Resources with Q and A

Mike Whitfield
Mike Whitfield is a boot camp workouts and metabolic resistance training expert.

Bootcamp Exercises Yesterday’s workout was one of the best I’ve had in a while. For one thing, I started with deadlifts. I LOVE deadlifts. Who doesn’t? It’s one of my favorite exercises of all time. In fact, if you ever just have 10 minutes to workout, I would do this superset as many times as possible in 10 minutes:

1A) Deadlift (8-12)
1B) DB Chest Press (8-12)

No major muscle group untouched. Great times.

Moving on…

It’s been a little while since I’ve done a Q and A. I also have some amazing resources for you to check out because for many of the questions, we have the resources at our fingertips.

Q: Mike, Do you use a cool-down with your bootcamps? After we do a finisher, we’re toast. – Caleb

A: Ha, me too! But to help your clients cool down… it can be done in about 2 minutes or less. We stretch our quads, hamstrings and chest (putting our hands on our lower back and pulling our elbows back)… each move for about 20 seconds.

Q: What did you do to keep your campers from getting bored? - Cherie

A: The truth is that they will get bored unless you bring the WOW factor. Fortunately, there are resources at our fingertips. Great people like Shawna Kaminski and Brian Kalakay have brought into the industry the tools they have used to be an amazing bootcamp experience. There’s:

Bootcamp Games by Brian Kalakay (I love the Calf Tag game)

Bootcamp Challenges by Shawna K (Enjoy the circuit)

Q: How do you work the back without any equipment? – Deni

A: Don’t underestimate the bodyweight row. There’s also the “Powerlock Pushup” aka “Extended Pushup”. See those below:

bodyweight exercise routine

Q: Mike, do you have a template you use when you write your programs?

A: I sure do. I explain that in my free Ultimate Guide to Bootcamp Workouts, which is now available here

Q: I can’t get my campers to eat right. I’ve tried giving them meal plans, nutrition guides, having consultations and more. Any suggestions? – Nicky

A: It’s uncomfortable at first, but tell them the truth. They don’t have to follow your guide, but they do have to somehow create a caloric deficit. It wasn’t always the popular thing to do, but my campers appreciated it when I told them that it was THEIR fault for not losing fat and working out so hard. You can only tell them what will work. It’s up to them to do it.

I will say this… meal plans don’t work so well. I tried that and most of the time, they can’t be followed. So, I recommend keeping it simple. You can even tell them what you do yourself or what another camper has done to have success.

My #1 approach was intermittent fasting, which I explain here.

Q: What are some cool ab exercises? I’m getting bored with my own, lol. – Talisa

A: No crunches or sit-ups… that’s first. But I dig X-Body Mountain Climbers, Spiderman Climbs, T-Pushups, Squat Thrusts and more. Not only do you work your abs, but you also get a heart pump going. Here are some on this post.

Great questions… try that power lock pushup this weekend,

Mike Whitfield, CTT