Advice for running boot camps..4-8 people.

[EdgarAllanPoe]

One of my clients asked if i would run a boot camp for her neighborhood. I probably will, so far i've only done groups of 4 but in a gym setting. I really prefer one on one over these things but i see it as a good opportunity to grow my one on one clientele.

Are majority of you just doing running, bodyweight drills or are you bringing equipment? What is recommended that would be easy to travel with and pretty cheap. I'm possibly going to be leasing a studio so i'm trying to stay super tight with my money until I get the numbers for that.

The plan is for it to be an hour long camp. I've also been doing mainly 30 minute sessions the past year or so i'll need to refamiliarize myself with the hour long time.

Also good group exercise recommendations would be appreciated. I'm sure once i do 2 or 3 i'll feel more comfortable about it.

I'd imagine its a lot easier to time the exercises opposed to doing rep counts?

[jsmurray]

I've been doing bootcamps for about 2 months now every Sunday, and I've had success doing interval circuits. I usually have 10 plus people at mine, mainly because it is free to the community, and so far they LOVE it. I usually do 3 exercises for 1 minute each and then give a 30 second to a minute break, some times longer if they're really drained. I usually do an upperbody, lowerbody, then either a cardio or core exercise. For example, a very BASIC circuit would be: Burpees (No PU) 1 min, Push-ups 1 min, Mountain Climbers 1 min, Break. Before each circuit I show lower and higher levels of the exercise so that everyone can participate. I correct and motivate as best I can during the workout. Hope that helps! Most people who are doing bootcamps are just looking for a cheap, but effective workout they can do once or twice a week to be reasonably health conscious.

Edit: I do primarily all body weight exercises, but you have to get creative. You can break them up into partners, or have them do a group exercise as well. I can give you a full sample boot camp list of what I usually do if youd like.

One of my clients asked if i would run a boot camp for her neighborhood. I probably will, so far i've only done groups of 4 but in a gym setting. I really prefer one on one over these things but i see it as a good opportunity to grow my one on one clientele.

Are majority of you just doing running, bodyweight drills or are you bringing equipment? What is recommended that would be easy to travel with and pretty cheap. I'm possibly going to be leasing a studio so i'm trying to stay super tight with my money until I get the numbers for that.

The plan is for it to be an hour long camp. I've also been doing mainly 30 minute sessions the past year or so i'll need to refamiliarize myself with the hour long time.

Also good group exercise recommendations would be appreciated. I'm sure once i do 2 or 3 i'll feel more comfortable about it.

I'd imagine its a lot easier to time the exercises opposed to doing rep counts?

[EdgarAllanPoe]

I've been doing bootcamps for about 2 months now every Sunday, and I've had success doing interval circuits. I usually have 10 plus people at mine, mainly because it is free to the community, and so far they LOVE it. I usually do 3 exercises for 1 minute each and then give a 30 second to a minute break, some times longer if they're really drained. I usually do an upperbody, lowerbody, then either a cardio or core exercise. For example, a very BASIC circuit would be: Burpees (No PU) 1 min, Push-ups 1 min, Mountain Climbers 1 min, Break. Before each circuit I show lower and higher levels of the exercise so that everyone can participate. I correct and motivate as best I can during the workout. Hope that helps! Most people who are doing bootcamps are just looking for a cheap, but effective workout they can do once or twice a week to be reasonably health conscious.

Edit: I do primarily all body weight exercises, but you have to get creative. You can break them up into partners, or have them do a group exercise as well. I can give you a full sample boot camp list of what I usually do if youd like.

yes, a list would be great. Are you doing hour long sessions?

can you p.m. it or do you want me to send you my email?

[Phil_Jr]

Here's an easy one that I do. Set up cones at 4 corners and have 2 exercises at each cone, something like this:

Cone 1 : Air squats/crunches
Cone 2 : Calf raises/situps
Cone 3 : Ski jumpers/leg tucks
Cone 4 : Mountain climbers/bicycles

Have half the people do the first exercise at each cone and the other half do the second. Let them go 45 seconds for each exercise and then 15 seconds to swap places. Once both people have done both exercises at that cone, have them rotate to the next cone.

