The real killer of the day was two hours on the hotel roof with the deceptively gentle-looking Camille. For the hour of cardio kickboxing there were only two of us me and Aya Imaida, 37, a Japanese TV reporter who told me later she'd gained 20 pounds since starting a stint in Washington, D.C. I couldn't see where she was hiding it.

After we'd kicked, punched and jogged our way through an hour, two more campers joined us for an hour of core-strengthening exercises on those big inflatable balls.

A shower and change of clothes later, we headed to the poolside bar for our calorie-counted spa lunches. Bridget McNamara, 57, from St. Lucia, was spending a week here with her friend Elizabeth Minors, 58, of Antigua. They've been taking fitness vacations, usually in England, away from their careers in the travel industry for years.

''Not necessarily to lose weight,'' explained the slender Bridget, 'but for `me' time. It's selfish and quite essential, I think.''

Both women praised the facilities, instruction and healthy-but-delicious food at Bella Boot Camp, and said they'd recommend it to others. But they'd prefer a place with fewer distractions -- they skipped a few classes to go shopping.

Joy Hepburn, 45, a massage therapist from New Jersey with three sons, came to boot camp on her own. ``When I go away with friends or family, I spend all my time taking care of them. This is a vacation I can go on alone, and meet a group of really cool, interesting women.''

All five of us were in the gym for the final two classes of the day, weight training followed by the most rigorous stretching routine I had never imagined.

''We're really not about spa, we're about fitness,'' retreat director Margot Rutigliano, 32, explained to me earlier in the day. ``We added the spa component in because it's beneficial for muscle relaxation and stress reduction. Our focus is to get people to move.''

Last year, 350 people came through the boot camp program, which is limited to 10 a week, she said. Many campers stay a week or two (a woman can expect to lose 3 to 7 pounds in a week, depending on her weight and dedication). But I found a shorter visit can jump-start a lagging fitness routine. After five hours of exercise in one day, an hour a day at home looks entirely reasonable.

Like all our instructors, Rutigliano, 32, is fit, but not a stick figure.

''You need to be healthy and strong,'' she said, ``not skinny.''

DAY 2: PAMPERED

Our next stop was the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure in Weston, home of the Red Door Lifestyle Spa. The hotel and spa got a $110-million facelift a few years ago, and it shows.

Overwhelmed by the dozens of spa treatments at the Red Door (phyto-organic hydrating wrap, anyone?), we went for the half-day Signature Spa Experience.

At 48,000 square feet, this is the largest Red Door spa in Elizabeth Arden's chain of 31 day and resort spas. You can get lost here, and we were grateful for the many black-uniformed attendants patiently guiding us around. Yet it manages to feel intimate and posh, with an Asian aesthetic.

Newcomers should stick with basic treatments to start, and then branch out, advises sales and marketing manager Melissa Fronstin.

''I think people first and foremost do come for the pampering, but it's really all about wellness,'' she said. The Red Door does offer fitness classes, on land and in the pool, but we managed to overlook that, heading directly to the changing room, lavish showers and plush white robes. We lounged in a sky-lighted tea room to await our treatments.

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