As much as you can, try to incorporate some kind of partner or teamwork into your workouts. This helps your campers get to know each other and that’s the first step to building a community.
This workout uses quick intervals to keep campers working in short bursts. Give it a go!
The ‘Kinda’ Tabata Workout
Goals: HIT, Circuit, Partner
Duration: 40 minutes
Equipment: Mats, Ropes, Large tyre, Medicine balls/Dead balls, Interval Timer
Set up
Set out a circuit of 8 exercises either in a line or a circle (depending on the space you have available).
Exercises:
- Rope slams
- Plank – no intervals on this station, both clients will hold plank for 2 mins
- MB burpees – regression: MB Jump Squat and Press
- Push ups
- Big heavy tyre flips
- Oblique crunches
- Jump lunges
- Rope backpedal – run backwards while dragging rope, keep going for 20 seconds
Alternate exercise list:
- Band Rows (sharing a band, one partner active, one partner passive)
- Burpees
- Inchworms
- Jump Lunges
- Hand Release Push Ups
- Dead Ball/Sandbag Slams
- Plank (either swap every 20 second or both aim for 2 minutes)
- Sled or Rope Drag
Round 1 – Practice
Rotate campers through each station for about 20 seconds each to ensure that they are familiar with each drill.
Round 2 – Strength
Have campers split into pairs, preferably with someone of a similar fitness level so that they push each other at each station
Pairs will each pick an exercise. With the trainer timing they will perform the exercise in a 20 seconds on/20 seconds off fashion. ie. one client will be exercising for 20s while the other rests then they swap.
After 3 rounds each (a total of 2 minutes) rotate the clients around to the next exercise.
Round 3 – Finisher
By this stage your clients should all be familiar with all of the exercises and are probably feeling a bit stuffed. This finisher round will have them pushing themselves through to the final minute.
In their pairs clients will attempt to outdo each other in each 20 second burst. For example: Client 1 does 15 Pushups in 20 seconds, client 2 now needs to better that score. If client 2 betters client 1’s score, client 1 then attempts to beat the new record during their next round. If client 2 doesn’t beat client 1’s score, client 1 must try to beat their own record. As you can see, it’s important that both clients are of similar fitness levels so that the drill stays competitive.
Run for 2 (140 sec) or 3 (2 min) rounds depending on how much time is left.
Drill Analysis
Why does this drill work so well?
- The short bursts of exercise encourages your campers to work at a high level. Everyone can work hard for just 20 seconds.
- Working in pairs naturally gets campers to work a little harder (unless they are the chatty type, in which case tell them there will be time to chat at the end) and gives them the feeling that they are not alone.
- The exercise selection is important, too easy and they won’t work hard enough in 20 seconds, too hard and they won’t do enough reps in 20 seconds.
- Practicing the exercises first means that no time is wasted during the 20 second bursts trying to work out how to do the exercise.
- ‘Outrepping’ each other in the finisher is a great way to get campers to push themselves to use up what’s left in the tank at the end of the workout.
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.
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