Got Bootcamp?

Are you tired of the same old run or bike ride? Trying mixing it up with this workout that you can easily design yourself. If you have a heart rate monitor strap it on to monitor your heart rate and make sure that you are working out in your target heart rate zone. As always when starting an exercise program you should check with your doctor and make sure that you are healthy and ready to go.

You can do this workout in a park, the gym or in your own backyard. You can use a variety of things that you might find in your neighborhood. Have some old tires that you haven't got rid of yet. Set them up in pairs and use it as one of your stations. Of course you want them without the rims. The way I go about my bootcamp workout is have 5 or 6 stations set up before I start. I will begin the workout with five minutes of jumping rope then move on to the tires, putting one foot in each tire quickly. I only have 4 tires right now so after I go through all 4 I start again until I have done a couple of minutes of tire jumping. Then I carry a beam that I found, on my shoulder and run or walk back and forth 50 yards for a few minutes.

If you go from exercise to exercise without resting you can get a total body workout in about 20 minutes. You can throw burpees, pushups, stair steps or anything you can think of into the mix. I bring a couple of 15 lb weights outside and use then to do the Farmer's walk. Or you could fill a couple of buckets with rocks and carry them. Your imagination is the limit. If you have a chin up bar do some chin ups or add jumping jacks. Its fun to see what you can come up with. I alternate upper and lower body exercises with cardio in between. Have fun with it, that is the whole idea! If you have a jungle gym for your kids you might incorporate it as one of your stations.

If you have done a 20 minute circuit and want a longer workout, just repeat it 2 or 3 times. Then finish up with a cool down and a stretch and you are good to go.