One of the reasons (besides work always taking over my life) that I've been so busy lately is my two-time per week after work boot camp class. The work out was only 2 hours per week but it somehow occupied a lot more of my time!
As someone who LOVES to change up my work outs frequently, I loved boot camp. Despite trying hula hooping and jumping on a trampoline at a gym last year I had never before tried a boot camp class.
My boot camp was held outside at a park. Our "coach" runs a company in the Boston area so he has a lot of experience in this area. Every single class was different. The following is a list of some of the activities that we did.
Running: warm up, caravanning, uphill sprints etc
Step ups (usually involving really tall bleachers)
Jumping Jacks
Bear clawing/crab walking
sourceResistance bands: bicep curls, shoulder presses etc
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Tricep dips on picnic benchesPush upsEndless squatsPartner/group games
All of this (and much more) was done in really cool ways. For example, we often rotated through stations so that as we were resting one muscle we were working another part of our body, always running in between each activity. Or, we would get a partner and while one partner was sprinting up a hill, the other was doing shoulder presses. One time we played a team game where one team wanted all of the cones to face down and the other wanted all the cones to face up. We had to run around trying to put all the cones they want our team wanted. The team that won got to pick what we did next.
I love this whole method of working out. We almost never fully rested, but we did have the opportunity to catch our breath as we did more muscle building activities and rest our muscles as we did some cardio. The hour totally flew by.
Sadly, boot camp is over for me since I needed to free up some afternoons for tutoring (and staying on top of my life). I'm looking forward to getting back to running with Eric and doing more of my own workouts, but I will miss it. I will probably do it again come spring when the weather is a bit nicer. If you ever have a chance to try a boot camp class, I highly recommend it.
Have you ever tried boot camp? What did you think? Are you the type of person who likes classes at the gym or do you prefer to work out solo?
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I think I would love a class like this, but I just have never signed up for one. I know they exist, but I seem to be content with my at-home workouts, for now. I think as I get older and need more motivation to workout, this will be something I would consider. I think the crab walking, ALONG, would make me super sore!
ReplyDeleteI have never done a bootcamp, but I think I would really like it. I used to always work out alone, and loved it, but now I have become accustomed to running with my running group and i actually miss running with them when I do run alone...
ReplyDeleteI did a bootcamp when I first moved to Kamloops and I really really enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteI am doing another bootcamp in the spring to get "buff" for the wedding. Hehe ;)
I had an entirely different boot camp experience and it wasn't as good. I think it had to do with the fact I did it through my gym. Somehow, I think a community-group boot camp would be better. When my mom jokingly said after one particularly hard workout (I think during our 2nd of 6 weeks), we wouldn't be coming back, the instructor said, "That's OK. I have your money." That left a bad taste in my mouth from the beginning and she continued to say rude things, including calling us b*tches. So, yeah, not the best experience.
ReplyDeleteI do want to try a different boot camp, though, because I really think it was just the one I went to. It sounds like you had a great experience!
I have a love/hate relationship with workout classes. I love having someone else push me (especially with things like abs and yoga) cause I have trouble motivating myself to continue once I've started. But in general I'd prefer to work out on my own, because I can do it on my own schedule.
ReplyDeleteI did a bootcamp a few years ago and I absolutely loved it! I'd have kept doing it but it was quite expensive. Once I'm closer to my target weight-range, I'm going to do it again.
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