The Express Boot Camp Workout

I’ve heard of bootcamps over the years that last anywhere between 45 to 90 minutes with laps and laps of running and sit-ups.

I think that’s why many people don’t come to boot camps because they don’t have that kind of time.  They might be a stay-at-home Mom, have a long commute, and even if they work from home, they may have a lot on their to-do list.

I know I do.  Heck, I have a busy schedule myself coaching my clients, writing offline and online programs, giving you cool stuff like this

By the way, I’ve been getting some great feedback on the different pushups you can use with your bootcamps.  I really appreciate it.  I’ll make that into a series, and your clients (or yourself) will never get bored with pushups again.

Anyway, today, it’s all about Express workouts.  I know the internet is packed with the whole “you must exercise at least 30-45 minutes every day” approach.  But sometimes, life gets busy, and I’ve tested the express approach myself as well as with my clients and campers.

You can certainly get a great workout in 30 minutes or less.

Here is what you need to do:

1) Use big, compound movements

2) Keep the rest periods short

3) If you want to incorporate conditioning (the interval approach), than you could strategically put that in the program, too.  That way, you get the benefits and interval training simultaneously.  It’s called a workout finisher.

On a side note – if you only have 10 minutes to work out, this is what I suggest:

Do the following circuit as many times as possible in 10 minutes

1A) Squat (8)

1B) Pull-ups (2 reps short of failure)

1C) Decline Pushups (15)

That’s a solid 10-minute workout.  Good times?  Good times.

Moving on…

Here is an express workout you can use to stay in shape if you have a hectic schedule:

Fast Warm-up Circuit (2X with 30 secs of rest between circuits)

Bodyweight Squat (12)

Mountain Climbers (10/side)

Total Body Extensions (10)

Express Workout (Do this circuit 3 times, resting for 30 seconds between circuits)

Squat (8)

Pull-ups (1 rep short of failure)

DB Chest Press (8)

Spiderman Climb (10/side)

Finisher – Do this twice, resting for 10 seconds between supersets (yeah buddy)

DB or KB Swings (30)

Pushups (20)

Now, how do you translate that into a Bootcamp Workout?  Well, you already learned how to use timed sets, right?  Now we just need to use bodyweight exercises or simple DB moves for a bootcamp workout setting.

Let’s rock it… The Express Bootcamp Workout

Warm-up Circuit

Bodyweight Squat (20 secs)

Mountain Climbers (20 secs)

Total Body Extensions (20 secs)

The main workout

Narrow Stance Bodyweight Squat (30 secs) (these are tougher on the quads) or a Bodyweight Split Squat (30 secs/side)

Band Row or DB Rows (30 secs)

Spiderman Pushups (30 secs)

Total Body Extensions (30 secs)

Spiderman Climb (30 secs)

Now, you can see I added the Total Body Extension between the pushups and the Spiderman climb.  The reason I did that is because it’s tough to go from the pushup to the Spiderman climb because you work your core more with a pushup than a DB chest press.

Finisher

DB or KB Swings (30 secs)

Pushups (30 secs)

Now that’s a solid Express workout.

So now, you or your clients don’t have an excuse to skip your workout

I’ll do a cool series on using metabolic workout finishers with your programs.  They rock.  Stay tuned.

In the meantime, keep working hard and let me know when you try this Express workout.

And have an awesome weekend!

Mike Whitfield, CTT