Christmas Tree Workout

It was requested of me by some readers to come up with a new bootcamp workout this year to get people into the holiday mood. I just so happened to be covering for a friend’s bootcamp this week so the timing was perfect.

I got out my trusty notebook and started working on something.

My favourite Christmas workout is the 12 Days of Christmas so my plans kept coming back to something similar.

I scribbled it out and started from scratch. And this pyramid style work out is what I came up with.

Christmas Tree (of Doom [and leg pain]) Workout

Type: Fun

Time: 60 minutes

Equipment needed: Dumbbells

Warm Up

Basic mobility stretches and then a short game:

Spread a group of multicoloured cones on the ground. Have campers hold plank on mats down one end of the room.

Call out a colour. Campers hop up and sprint to grab a cone of that colour and then return to plank on their cone next to them.

Keep calling out colours. If there is not enough cones in that colour for everyone, those that miss out must do 5 squats before returning to their mat for planking. Those that get one of the cones return straight to their mat as usual.

Once there is no more cones, add up the cones each camper has to find the winner.

Workout

When planning this workout I tried to think about how I could turn a Christmas tree into a workout. You would have to have a base, something for the tree and then something at the top.

Base

Complete this circuit of foundation exercises after the warm up. Two rounds of 30 seconds each:

1. Glute Bridge Marches
2. Scapula Push Ups
3. Stir the Pot
4. Plank Rocks

The Tree

The tree invoolves 5 rounds and 5 exerices. Each round the number of reps goes up by 10 and you lose one exercise.

(My picture below shows the rounds descending from 5 to 1 so I’ve tried to keep that consistent in the list below.)

Round 5 – 10 reps each

1. HRPU
2. Alternating Bent Over DB Row (L=R=2)
3. DB Walking Lunges (L+R=2)
4. Jump Squats
5. Side Plank DB Raise (L+R=1) (pictured up top)

Round 4 – 20 reps each

1. HRPU
2. Alternating Bent Over DB Row (L=R=2)
3. DB Walking Lunges (L+R=2)
4. Jump Squats

Round 3 – 30 reps each

1. Alternating Bent Over DB Row (L=R=2)
2. DB Walking Lunges (L+R=2)
3. Jump Squats

Round 2 – 40 reps each

1. DB Walking Lunges (L+R=2)
2. Jump Squats

Round 1 – 50 reps

1. Alternating Bent Over DB Row (L=R=2)

The Top

100x DB Jumping Jacks (use light DBs)

Set a time limit of 15 minutes to complete the tree and the top. Campers just get done as much as they can. Take a 2 minute break.

Back Down the Tree

Now they have made it to the hop, hickory hickory dock, they must come back down.

They have completed the Top so there is no need to repeat it but the exercises have changes a little.

Round 1 – 50 reps each

1. DB Swing

Round 2 – 40 reps each

1. Alternating Bent Over DB Row (L=R=2)
2. DB Swing (L=R=2)

Round 3 – 30 reps each

1. Alternating Bent Over DB Row (L=R=2)
2. DB Swing (L=R=2)
3. Side Plank DB Raise (L+R=1)

Round 4 – 20 reps each

1. HRPU
2. Alternating Bent Over DB Row (L=R=2)
3. DB Swing (L=R=2)
4. Side Plank DB Raise (L+R=1)

Round 5 – 10 reps

1. HRPU
2. Alternating Bent Over DB Row (L=R=2)
3. DB Swing (L=R=2)
4. Jump Squats
5. Side Plank DB Raise (L+R=1)

Again they have 15 minutes to complete as much as they can.

Cooldown

If you have time complete the Base drill again.

Stretch.

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Want MOAR Christmas workouts? Check these out from previous years:

• Functional Fitness Frenzy
• Melting Frosty
• Around The World Christmas Bootcamp
• Presents Under The Tree
• 12 Days Of Christmas Workout
• Kris Kringle Workout
• Christmas Boxing

Got a Christmas workout or drill you like to do? Share it with us in the comments below.

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.