All of the content shared on the Bootcamp Ideas blog plus our 21 Days of Bootcamp Ideas is free. I don’t believe that someone who is looking for help should always have to pay for that. Especially when you don’t know me from a bar of soap.
Along with providing awesome free stuff, there are some great paid for products that I recommend invest in including some things created by yours truly.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. Please understand that I have experience with all of these companies, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.
21 Days of Bootcamp Ideas
Having great workouts and lots of variety was one of the major reasons that clients kept signing up for my bootcamps. And I know that’s true for your bootcamp too.
Spending hours building websites, creating Facebook ads, dropping fliers in letterboxes and running referral programs is a complete waste of time if your actual workouts are no good in the first place.
That’s why I want to bring you guys something new that will give you access to more fresh workout ideas.
By doing this I hope you will be able to:
- spend less time trying to find new workout ideas
- keep your clients engaged so that they want to keep coming back for more sessions
- get your sessions talked about by being interesting and fun instead of cookie-cutter routines
It’s completely free, this is my gift to help you make the group fitness sessions that you want to run.
BootCraft – the group fitness workout search engine
BootCraft gives group fitness trainers fresh, challenging workouts at the push of a button to create fun bootcamp sessions what will leave their clients smiling, sweaty and coming back for more.
This is unlike ebooks or done for you plans where you are stuck with the workouts you are given, even if they don’t suit your class. Instead, BootCraft gives you the power to quickly find a workout idea that’s right for you.
Here’s what you get with BootCraft:
- a searchable, filterable growing database of only the best group fitness drills from trainers around the world
- 12+ new drills added per month
- diagrams and short exercise demonstrations so you know exactly how to do each drill
- you get warm ups, games, finishers and main drills. Mix and match to your liking
- cancel any time
Other eBooks and Manuals
Beyond Burpees: For this book I teamed up with a fantastic trainer and friend, Jessica Griffin. Tested on years of training Moms, these 30 workouts and 10 amazingly fun warm ups will light a real fire up your bootcamp. There is also a surprise bonus which you will have to buy the book to see what it is. | ![]() |
Starting A Bootcamp Business: If you are just starting out your group fitness business, you probably have a million questions. The problem is, that you’re asking the wrong questions. In this Pay What You Want book I walk you through the questions to ask plus feature stories from several trainers on how they got started. There is some really awesome behind the scenes content in here. | ![]() |
Equipment
I get my equipment from a variety of suppliers. Below are some that I use regularly.
These little interval timers are the handiest one’s around. Great for tabata drills and circuits.
These guys are a fantastic Australian brand. They try to manufacture and purchase in Australia where they can. I buy ropes, deadballs, exercise bands and kettlebells from them. I hope to find similiar companies in the US and UK soon.
These guys have the cheapest, quality exercise mats for outdoors. $12 each last time I checked.
Design
- Loren Raechelle – Logo, Brand and Web Design
Seen the Bootcamp Ideas logo lately? It’s the work of the talent Loren Williams from Native Creative. I highly recommend her work if you are looking for a great design.
This site makes it really easy for you to design and print great business cards, flyers and stickers. The results are very professional looking and you can order in just small batches. Use my link to get 10% your first order.
Business Admin Tools
PTminder – Booking and Payment Software
Taking bookings, keeping track of who gave you what money and keeping track of which clients came to which session are all time consuming and awkward tasks which we bootcamp instructors have to do. PTminder is a booking system and point of sale that takes care of all this for you. Owned by two fantastic guys in New Zealand, PTminder is growing and adding features based on what PTs and instructors really need. Check them out.
MailChimp – Email Newsletter
MailChimp is great for managing website email leads or your newsletter. You can write several emails that will automatically be sent (over a period of weeks or months) to people who sign up for your business’s blog or a special deal on your website. It is however not very good for managing emails to your existing clients. For that I just use Outlook.
Drop Box – File Sharing
I love Drop Box. I use it to share the months workouts with my other trainers. Pre-mind body online days I also kept a spreadsheet in there with client attendance. For Bootcamp Ideas I use it to share images, videos and PDFs. In my personal life I use it to share albums of images with my family and friends. It’s installed on my computer so all I have to do is drag and drop into the folder to put files in there. I can then access them on my iPad and phone. It is rare that a day goes by that I don’t use it.
Website Creation
Squarespace – Website
Squarespace is what I recommend for quickly setting up a beautiful website yourself. You don’t have to worry about hosting or plugins, that’s all included. It also has a built in ecommerce system so you can easily take payments from your clients.
WordPress – Website
Originally just blogging software, WordPress has since become the go to website makers for DIY fans and designers alike. I use it on all of my websites. It’s 100% free too. Check out my step by step set up guide.
Crazy Domains – Domain Name
One rule I learnt early on when I entered the world of the internets is not to host your domain name and register it with the same company. Keeping them separate means that if you ever want to leave one of them you have some leverage. Crazy Domains has cheap .com.au and .com domains.
If WordPress is like the wheels and engine of your website, the themes StudioPress create are like the exterior. Both this blog and my bootcamp website run on a combination of WordPress and StudioPress.
Another fantastic company make great WordPress themes. Little Bootcamp Books runs off a WooThemes’ theme.
Useful Websites
Most of us who start bootcamps (myself included) don’t really understand the ins and outs of running a business. We know how to train people and we know how to talk to people, but get us to make a website, file a BAS statement or create a marketing campaign and we’ll probably just look at you blankly. The Trainers Tribe aims to make a community that fills that gap.
Another great blog to check out is Leon Melnicenko’s Unique Bootcamp Workouts. He has a bunch of free workouts for you there and some entertaining stories that he relates back to running a bootcamp business.
One of the best investments that I made early in my bootcamp life was doing Motivate To Train’s Bootcamp Instructor course. I gained plenty of ideas and confidence in myself. You can do their course online now no matter where you are in the world.
If you haven’t come across this site already, you need to start visiting it and watching some of the videos. Kelly Starrett‘s teaching cue’s will instantly improve your own teaching cue’s and therefore your clients’ technique. I have picked up plenty of quick tips and fixes for clients who have had calf, knee and shoulder pain during a session. The best way to visit this site is to start at Episode 1 and go from there. The site is completely no longer completely free but you can still access many of the archives. Kelly also has a book out now called Becoming a Supple Leopard. If you struggle with the technical side of being a trainer – this book will turn things around for you.
If you are looking at running advanced bootcamps and need ideas, then check out Naudi Aguilar’s site Functional Patterns for some awesome outside of the box functional training.
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