This month we’re running a highlight reel of our previous Bootcamp Ideas Competition winners in preparation for this years competition.

This week’s drill was the highest voted game of our 2012 Bootcamp Ideas Competition. The theme that year was Team Drills and Games.

So grab some inspiration and start looking through your own workout archives to find a workout that you would like to submit to this years competition. Entries open soon!

Tennis Ball Madness (Outside Game)

From Kjell Crowe

Time: ~30 minutes

Equipment needed: 24 tennis balls, 8-12 cones, 2 heavy Medicine Balls

Set Up

You’ll first need to write the specified exercises on each ball. One exercise per ball. (I go over each exercise beforehand so there isn’t a lot of confusion during the game/competition).

Then place 2 sets of 8-12 Cones are set out on a big field in a straight line about 10 meters apart. (I don’t measure, I just eyeball it and put some good space between them, which will take the last cone to the other side of the park.) From one end to the other it’s probably about 300-400 meters.

Separate your clients into two equal (fitness level) teams.

Place one ball, in any order, at each cone. If you have only 2 sets of 8 cones then you will double up on the tennis balls at two of the cones.

How To Play

One team will line up about 5-10 meters in front of the first cone, and the second team will do the same with the second set of cones. When the trainers say go, each team sends a player out to retrieve a tennis ball from any, but only one of the cones. If it is a cone with two tennis balls, then that person will grab both and bring the tennis ball(s) back and as a team they do the exercise written on the ball(s).

Once everyone has completed that exercise, then the second person goes and retrieves another tennis ball from whichever cone they want. You cannot send anyone to retrieve until all teammates have finished the specified exercise. This continues until one team finishes all the exercise on all 12 tennis balls.

This can be catered to the fitness levels and the amount of people you have in your classes. You can also decide if you want there to be an active rest for the other teammates while their teammate is running for the ball. Sometimes I have them do non-jumping high knees or jumping jacks or just let them wait.

The twelve exercises are all different for each team except both teams do 1 lap and 20 push ups. The rest are roughly the same intensity and difficultly. Of course, you can choose your own exercises.

First team’s exercises

1. 1 lap around the park
2. 10 Burpees
3. 20 Push Ups
4. 40 Mountain Climbers
5. 10 Push Ups with alternating knee to elbow
6. 20 Side Plank Rotation each side
7. 10 Bunny Hops
8. 10 Chest Pass with Med ball times around (group stands in circle and does a chest pass, making sure each person is far enough away to throw the ball hard)
9. 10 Tuck Jumps
10. 10x 3 point jumps (high plank position, take feet and jump to the left, then up to the chest, then out the right, repeat)
11. 20 Star Abs opp. Hand to opposite foot, crunch/situp to leg lift

Second team’s exercises    

1. 1 Lap around the park
2. 10 Squat Jumps
3. 20 Push Ups
4. 10 High Knees
5. 10 Push Ups with rotations and foot touch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHQ_E-f5278 then with the hand that’s up in the air touch the opposite foot as it comes underneath your trunk)
6. Jacknife 10 each leg (for abs)
7. Jumping Jack to leg hug 20 (after the jack, squat down and hug your knees)
8. Med ball over under 10 times around (have team line up, first person with med ball goes over head and passes it to next teammate, they go under, and alternate for ten times through. Each person should touch the ball 10 times).
9. 20 Jump Lunges
10. 10 Walk outs to wide leg jump (bend over, walk out using hands to a high plank, take feet and jump out wide, then back in, walk back to standing position, repeat)
11. 20 Plank hip twist

Losing team does 20 burpees!

You can then reset the tennis balls and have the teams swap sides to repeat the drill again.

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.