We love our sunburnt country, the land of sweeping plains – and here are some great workout ideas that celebrate the Land Down Under.

Scorcher

Designer: Pat Carr

Equipment needed:

• 2 large, plastic tubs (think shopping baskets without the holes, they need to hold water)
• 2 plastic cups for each member of your group
• (Optional) 4 plastic shot glasses
• 100 – 200 water bombs – filled up. For fast, self-tying water bombs, just google ‘bunch o balloons’, these things are an amazing time saver!!

Part 1 – Water Hustle

Split the group up into 2 teams of roughly equal fitness levels. Each team gets a tub, which is placed flat on the ground roughly 40 metres away from the ocean/lake/river. Each team is to nominate a team captain – or you as the trainer can pick this yourself. Try and pick one of the fitter, more confident members, and someone who doesn’t mind getting wet!

Each person gets two plastic cups, and lines up next to their tub for the game to start. On GO, everyone runs to fill up their cups with water, then runs them back and pours the water into their team’s tub. The game continues until one team has entirely filled up their tub, so it overflows. When this happens, the winning team gets to pour the tub of water over the head of the opposing captain, who is kneeling on the ground (the fun part!).

You can play this game once or a second time with new team captains!

Part 2 – Team Water Fight

Keep your group split up into the same two teams. Each team fills up their tub with filled and tied up water bombs. Depending on the number of people you have, aim for 50 – 100 water bombs per team.

Set up each team’s home base about 60 metres apart, with their tub to stay there. Make a line with 2 cones about 10 metres apart at each team’s home base.

The game from here is simple. Each team aims to get someone over the opposing team’s line, while stopping the other team from doing the same. Everyone carries 2 water bombs with them and throws them at people from the other team. If you get hit by a water bomb, you have to go back to your home base and go again. Every time a team gets someone over the opponent’s line, they get a point for their team. Continue the game until all water bombs have been used.

This game makes for a lot of laughs (and lots of running!).

Safety tips – make sure everyone aims to throw waist or below (no risk of headshots!), If you have some guys or girls with a particularly strong throwing arm, have a quiet word to them to not throw too hard and injure anyone.

Australiana Show Down

Designer: Jamie Nielson

Equipment Needed:

• 2 blow up Australian themed fingers
• 2 pairs Australian themed thongs
• Markers
• Lamingtons
• Spoons
• Chalk
• Paddle Pop Sticks – orange, blue, green, red
• Dumbbells
• TRX / Suspension Trainer
• Bench / Step

Warm Up – Lamington Spoon Race

Split groups into even teams. Have them do lamington (egg) and spoon race. Every drop equals 1 Burpee for team (plus 1 each time they drop)

Warm Up – Roadkill Kangaroos vs Cars

Aim: Get to your end zone without getting caught.
Set up 2 end zones approx. 20-50m apart. Set up a halfway line in the middle of the zones. Divide class into 2 teams, Kangaroos & Cars. Have teams line up against each other at the halfway line in pairs.
Coach calls out kangaroos or cars. If your team gets called you must turn and run to your end zone, if you get tagged, you sit out (eliminated).

Workout – Thong Throw

Draw a target of 5 rings with chalk, centre value 10, out to 50. Place a marker 10m away.

Create groups of 3. One person does a thong throw from the marker to determine the amount of reps for the team to do of an exercise that they pull out of jar.

Exercises are written on Paddle Pop sticks. Teams must pick a different coloured stick each time:

• Orange – Upper Body
• Blue – Core
• Green – Cardio
• Red – Lower Body

Campers leave the stick out of the jar once its done.

After each exercise the team must do a shuttle run, next person grabs a stick & throws the thong to see what reps they’ll get.

Finisher – Thong Plank Relay

Split groups into equal teams, have them hold planks in a row, last person has the thong, they have to run to the other end, get down to plank & pass the thong along to other end, they can’t go until they get the thong, first team to make it 15m wins.

Aussie As BOOTCAMP

Designer: Danielle Appi

This is a self-paced workout. You have 10 exercises to do with varying amounts of reps, you must complete all repetitions of all exercises in 30 minutes.

Waltzing Matilda Workout

Designer: Stephanie Jannati

This is an Australiana inspired workout list that could be used for a circuit – you could use 26 reps of each, or 26 seconds of each.

• Platypus Planks
• Kookaburra Kicks
• Bushtucker Bicep Curls
• Coolabah Tree Kettlebell Swings
• Jolly Swagman Sprints
• Koala Bear Crawls
• Kangaroo Jumps
• Down Under Dips
• Redback Spiderman Push Ups
• Southern Cross Jumps
• You Beaut Burpees
• Sheila Squats
• Beach Babe Bicycle Sit Ups
• VB Push Ups
• Gecko Walk
• Tim Tam Tyre Press
• Flamin’ Forward Lunges
• Larikin Laps

Aussie Nick Name Workout

Designer: Jaimee Cantoni

Have campers use their birth date to establish their Aussie nick name, then use the letters list to spell their nick name with exercises. To extend the workout, have campers spell out someone elses name as well.

Union Jack Attack

Designer: Kyle Wood

Time: 45 minutes

Equipment Needed:

• Mats
• Cones/Markers
• Battling Ropes
• Skipping Ropes (Jump Ropes)

Set up all equipment and stations in the centre of a large rectangular field (I used a cricket pitch). This will act as the centre of the union jack.

Place cones at each corner of the rectangle as well as half way along the perimeter along each side (8 cones total). These act as the points of the union jack.

Form your bootcamp group into teams of 5 or 6 mixed fitness level clients.

Each team must complete two rounds of the circuit set up in the middle.

In between each station the team must run one leg of the Union Jack while carrying a battling rope on their shoulders before completing the next station.

Have a team take a drink break after their first circuit.

Exercise Stations

1. Tyre flip, jump and sprint across 30 meters.
2. 20 two handed rope slams each with their teams battling rope. Team members will need to take it in turns as only one person on either end of the rope can go at a time.
3. Overhead tyre lunges across 30 metres (15m up and back). 
4. 100 skips (jump ropes) for each member.

Example

Just to clarify the order of exercise here is a little sample of what a teams workout might look like:

• Run to left most point of Union Jack and back
• Complete tyre flip drill
• Run to upper-left point and back
• Complete 20 rope slams each
• Run to upper point and back
• Complete overhead tyre lunges
• Run to upper-right point and back
• Complete 100 skips each
• Short drink break
• Run to right point and back
• Complete tyre flip drill
• Run to lower-left point and back
• Complete 20 rope slams each
• Run to lower point and back
• Complete overhead tyre lunges
• Run to lower-right point and back
• Complete 100 skips each

Total workout time = 25-30 minutes on a good sized field.

Do you have any great Australian themed workouts to share? Write it in the comments below!

Theresa Prior

Theresa Prior has a mission to bring Mums and women together in a safe and supportive environment that just so happens to have fun fitness sessions at it’s core. She has been running her own personal training business since 2013. Theresa helps her clients understand that all aspects of their health are equally important.