New Yorkers seeking to shed pounds and inches in time for a beachside getaway can get some tough love at any number of fitness boot camps in the city. A bevy of these military-inspired exercise programs have sprung up in recent years, with some promising dramatic results in just a few weeks. Many such boot camps — several of which are detailed below — take advantage of lush city parks during the warm weather months.

Athletic CTS Boot Camp

The co-founder of Athletic Combined Training Systems Boot Camp, Nii Wilson, served four years as a logistics specialist in the U.S. Army, but he acts more like a drill sergeant when keeping his “recruits” in line. During a 50-minute workout in Central Park, participants can expect to run 300 meters while carrying a fellow trainee on their back; sprint in formation across the Sheep Meadow, and do more push-ups than they could possibly count. The motto of this two-year-old program: “Don’t complain, just train.” Mr. Wilson and his business partner, David Cabral, provide a grueling workout, but when the session is over, they let their guard down — giving high-fives to each member of their “boot camp family.” Campers lose an average of 5 to 15 pounds in four weeks, Mr. Wilson said.

(Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 6 a.m., 7:15 a.m., or 6:30 p.m. in Central Park, $35 a session, $297 a month. For more information, call 866-447-2287 or visit ctsbootcamps.com.)

The Method Boot Camp

Those willing to subject themselves to nightly three-hour workouts — and to pay a pretty penny for the chance to train with a celebrity instructor — may want to try the two-week boot camp beginning next week at Reebok Sports Club/NY. Tracy Anderson, who works with Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow, is teaching this 30-hour course; classes involve choreographed dance aerobics, as well as high-intensity cardio drills and prop-centric exercises that target small muscle groups. “It’s designed to be a shock to the system,” Ms. Anderson said. “Every single person can expect to lose 10 to 15 pounds and many inches.”

(June 16-27, Monday-Friday, 6:30-9:30 p.m., 160 Columbus Ave., 2nd fl., between 67th and 68th streets; members, $2,500, nonmembers, $3,000. For more information and to register, call Diane Gausepohl at 212-501-1429.)

NYC Adventure Boot Camp for Women

Beginning promptly at 5:30 a.m., NYC Adventure Boot Camp has been catering to early risers since it launched last year. Any given class may include a hike, a short-distance run, and mat-based Pilates exercises. “It’s not militant; it’s more fun and functional,” a co-founder of the boot camp, Stacy Papakostas, said of the four-week program, which campers can opt to attend three or five days a week, in Central Park or Battery Park. Trainees, who are asked to bring an exercise mat and a pair of light hand weights, can expect to lose 5 to 12 pounds, and 1 to 3 inches from their midsection, according to the company Web site. And for those not inclined to get up before dawn, the boot camp is adding an evening workout to its repertoire this summer.

(June 16-July 11, 5:30 a.m. in Battery Park, June 23-July 21, 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. in Central Park, three days a week, $309, five days a week, $419, prices include an hour-long nutrition seminar, women only. For more information and to register, visit nycadventurebootcamp.com.)

Boot Camp Fitness, Brooklyn N.Y.C.

This six-week, thrice-weekly boot camp program offers courses indoors year-round, and outdoors between April and December. Inside the Park Slope studio, participants spend 75-minute sessions running, cycling, navigating obstacle courses, and taking part in sandbag drills. Meanwhile, the boot camp’s al fresco incarnation is all about making use of the resources in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, Cadman Plaza Park, and Fort Greene Park. “If we see rocks or logs, we’ll carry those; if there’s a playground, we’ll do pull-ups on the monkey bars or climb the pole,” trainer Darren Taylor, who founded Boot Camp Fitness in 2001, said.

(Outdoor classes begin this week, times and locations vary, $325; rolling admission for indoor classes, 172 Flatbush Ave. at Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, $425. For more information or to register, call 718-636-4369, or visit bootcampfitnessnyc.com.)

Stacy’s Bootcamp

A former personal trainer at New York Sports Clubs, Stacy Berman now teaches boot camps year-round in Central Park, Battery Park, Washington Square Park, and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Each workout begins with a warm-up jog, which is followed by a series of cardiovascular and muscle-building exercises. Dozens of push-ups, squats, lunges, and jumping jacks, in addition to some more obscure athletic drills, are all par for the course. “Every exercise can be modified to be more or less challenging,” Ms. Berman said, explaining that the boot camp, founded in 1999, is open to men and women of all fitness levels. Groups meet three times a week for three consecutive weeks; each session becomes progressively more difficult. Programs exclusively for new mothers and for women over 40 are also available.

(June 23-July 11, July 21-August 8, times and locations vary, $275. For more information and to register, visit stacysbootcamp.com.)