Ab Finishers for Bootcamps
Mike Whitfield, CFNC, CTT
I’m still chuckling from what happened a few months ago as my wife was changing what used to be a guest bedroom into a “fun room” for my little boy, Champ. She found some old bootcamp routines from when I first started.
I’ll be the first to tell you that I was a little ashamed. For one thing, most campers that come to my bootcamps are concerned about their belly fat. Then again, isn’t that the concern for most of us? Anyway, I made mistakes when designing programs for bootcamps to burn belly fat when I first started. I’ll swallow my pride and share these mistakes with you, so you don’t do the same thing.
Mistake # 1 – Running Laps for a Warmup
For one thing, running laps is really boring. Plus, it doesn’t warm up your campers efficiently. Your campers would actually get a better warmup with a circuit of bodyweight exercises in 5 minutes than 10 minutes of laps.
Now I use bodyweight squats, pushups and a variety of planks. That better prepares them for the upcoming workout.
Mistake # 2 – Using Specific Reps and Not Timed Sets
Let’s face it. You’re going to get a variety of people in your camp with a variety of fitness levels (and although you won’t say it, I bet you even get people with a variety of attitudes … you’re shaking your head up and down aren’t you?. Yep, you sure are. This is a lot of words in parenthesis).
When you tell your campers to do 15 burpees, that could be too tough for someone that’s just getting back into fitness. Also, if you have an advanced camper, 15 might be a walk in the park. So, enter the timed sets solution. It’s really simple. Instead of telling campers to perform a certain number of reps, go for 30 seconds (for example). That way, your newbies might only be able to knock out 5-6, however your rock stars could knock out many more. You set up a win/win for all fitness levels.
Mistake # 3 – Not Using Intervals for Faster Results
I strongly believe in interval training for fat loss, but it’s tough to implement in a bootcamp setting. It’s one of those “I wish I knew then what I know now” situations. My bootcamps are notorious and now known for my finishers, which is much like interval training, except they are shorter in length and the effort is spread through the entire body, reducing the repetition of hitting the legs over and over..
My only regret is that I wish I was using them sooner when I first started because of the amazing results they bring. Finishers are tough both mentally and physically, and they typically last between one to ten minutes. But the effort is worth it.
When my clients want to target their belly fat, I like to combine the latest proven ab exercises and metabolically demanding moves into what I call an “Ab Finisher”. It’s like combining intense intervals and ab exercises into an “Awesomeness” blender drink.
Like this one…
The 20/30 Ab Finisher
Do the following circuit 3 times, resting for 20 seconds between circuits.
1) Lunge Jumps (20 seconds)
2) X-Body Mountain Climbers (30 seconds)
3) Burpees (20 seconds)
4) Spiderman Climb (30 seconds)
Now that’s how to finish strong. Try that one at the end of your next bootcamp workout. Your campers will love you (ha, I’m kidding… don’t be suprised if they defriend on you Facebook, but their waist line will shrink and they end up loving you. That’s how it works.)
Finish your bootcamps strong,
Mike Whitfield, CFNC, CTT
Ab Finishers for Bootcamps http://georgettepann.com/ABFinishers
And check out 40 more finishers at http://georgettepann.com/BCFinishers