Accumulator Workout Drills

Welcome back to my series on the common types of drills you’ll find in bootcamp workouts.

As a new trainer it can often be really difficult to try to come up with a workout that works well with a whole group of people from all walks of life. What you might not realise is that us experienced trainers have many tricks and drills up our sleeves for just these occasions.

Let me introduce you to one such trick, Accumulator Drills.

If you open a dictionary (or tip: Google ‘define: accumulate’) Accumulate means to acquire or build up and that’s exactly what this type of drill does.

Accumulators begin with clients just completing one exercise.

In the second round you give your clients a second exercise. So now they do the exercise from the first round and immediately after the new exercise too.

Each round you add an extra exercise until you’ve reached your time limit or have added all of the exercises on your list.

You either have clients work at their own pace with each exercise done for reps or have everyone do it together for time, your choice.

As with many training ideas, different trainers call things the same things different names so you may see accumulators referred to as Ladders or Pyramids.

Here’s a small version of an accumulator taken off of BootCraft:

Example:

Starts Easy

Clients complete this drill at their own pace. Give them a number between 6 and 10 based on their fitness level. This will be the number of reps the will complete for each exercise.

Start on exercise 1. Then repeat 1, then 2. Back to 1, then 2, then 3. Back to 1, etc.

1. Jump Squats
2. High Plank with forwards reach (like this plank but with straight arms)
3. Band Rows – elbows at 45 degrees
4. HRPU
5. Static Lunges (sometimes called split squats)

Once clients have done all 5 exercises in a row they are finished.

More Examples:

Want more bootcamp Accumulator workout ideas? Here are 5 from the archives:

1. Timed Accumulator Workout: Dynamic Endurance
2. Accumulator Bodyweight Workout: Insanity
3. Boxing Partner Accumulator Workout: Double Up Circuit
4. Accumulator HIIT Workout: Dave & Evad
5. Christmas Song Accumulator: 12 Days of Christmas

Kyle Wood

Kyle Wood created Bootcamp Ideas in 2010 when he was hunting around on the internet for workout ideas. He ran a successful bootcamp in Victoria, Australia and spends his spare time managing this site, adventuring (or lazying) with his wife and find new ways to make bootcamps even better.