As you can see this month, the intensity has been increased to help you tackle your 2016 goals!
Monday’s Bootcamp workout coined “Diesel”, is a non stop lower body assault on your system.
Every exercise has been meticulously selected to compliment the other exercises and give you as much cardio as lower body. There really is no time to rest in this workout if you hope to finish it in the 30 minute timeframe. (By the way, it is never a race against others at Bootcamp Effect, it is always a race against yourself and what you were capable of last week and what you can do in subsequent weeks. We provide you with a timeframe just for measurement. If you can’t finish, then that is nothing ever to be down about – just to improve upon and chip away at week by week).
Despite, the need for speed in this workout, the most important factor to consider is your technique.
And to facilitate perfect technique, it is really important to keep your weight selection on the lighter side, so that under fatigue, you can maintain perfect position.
The rep scheme 18-16-14-12-10 is endurance based, so every exercise should be a weight at least 50% lighter than what you would maximally lift for 1 rep. And you definitely shouldn’t pick a weight that you can’t do 18 reps in a row of.
To add to this, if you don’t have your air squat technique down perfectly, then please don’t try a goblet squat, and if you haven’t performed a deadlift before, please take some time to discuss with a bootcamp coach.
We can’t reiterate this point enough, exercises should be perfected with your bodyweight before adding additional weight. This is how compensation injuries can occur in the knee, low back, and shoulder.
We have implemented the 3 levels of workouts for this very reason. The Fundamentals is not something to be looked over. If your technique is not perfect (and our training staff will help you/let you know about this), then you should be doing the fundamental element of that exercise. It is for your benefit and long term results!
You can take it from a guy who has injured himself in the past by wanting to do too much/never stretching. Be better than that. The Fundamentals workout is more than hard enough to get great results long term.
And I cant stress this enough, there needs to be a larger focus spent on mobility before and after the workouts. I would estimate 50% of all low back issues could be prevented by stretching out your hamstrings, glutes, and hip flexors prior to the workout. Couple this with some foam rolling on your mid/upper back (most people are tight here), and the dynamic warmup and you guys will be feeling loose enough to get into better positions during the workout. Better position = better performance = injury free.
Mobility Rant. GO!
The stretching we do post-workout at bootcamp is the bare minimum.
If you can’t touch your toes without bending your knees, you can’t expect to be pain free when exercising. If you can’t stand against a wall with your heels touching and take your arms overhead and touch the wall with both thumbs you cant expect to not deal with shoulder issues. If you cant get into a squat sit. Then you should be able to get into a squat sit!
Look I know this is the last thing anyone wants to hear about. You’re all busy and just getting in the gym most days is a win. But if you spend 10 additional minutes either before or after on mobility (the preventative kind before any issues occur), then you will lay the groundwork and foundation for optimization and your muscles will do what they were designed to do and push, pull, squat, bend, twist, and lunge you to your fitness and weight loss goals.
If you pick up 1 new mobility exercise to do before or after a session each week, how much better will you be off in January of 2017? Think long term and please don’t hesitate to ask us any questions!
Committed to your success,
Josh Saunders
The Bootcamp Effect
P.S. We always have 2 copies of the book “Becoming a Supple Leopard” at the front desk for you to flip through. This book is a great resource for mobility exercises, resolving pain, preventing injury, and optimizing performance!
