Bootcamp Cardio Circuits

I was in San Diego last weekend and it was a great time talking with other trainers. I grilled my friends Rick Kaselj about nagging injuries as well as how to get better at pullups and pushups from Shawna Kaminski. She’ll be hooking us up with some cool stuff very soon, and I’m excited about sharing it with you.

Great day of learning in San Diego

Craig Ballantyne and I talked about the hardcore finisher approach, too. Soon, I’ll do a series on how to use finishers with your bootcamps and workouts.

As several of us strolled through downtown San Diego after a long day of meetings, we all agreed on one thing – cardio is boring and stupid.

There were several bootcamp coaches there and it was cool to share some of the ways they incorporate “cardio” into their bootcamp workout routines. Some of them use drills and ladders, while some of them use an interval style approach at the end.

We got to discussing how we use bootcamp cardio circuits, and that actually gave me some ideas to share with you. So, let’s do this. Here’s the deal – be sure to do these cardio circuits at the end of your workout. Remember, the strength exercises need to be first. If you’re getting stronger, you’re getting leaner.

So, remember the secret formula

1) Warm-up using bodyweight exercises

2) Metabolic Resistance Training (strength training)

3) Metabolic Conditioning (optional)

4) Insert finisher, interval training or cardio circuit(s) <— Good times

Why Bodyweight Cardio Circuits are So Much More Effective

Research has proven to you that long, steady-state cardio is not the best way to burn fat. Of course, you probably already knew that, and that’s cool. But you or your campers are probably bored with interval training because even when you change that every 4 weeks, it can still become monotonous.

Editors note – I spelled “monotonous” right the first time and that’s like… a big deal. OK, cool. Moving on…

For example, if you hop on the bike and do 30 seconds hard followed by 1 minute of recovery – that’s a lot better than regular “cardio”, but even that can get boring. That’s why I like using bodyweight exercises for the “Cardio” because you:

A) Use more muscle, therefore burn more calories

B) You give yourself variety by using different exercises and sets/reps schemes

So, let’s rock this thing. Since these circuits will take a while, skip the metabolic conditioning part of your workout (just do the strength training). This will replace your metabolic conditioning. Also, you’ll be able to fly up and down the stairs because of stuff like this. You’re welcome.

Cardio Circuit 1

Do the following circuit one time. After you complete circuit 1, rest 2 minutes and move onto circuit 2. All exercises should be completed for 1 minute.

1A) Lunge Jumps (20 secs on, 10 secs off – repeat this for one minute)

1B) Strap/TRX Row

1C) Close-Grip 3/4th Rep Pushups

1D) Total Body Extensions

1E) Spiderman Climb

Cardio Circuit 2

Do the following circuit one time. After you complete circuit 2, rest 2 minutes and move onto circuit 3. Each exercise should be completed for 1 minute:

2A) Alternating Prisoner Reverse Lunge (lunge with your hands behind your head while squeezing your shoulder blades together)

2B) Pushups

2C) Jumping Jacks

2D) Plank

2E) Run in Place

Cardio Circuit 3

This will be the fun part. This is the grand finale. Each exercise should be performed for 30 seconds. Do this circuit twice, resting for 30 seconds between circuits.

3A) Burpees

3B) X-Body Mountain Climbers

3C) Side-to-Side Jumps

Now, that’s some snazzy cardio baby. Now when it comes to the TRX or Strap rows, you can skip those if you don’t have those available. You will want to do prisoner style lunge jumps so you can work your upper back.

Just an idea – but if you find yourself in a rut with your workouts, you can dedicate an entire workout to bodyweight circuits like this to really change it up. This is like performing interval training using your bodyweight. It sure beats the boring treadmill, elliptical and bike.

By using bodyweight exercises like this as your cardio routine, you’ll burn more fat and get that cool, chiseled look (as long as your nutrition is in check). Oh dear… that’s a whole new post.

Keep rocking your workouts, and let me know if you have some unconventional “cardio” ideas,

Mike Whitfield, CTT

Posted by Mikey - May 15, 2012 at 7:21 am

Categories: Bodyweight Exercises, Boot Camp Workouts, Fat Loss Workouts Tags: bodyweight cardio, boot camp cardio, Bootcamp cardio drills no equipment, Cardio Workouts

The Man Behind the Bootcamp Workouts

The Man Behind the Bootcamp Workouts

Very soon, I’ll be running in the Peachtree Road Race, held in Atlanta, GA each year on July 4^th. To me, this is my second Christmas. I’ve been running it since 2003, the first year of my transformation. As a matter of fact, that was the first race I ever participated in.

