Boot camp workouts are the best weight loss and fat burning workouts you can do. There are a few key reasons why.
To illustrate, here's a nice 10 to 15 minute drill if you happen to have a hill or a set of stairs handy. Pick a number and pick an exercise. Say I pick the number 9 and I pick pushups.
That’s the beauty of boot camp workouts (one of them anyway). They are mostly made up of bodyweight exercises. That means you can get into fantastic shape for little to no cost!
In fact WebMD says:
“Forget fancy fitness fads. Your body is the only equipment you need for one of the hottest fitness trends: body-weight workouts.
A new survey of fitness trends shows body-weight training, including back-to-basics exercises like push-ups, planks, pull-ups, is expected to be one of the top 10 fitness trends...” [1]
Hey, that's what a boot camp workout is all about!
Medical research proves that combining cardio with strength training vastly outperforms separating them, i.e. doing cardio on one day and strength training the next day. A study in The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research shows how much more effective it is to include cardio exercises and strength training in the same workout. [2]
For the study, people were separated into two groups. One group did a more traditional routine of cardio one day and strength training the next. The other group did strength exercises with intervals of cardio mixed in – like boot camp workouts.
The group that mixed the cardio and strength exercises showed a greater increase in lower body strength and endurance – which is great. But the real headline was the difference in body composition between the groups. The combination group saw almost 10 times the reduction in body fat compared to the separated group! If that’s not enough, the combination group gained 82% more muscle than the separated group.
Let that sink in. This research shows that a boot camp workout can give you 998% more fat loss and 82% more muscle gain over more traditional exercise programs. There is no magic pill or anything. You’ll still work for it. But MAN look at the results you can get.
Below are just a few boot camp ideas out of a million. Bootcamp workout ideas are only limited by one's imagination. A good example of that is Phase 1 below. Take that same concept and put in whatever exercises you want.
After you give these workouts a try, take a look at the Bodyweight Burn program. It's a great plan that leads you through the process of coordinating body weight workouts and your diet for maximum fat loss. It's one of the best programs available for burning fat and building lean muscle. I highly recommend it!
Warm Up:
Phase 1: Sprints with exercises
Phase 2: A 12 inch to 18 inch bench or wall is helpful for this one.
Phase 3: Finish with abs and core work.
Warm Up:
Half Mile Run (4 to 5 minutes at a moderate pace)
Phase 1: This works best if you have 100 yards of open space.
Phase 2: Doing some of the movements backwards is a bigger change than you think!
Phase 3: Upper body, mostly chest and triceps.
Phase 4: Finish with Planks
Granted, that boot camp workout might not be right for someone just starting out. But that's OK because you can modify the workout and the exercises to make a workout that works for you.
Check out the exercise pages to see the modifiers that make each of the exercises easier and harder.
I love these workouts as starting points to get used to the boot camp workout philosophy of mixing cardio with bodyweight exercises. If your goal is to shed fat and build lean muscle, some cardio and body weight workouts are all you need.
For more information on how to coordinate your body weight workouts and your diet for maximum fat loss, check out the Bodyweight Burn program. It's one of the best programs available for burning fat and building lean muscle. I highly recommend it!
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