Fitness Bootcamp Workouts - Make It Interesting !
A fitness bootcamp needs to stick to the spirit of the army bootcamp in that it is a tough workout that turns “raw recruits” into fit and motivated “graduates”. However, given that most of these fitness programs are designed for everyday people with jobs and other things going on in their lives, it also has to be a bit creative. People want to enjoy aspects of the camp and buy into the benefits that it will deliver to them if they are really going to “give it a go”.
If it isn’t creative, the chances are they will drop out or look for something else that they think will be more interesting. Both of these scenarios are bad for the people that run the bootcamps as they will lose campers and lose revenue or income. And bad for the participants as they won’t achieve their goals to get fitter or lose weight.
So this brings into question the types of fitness bootcamp exercises that you need to have in a program to make it work. Again, it should be pointed out that it depends of the type of goals you want to achieve with the program. For instance, if it is a particularly hard program, you might want to screen people. You want to see how motivated they are. Self motivated people are more likely to stick through the hard work.
However, if you are running a bootcamp for, say, women who have just had a baby or seniors who want to maintain flexibility, you may want to tone down the workouts and mix up the intensity of the exercises.
With this said, the standard fitness bootcamp workout is generally a mix of strength work and cardio/aerobic activities. In others works body work and running.
Fitness Bootcamp Workouts – Working The Body
Body work is basically about putting more muscle mass on various parts of the body. The arms and upper torso and usually more popular for men. The hips and buttocks are more popular for women. You can get all sorts of exercises for these, from the standard push ups and burpees through to more creative exercises that mimic animals actions.
For example, one exercise that looks quite interesting is described as the turtle. A person lies stomach down on an aerobics or step platform and makes motions with their hands and legs as if they were swimming like a turtle (it could just as easily be called the frog I guess).
After about 5-10 repetitions they have to spring up onto the platform and pretend they are on a surf board riding a huge wave. It’s a bit of fun that takes the mind away from the fact they you are working on your arms and leg muscles.
Fitness Bootcamp Workouts – Make Running Fun
In terms of running, you can do shuttle runs and add a competitive element to it. Make teams and have them race. This again depends on the motivation of the campers. Many people don’t like or want a competitive element to their exercise routines. They equate this to stress and that’s the last thing they want.
A popular running game is for all the participants to run around a track or oval in a line. They may carry an object, say and sandbag or medicine ball.
The person at the front of the line runs for a few seconds holding the object. Then he/she passes it to the person behind them, still running. The object is passed on down to the back of the line.
When it reaches the back of the line, this person sprints to the front and the whole process starts again. This is done until the whole line has had a go at the front.
This is a good running exercise because it takes the campers minds off the dislike they may have of running as they have to work as a team. They can also get inspired and motivated by other team members and motivate others in the team.
Fitness bootcamp workouts have to be a mix of hard work, fun and camaraderie. This is the winning formula to a successful program for the folks that run it and the folks that participate in it.