people that have left because there is not the level of internet access that they think they require. Other people have told us that that was a favorite thing about the ranch. They could disconnect all of their devices at least for a little while. Then still stay connected

We never tell anybody not to look at their devices but we believe it is an addiction. I can see it in myself. Usually, my phone is either in a pocket, in my purse, attached to me, or within easy reach. I check it. I looked at how many times I check it every day, which I did once and I was horrified.

Taking On Life Changes At A Woman’s Fitness Camp

Almost every single woman that has come for the fitness camp had recently gone through some kind of dramatic life change. I don’t think it was a coincidence. What we usually hear of are breakups, or a parent passing away, or divorce. All of the people that are here for the fitness program are at a crossroads in their life. We have also seen a number of women that are going into college, graduating from college, starting a new job, or starting a business and they need to change their path. I’ve had people here that have wanted to be able to present themselves more professionally and they didn’t think that they could succeed overweight. They made the decision before they got to Rancho Cortez that they wanted to be successful. These women dedicated themselves to be at a more manageable weight and being healthy.