But to truly appreciate the meaning of this race, you will need to understand where I came from.

In December of 2002, I was playing Madden on the playstation and threw an interception. I was so upset (to this day, I still believe the computer cheated), I threw down the controller out of frustration. When I bent over to pick it up, I had an A-ha moment that would forever impact my life.

I looked at my large belly and couldn’t believe it. I had let myself balloon to 300 lbs, XXXL shirts and a 46” waist. It was no wonder that I would get exhausted every time I went up the stairs in my home. I also hardly had any self-confidence and self-esteem. Honestly, I was ashamed of who I was.

The poor nutrition choices I made were certainly a reflection of who I was in the mirror. Breakfast was an iced honeybun with a soda just about every day, followed by a super-sized lunch at a fast food joint (you can probably guess where when I said “super-sized”), along with more soda.

This was me at not even my biggest

Dinner was where I really cut loose at a point of what I call, “Ridiculousness”. I would eat an entire bag of chips while trying to figure out what to eat for dinner, which most of the time, ended up being a frozen pizza (yes, the entire pizza). Then to top it off, I would eat a huge bowl of ice cream, followed by another huge bowl of ice cream.

I had never taken the time to plug in everything I ate back then into a website like www.fitday.com, but I’m guessing it was around 10,000 calories on some days.

Right then and there, in that very moment as I reached down for the controller, I decided I would make a change. Of course, I also knew it was right smack in the middle of Christmas season and I had to be real with myself. So, just like everyone else, I decided to jump on the New Year Bandwagon the next year. But I had a goal so that I wouldn’t bail in February like most people do unfortunately. I was going on vacation that following summer, and I wanted to drop 50 lbs by the time we went.

On day one, I remember going to my old high school track to supposedly jog. I was exhausted after just one lap. Keep in mind that I’m being a little vulnerable here, but I honestly teared up a little bit. I asked myself if I would actually follow through with this and was this just too hard. I wondered if I was just too late.

Surprisingly, the nutrition part wasn’t so bad. I decided that I would allow myself a full cheat day and the rest of the week, I would simply make better choices. I wasn’t on a “diet” per say, but I certainly upgraded my nutrition. For example, when my co-workers and I would hit the mall, I used to hit fried foods and rice, or pizza, or a double cheeseburger. But now, I got grilled chicken and green beans, and I would put tobasco sauce on the chicken for a kick. I knew it wasn’t rocket science. Quit eating crap… that’s what it came down to.

It was hard work, but as I practiced and continued to persevere, I was finally in control. 6 months later, I had lost 75 lbs. It felt amazing. As a matter of fact, I was so thrilled, I vowed to run the coveted Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta for the first time in 2003.

105 lbs lost

Here’s the crazy part – I didn’t even train for it. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly did some running a couple of days per week, but I certainly didn’t train for a 10K. One of the best moments of my life was realizing I was only a half mile away from the finish line… and I ran the entire route.

As I approached the finish line, a sense of victory overwhelmed me. “I’m going to finish this thing. This is unbelievable!”. Tears, again, filled my eyes, but this time they were the outpouring of past frustrations, doubt and fear. I had done something incredible and it changed my life and mindset.

Since that amazing day, I have lost another 30 lbs, bringing the total to 105 lbs lost. The best part? I have kept it off.

That is why I do what I do. I want to show the world that if someone like me, who was filled with fear and doubt, can do it, anyone can. This is my way of paying it forward.

I get up at 4:30 because I’m driven and there’s a lot of people who need our help. There are thousands (scratch that – millions) of people who are sitting in the EXACT same seat as I was in December of 2002. They may feel hopeless and wonder how they got there. They may wonder if it is indeed too late.

Never. It’s never too late.

So whether you’re a fitness enthusiast who follows this site for the cool workout and fitness tips, or a fitness trainer or bootcamp coach just trying to get new ideas, I welcome you. And even if you just happen to land on this site because you’re searching for “something”, here it is.

I won’t sugarcoat anything. Speaking from experience, losing fat is hard work. Using metabolic resistance training is challenging. But it not only works, it’s life-changing. That’s what you’ll find here, along with other cool stuff that will help people lose weight without any fancy equipment.

Let’s build a community. Let’s share our fitness war stories. Let’s share our ideas. That’s why I’m here. How about you?