It's also a good way to do it with no or little equipment and small space. Works great for my clients

[SFT]

I did Bootcamps for a year at my previous job. The group sizes were 6-28 people, probably averaging 15-20 for the prime time classes (5:30pm).

Using body weight only will get boring. If they are new to exercising, it might be enough for a few weeks if it's only a few times a week. At the very least, use small weights. Ask each participant to get 5-10lb. weights. When used in circuits, these can be sufficient to make participants feel muscle fatigue, which will make them feel accomplished. From there, you can think about using manual resistance exercises with something as simple as an old rag/towel and a piece of PVC pipe. Medicine balls can be great as well and we used them quite a bit. We used dynamax medicine balls for partner exercises. If you're keeping costs down, 1 ball for every 4 people is doable.

Good luck.

[EdgarAllanPoe]

Are you all not having them run, sprint, jog uphill/downhill?I would imagine that would kill a lot of time

[dizz6587]

I don't know if you're familiar with tabata - it's high intensity interval training developed by Izumi Tabata and studies have found it to be ridiculously effective. Google that ish.

For four minutes, have them do 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest (that'll add up to 8 rounds) of a certain movement. Today, I did this with 95# deadlifts. It was brutal. It kills time wonderfully, especially because at the end of the four minutes, they'll need a decent sized rest period.

One of my friends runs a bootcamp on Sundays, mostly for his friends who have comps coming up. He does a decent amount of bodyweight/running but also uses sandbags and wooden boxes he's made for box jumps. If you don't want to make boxes (I don't), a sturdy bench is a great alternative.

But if the group is mostly women, you'll be fine with just bodyweight movements... because they're afraid to get bulky.

Also - I went on a cruise recently and knew the workout conditions would be less than ideal so I took my jumprope. It's a great workout and is super convenient for traveling. Should also be pretty inexpensive.

[jsmurray]

Are you all not having them run, sprint, jog uphill/downhill?I would imagine that would kill a lot of time

I mean a 5 minute warm up jog would be a good idea. and you could incorporate some circuits with running in it like sprints and stuff, but from the feedback I've gotten, doing a lot of running and sprints is either too intense or too boring. Just tailor to the goals of your clients.

Edit: if they want to do running, Cardio etc, then go for it!

[SFT]

I had people run occasionally. From personal experience and from seeing clients that cannot tolerate it, I dislike jogging on flat surfaces. I've had a considerable number of clients complaining of knee pain with running. There could be so many factors and some that I am not prepared to deal with. That being said, I don't see jogging as a beneficial form of exercise for a decent portion of the population. The risk outweighs the benefits by far.

That being said, I have a long history of patellar tendinopathy (the new buzz word for tendinosis). I tolerate hills, bleachers, and stairs very well and I have found this to be true for many clients as well.

You'll find that the group will tell you what they like and dislike. If you do a running workout and they like it and tolerate it well, don't be afraid to include it. Variety is the most important thing in my opinion.

[nptifitness]

Soft boot is very helpful for running.Advantages of boot- camp of running.
1.Run fast
2.big jump
3.clim on floor very quickly
4.air crunches

[distrktFIVE]

I run boot camps with roughly (to slightly more) the same amount of people you are talking here. Here is a sample idea.

A jog/walk (depending on fitness level) warm up. (Approx 5-10 minutes...we start with 5 and might add a minute every other week until we get to 10)
Stations, primarily with a partner. 2 exercises per station. (ie. 12 kettlebell goblet squats @ 30lb/30mountain climbers...then switch...then next station)
Often times we end with a group stretch or planks/crunches/core (approx 5 min)

I like to have a station for every partner group + 1 open one (to allow people some personal pacing).
I usually run them through the circuit 3 times (give or take).
Estimating 3 minutes a station x 5 stations x 3 circuits = 45 mins + warm up + ending group activity = 1 hour

That's a basic outline.

Sometimes I pair them in "teams" and they "race" other groups. (ie. station 1 = first team to 100 push ups...only one can go at a time, so there is a work/rest set up)
Sometimes we do a day where they are all doing the same thing at the same time, to make them feel more like a "group".