Top 5 Boot Camp Workout Design Mistakes – Part 2

January 8, 2011 Rick Kaselj Fitness, General

Here we go with Part 2 with Caroline. Yesterday, Caroline Fitzgerald of Best Boot Camp Workouts went through two of her Top 5 Boot Camp Workout Design Mistakes.

She is back today to go through her top 3 for you.

Here you go and enjoy.

If you missed part one, you could check it out by CLICKING HERE.

#3 – The usual equipment

Too many boot camps use dumbbells, stability balls, bands, and other shiny equipment standards in gyms.

As I have said, one of the main draws of boot camp classes is that they are different than the gym, so they give them “equipment” they don’t get anywhere else.

Here are some examples of unusual equipment:

  1. Un-popped popcorn-filled duffel bags make great “sandbags.”
  2. Tires with rope make great “sleds.” (Tires are fun. Sleds are painful.)
  3. Sand-filled basketballs instead of medicine balls.
  4. Half-filled water cooler jugs.
Use anything “different” than the norm in the gym – the more “grassroots,” the better. (Whatever you do, don’t make them bring their equipment; that’s lame.) It makes it fun.

#2 – Same workout style

One of the top reasons people stop working out is boredom.

If you give them the same workout style in every class, they’ll get just as bored as in the gym. Switching up the formats and exercises will keep them engaged.

Run your classes so that they never know what to expect. One of my clients told me she gets butterflies before each class because she never knows what’s coming. She loves that, and so do I!

#1 – Same location

Again, one of the things that makes boot camp, boot camp, is that it is different than the gym: you’re outside – in an excellent location, whether it is a park, a field, or whatever. (I hope so anyway!!!) That’s another mistake, but I hope you aren’t making it; indoor boot camps are just circuit training.

Working out can become boring, and that’s one of the reasons people stop exercising. The same four walls in the gym after a while are as boring as the same outdoor location after a while.

I know some trainers are limited in their options when it comes to locations, but at the very least, you need to make sure you are utilizing different parts of your site. In a park? Use the baseball diamond on some days, the picnic area, or open fields at other times. Just get creative.
Run your boot camp on the basic ideas of “different” and “creative,” and you will get more clients, you will all have more fun, the clients will stay with you for years, and your business will thrive when all the other boot camps around are fading away!

Thank you so much, Caroline.

If you are looking for done-for-you boot camp workouts that you can use for your camps, make sure to check out Best Boot Camp Workouts.

She also has a video that you can check out:

Rick Kaselj, MS

If you are looking for other posts on boot camp stuff, you can check these out:

Stretching for Fat Loss

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