Mike Whitfield, CTT

Posted by Mikey - May 9, 2012 at 6:34 pm

Categories: Boot Camp Workouts, Fat Loss Workouts, Metabolic Resistance Training, Supplements and Diet Tags: fat loss, fat loss workouts, nutrition

Avoiding Elbow Pain in Bootcamp Workouts

How Can Elbow and Forearm Pain Be Taking Away from Your Bootcamp Workout Results?

Guest post from my friend injury expert, Rick Kaselj of Exercises for Injuries. But first, try this little test you see in the video below. It’s an easy test, too…

Last weekend, I was teaching a course at a local college and a participant in the class asked me about his forearms and elbows pain.

Let me share with you what I let him know about his forearm and elbow pain.

#1 – You are as Strong as Your Weakest Link

The fellow in my class was fatiguing out the forearms when he was doing rowing exercises before his back fatigued out.

When it comes to your body, you are as strong as your weakest link.

When exercising, if you have weak knees, you are limited with how much you can do because of them. This limits the exercises you can do and how hard you can go, which ultimately affects your fat loss results.

If your weakest link in your upper body is your elbows or forearms, this limits how much upper body work you can do. You will end up plateauing out in the weights that you can do when it comes to upper body exercises like bench press, rows, curls, and presses.

Plus you will fatigue out in exercises like burpees, push-ups, close grip push-ups, cross-body mountain climbers, inch worms, inverted rows. Many more finisher exercises will be tough to do, or painful. If you can’t do as many reps of the finisher exercises, you don’t get as much fat loss results.

The weakest links in this fellow’s upper body were his forearms and elbows, which were affecting his results.

#2 – Do You Get Pain in the Wrist with Push Ups?

I asked the fellow another question:

“Do you get wrist pain when you do a push-up?”

His answer was, “Yes.”

This is also another classic sign that your forearms and elbows are the weakest link in your upper body.

If you have sensitivity in your wrists or forearms when you do push-ups or are in a push-up position, it highlights the fact you need to work on your recovery and pre-hab work in your forearms and elbows.

From working out hard, we often times get adhesions in the forearm. Adhesions are like scar tissue that sticks to the muscles of the forearm, forcing them not to work properly. The forearm muscles end up being weaker, fatiguing easier, and becoming shorter due to these adhesions.

#3 – What else could be causing all of this?

I hate to say it but your computer.

Constantly typing on your computer at home and work ends up shortening the muscles in your forearms.

This leads to the muscles shortening up even more, which will affect their flexibility, their strength, and how quickly they fatigue.

#4 – What is another thing that could be causing things?

Look at your posture.

If you are sitting down with poor posture, it puts greater stress on your shoulders and more stress on your elbows.

Let me explain how.

Try to do a push-up on the wall.

The first time you do the push up on the wall, be in very poor posture. Make sure your shoulders are rounded out and your head is dropped down.

Where do you feel most of the work happening?

You got it: in your forearms, elbows, and wrists.

Now do the push-up on the wall with perfect posture. Make sure your upper body is in good alignment (head-shoulders-hips-ankles in a straight line). Activate your scapular muscles before doing the push-up on the wall.

Go ahead and do the push-up on the wall.

Where did you feel the majority of the work and stress this time?

You got it, in your chest.

If you are working out and have poor technique (posture) in your upper body, the work shifts from the upper body to the wrist, forearm, and elbows. This will lead to overworking them and promoting those adhesions.

#5 – Keeping the Elbows and Forearms Happy

I know you are working hard to get your fat loss results but you need to take care of yourself. If you are doing upper body work – which you should be doing because it will improve your fat loss results – make sure you are good to your forearms and elbows. When it comes to your body, you are as strong as your weakest link, and for many people, the weakest link in their upper body are their elbows. Make sure you watch your computer work and are doing your finisher exercises with great technique; if you don’t, it will lead to adhesions in your forearms, which will affect your fat loss results.

That is it. Thank you very much for reading. Take care of those forearms and elbows.

About Rick Kaselj

Rick Kaselj is a personal trainer in Surrey, Canada who specializes in designing exercise programs for clients recovering from injuries. Rick has trained thousands of clients and completed his Master’s of Science degree focusing on injury recovery. Rick shares with other fitness professionals, and exercise enthusiasts, exercises to help prevent your elbows and forearms from being the weakest link in your upper body. You can get more information about his forearm and elbow program by visiting http://fixingelbowpain.com/ .