Extreme Boot Camp Drills for Fitness Boot Camps and Home Workouts
Here we have another phenomenal article that my colleague and friend Georgette Pann of Surevictory Boot Camp has sent me today. Everyone has been asking me for more boot camp drills for group workouts and that they can do at home on their own and Georgette has been hard at work this week helping to deliver more. She also just released her SureVictory Home Boot Camp.
So let’s take a look at these extreme boot camp drills for those of you that want to either challenge your next fitness boot camp class or for you home boot campers out there that like to punish yourselves with an intensive workout at home.
Five Boot Camp Drills that Deliver Results
Georgette Pann
Ahhh, the joys of training a boot camp class…
Hearts pounding. Men and women sweating. Causing all of your trainees to give you “I hate you looks” because their muscles are burning up and they think that their lungs are going to explode. However , you just give them a big smile because you know the students in your fitness boot camp are getting the one thing they really want: RESULTS! FAST RESULTS!
It is also very important that your trainees don’t get bored. Which is why you always need to bring in brand-new exercises and boot camp drills to keep your fitness boot camp fresh. Additionally, new exercises keep your trainees’ bodies guessing – and again, that means results!
So let’s cut to brass tacks, listed here are five boot camp drills for group workouts you can begin incorporating immediately into your classes or you can do them as part of your home boot camp workout routine.
TIP: Make sure you have your class get in a warm-up and cool-down before performing these drills. Light jogging for 5-10 minutes should do just fine, followed by some light stretching.
1. Pack Runs
Here’s how it works: Have your trainees line up (single file) and start jogging. Once you call out a signal word or blow a whistle, the person at the back of the line must sprint to the front of the line and becomes the new leader.
This one is really effective when you have a medium to large size boot camp class, since the person doing the sprinting has got to sprint furthur. If you have a smaller class, it is possible to accomplish the same thing by spreading your runners out with a little more space in between them.
2. Suicide Bear Crawls
You’ve heard of suicide lines (AKA “ego makers” and a lot of other names). This is when your trainees run from the starting point to a line that is about 25 feet away, then back to the starting point, then out to a line around 40 feet away, then returning to the starting point… and so on until they’ve run and touched each and every line.
You may also have heard about bear crawls, in which trainees walk around on all fours (hands and feet) just like a bear.
This boot camp drill brings together these two great exercises. Rather than sprinting to the lines, your bootcamp trainees will alternate sprinting and bear crawling. As an example, you could have them bear crawl OUT to the lines, and then sprint back.
3. Shadow Runs
This one is fantastic for developing agility. First have your trainees partner up. One partner is the leader and will take off jogging. The other partner “shadows” the leader as closely as possible. So if the leader zigs to the right and then hops on one foot, the 2nd person must do exactly the same moves.
Every two minutes you can blow the whistle to signal the leaders and followers to change positions. You may also make a signal for “double time,” where each pairing must at least double their pace for 30-60 seconds (right up until you blow the whistle again).
4. Drag Runs
This is an excellent boot camp drill to develop speed and strength. Additionally, it can be used as a team building exercise.
Here’s how it’s done -
Create a heavy drag (such as a tire on a chain) with an easy on, easy off harness. Now have on of you boot camp trainees drag the tire while all others jog behind. Once you blow your whistle, the next person in line must quickly seize control of the tire and begin dragging it. That means all team members get a minimum of one turn dragging the tire.
The goal is for the team to reach a particular destination within a certain amount of time.
TIP: There are several heart pumping variants that you can do. As an example, you could have all the others running suicide lines or pack runs right up until you blow the whistle, at which point somebody else must take control of the tire. This way one person is dragging the tire and everyone else is sprinting – resulting in a great workout for the entire class!
5. Slalom Runs
Here’s a boot camp drill that can help develop both speed and agility. Simply setup a series of cones or other markers for as far as you want your fitness boot camp trainees to run. Then have them run through the cones slalom style – which means they need to weave back and forth.
For a fun variation, blow the whistle and call out an exercise – for instance, burpees or push-ups. Trainees have to do that exercise until you blow the whistle again, and then they continue sprinting through the slalom.
Bring these five exercises to your fitness boot camps and your trainees are likely to hate you – but they’re going to LOVE their results!
If you are looking for a great Home Boot Camp Workout Program check out my new release or for fitness professionals and boot camp trainers check out my Sure Results Bootcamp Workout Manuals.
