The most common New Year’s Resolution? Lost weight and get in shape! But only 8% of people actually stick with it.
Granted, we’re well into February now and a little past resolution season, but if you’ve found that your commitment to your resolution is flagging I’ve got news for you… There’s a way to fix that!
It’s called bootcamp workouts and they’re guaranteed to help you get in shape.
What Are Bootcamp Workouts?
A bootcamp workout is a high-intensity, structured workout modeled after military-style training. Bootcamp workouts use high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to help you lose weight and get in shape and they’re designed to work every muscle in your body.
Bootcamps include cardiovascular, strength, endurance, and flexibility drills. Bootcamp workouts combine strength and bodyweight exercises (lunges, squats, pushups) with cardio that’s designed to get your heart pounding. And they often begin and end with stretching.
Bootcamps are led by an instructor who means business. Bootcamp workouts are typically run by personal trainers or specialized gyms – and sometimes they’re even run by military personnel.
Bootcamp workouts are hardcore and they’re designed to kick your butt. But luckily, they can be modified if need be – so don’t let an injury or health issues or anything like that keep you from signing up if you’re interested.
Bootcamp doesn’t just focus on exercise though, it goes deeper. It also focuses on educating you on proper diets and food choices. And getting involved in a bootcamp is great because you have a group you’re working with. This can motivate you to keep up your routine and that means your bad habits will be a thing of the past.
Bootcamp is for everyone. Young, old, male, female, skinny, fat – you can get a great workout, great motivation, and great health out of bootcamp workouts.
Read on to discover 11 mental and physical benefits of bootcamp workouts.
1. Bootcamp Workouts Provide Better, Faster Results
Because of the focus on HIIT workouts and the high-paced, intense speed of bootcamp workouts, you’re almost guaranteed to see results faster than you would with any other workout style or program.
From a purely physical standpoint, you’re going to torch those calories. You’re moving constantly and you’re doing it quickly – which burns major calories. You can even expect to burn up to 600 calories during one hour-long session. So you’re going to torch that fat.
Bootcamp workouts are designed to drive results no matter what your body type. And with the previously mentioned additional focus on diet and lifestyle changes, you’re going to keep seeing those results.
2. It’s a Huge Confidence Builder
Bootcamp workouts help build confidence. That feeling you get when you finish the hardest workout of your life and your clothes are drenched in sweat? That’s a self-esteem boost. That’s a confidence boost.
Plus, each bootcamp workout is going to be a challenge. So when you keep overcoming those challenges, again and again, you’re going to see your confidence and self-esteem skyrocket.
Pushing yourself through this workout time and time again is going to do something for you mentally. It’s going to push you to believe that you really can do this and improve.
And you know what? You can.
3. There’s No Such Thing As ‘I Can’t’
That push to keep going? When you are losing it the instructor is there to pick it up for you. So there’s no such thing as “I can’t” in a bootcamp workout.
These classes push you past both your mental and physical. No matter your fitness level, there’s no room for slacking. You keep going no matter what. And your instructor is there to make sure that you do.
You’ll surprise yourself with what you’re capable of. And you’ll delight yourself too. And it helps a ton to have someone there telling you that you can do something you think you can’t.
Your instructor is going to be one of the biggest benefits of a bootcamp workout. And they’ll help you turn your “I can’t” into an “I can”.
4. You’ll Work Every Muscle Group
The high-intensity interval training (HIIT) of boot camp workouts means that you’re working more than just one muscle group. In fact, you’re working your entire body.
This means that muscles in every single muscle group are going to get a workout. And they’re going to get toned.
Why? Because the goal of a bootcamp workout isn’t just improvement in one area. The goal is improvement in all areas.
And with the bodyweight workouts that you’re doing – squats, lunges, pushups, and more – you’re going to soon find that every single muscle you got is growing and toning up.
5. It’s A Social Activity Too
The reason so many people fail to keep up their New Year’s Resolution of losing weight and getting fit is that there’s no one to hold them accountable.
When you go to bootcamp you become part of a team – and often, in the exercises, instructors break you up into two or three-person teams. And in so doing they encourage competitions between the different teams in the classes to reach daily goals.
You know what that means? Social engagement isn’t just accepted – it’s encouraged!
You make friends and that holds you accountable. It’s a lot harder to skip a workout when you know that your team is going to be in class and they’re going to be counting on you.
6. Cardio, Cardio, Cardio!
It’s not just a focus on muscles. There’s a lot of cardio in there too. Bootcamp aims to get your heart rate up and to keep that heart pumping. This is going to help build stamina and endurance.
Cardio is a great way to burn calories. And getting your heart rate up means that you’re going to increase your cardiovascular strength and health. All good things!
Plus, the mix of the cardio with the strength training means that you’re going to be well on your way to losing weight.
7. You’ll Get A Diet Makeover
Bootcamp isn’t just about exercise. It’s about making over your life to help you stick with it so that you can continue to see results and achieve your goals.
One of the important parts of bootcamp workouts is the diet and nutrition advice. Bootcamp workouts are a comprehensive approach to health and fitness. You don’t just get one or the other – you get them both.
Bootcamp instructors provide nutritional guides and often provide nutritional advice as well. They teach you how to eat well and how to optimize your diet to get the most you can out of the workouts.
This whole-life approach will keep you from backsliding or undoing all of the hard work that you do in class.
8. Exercise Makes You Happy
As it is with any workout, exercise releases endorphins. The bootcamp workout will help decrease stress and will release that feel-good chemical in your brain to help improve your mood.
Plus, the fun you have working with your team members and working out with your friends will make you happier as well. It’s a huge mood boost to get to workout with people you like and admire.
Bootcamp workouts are doubly designed to get that mood improved.
9. It’s Never Ever Going To Be Boring
I mean, let’s get real. Getting bored with your fitness routine is a very real and very likely possibility. Especially if you’re spending 45 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical, staring at the wall or screen straight in front of you and begging for each minute to go by faster, faster, faster.
Bootcamp workouts do away with that possibility. A bootcamp workout is never going to be boring because you never know what you’re going to get.
Every class is different and you never know what you’re going to do until the instructor tells you. No two classes are the same. Plus, you’re constantly moving between exercises which doesn’t leave you a lot of time to get bored.
If you’re someone who gets bored easily with your workout then trying a bootcamp workout is definitely a good idea. It’ll change the way you view the gym.
10. You’re Signing Up For Long-Term Fitness
Bootcamp workouts are addictive. Once you start, the mental and physical benefits mean you won’t want to stop. You’ll keep going back for more.
You’ll like your friends, you’ll like the instructor, and you’ll like everything you’re getting out of it. Plus, the commitment to being not just a workout but a lifestyle means that you’re signing up for real change.
In that way, you’re singing on for a lifetime of fitness. And what’s not to like about that?
Keep The Burn Going!
Sounds great, right? Bootcamp workouts are a great way to get that social fix, up your diet game, and get in a butt-kicking awesome workout.
If you’re interested in signing up for a bootcamp workout or just in learning more, check out our homepage and contact us for more info.
Plus, wondering what you’re going to do about the sore muscles you know you’re gonna get after your first bootcamp workout? Make sure you stay for the stretching. And check out what to do about your sore muscles right here.