Designing your own workout can be a challenge.
With countless exercises touted as the “best” and the overabundance of information online, you may find yourself spending more time planning than exercising. Or maybe the sheer overwhelm of trying to plan a new workout has left you doing the same routine over and over.
For this reason, boot camp workouts, with their heart-raising, strength-building combination of exercises, have soared in popularity. They’re also quick and include convenient pre-selected exercises, to boot — no pun intended.
This article tells you all you need to know about boot camp workouts, suggests exercises you can try, and provides helpful tips to give you the best results.
Boot camp workouts include a range of cardio, strength training, and speed exercises all in one session.
While the primary goal of boot camp workouts may vary — such as building muscle or increasing cardiorespiratory fitness — they usually include elements of all three types of exercise.
For example, a boot camp workout can include cardio exercises (e.g., jumping jacks, sprints, jump rope), bodyweight and resistance exercises (e.g., squats, pushups, planks), or exercises that tackle both at the same time (e.g., jump squats, mountain climbers).
In most cases, boot camp workouts are high intensity and short, but they burn a ton of calories, get your heart rate up, and strengthen your muscles. This is ideal for people who have limited time but still want to get in a good workout (1, 2).
Though each workout will be different, they usually include 2–5 rounds of 5–10 exercises. They may also be broken up into a few circuits, which are groups of 2–3 exercises. This will depend on the type of exercise, your fitness level, and your desired workout length.
You can also decide to do time-based exercises, such as AMRAP (as many reps as possible) intervals, or a set number of reps before continuing to the next exercise.
Summary
Boot camp workouts feature a series of 5–10 high intensity cardio, strength training, and speed exercises that are usually repeated a few times.
For a well-rounded boot camp workout, you’ll want to include a range of exercises that focus on developing cardio, strength, and speed.
Before starting, it’s best to do a 5-minute dynamic warmup to prepare your muscles and heart for the work ahead. This can include some shoulder rotations, leg swings, a light jog, and other moves to get your blood flowing.
Start with the first exercise and progress through each one until you’ve completed them all. Then, return to the beginning and repeat this 2–3 more times. Be sure to take 20–30 seconds of rest after each exercise, as needed.
1. Jumping jack (30 seconds)
What it targets: full-body workout and cardio
Equipment needed: none
- Stand with arms at your sides and legs together.
- Jump up and spread your legs out …….