The wall sit is a completely pointless, inefficient, and ineffective exercise, and it is a staple of many boot camp programs being run in Vancouver. It blows my mind how much time and effort people waste performing this exercise.
[...] by the very nature of the exercise, it is an isometric contraction and far less effective than resistance through a range of motion specific to real life. Furthermore, if the biomechanics of pretending to sit in a chair are considered important, then wouldn’t it be more prudent to focus on the components of truly lowering to and rising from a real chair? “Wall sits” offer no real benefit simply because they do not involve the gluteals, hamstrings and quadriceps as a functional unit.
If your boot camp instructor asks you to do a wall sit, you should strongly question your instructor’s competence, and consider investing your money in a Vancouver boot camp program that won’t waste your time and energy doing pointless, inefficient, and ineffective exercises.
The most common question I get asked about my Vancouver boot camp program is from people inquiring about the intensity of the workouts. People have either tried or watched other boot camp programs in Vancouver, and seen that the intensity in those classes is ridiculously low, often resembling an 80′s style aerobics program rather than an intense workout.
My answer to people inquiring about the intensity of my Vancouver boot camp program is that my classes are by far the most intense and balanced boot camp workouts currently being run in Vancouver. Period.
Most of our June boot camps are full, but a few spaces remain available. Register today to experience the workout program chosen by Nike as their exclusive Vancouver boot camp program.
I received a phone call this afternoon from a prospective client who was interested in hearing about what a typical Mode Boot Camp workout is like. I walked her through a typical workout, and I figured it would be a good idea to do the same here.
All of my Vancouver boot camp workouts begin with 5 minutes of dynamic warm-up consisting of various bodyweight exercises such as jumping jacks, lunges, strides, low jog, high jog, pushups, and more. The warmup alone is more intense than the vast majority of other boot camp programs currently being run in Vancouver, and I make sure to point out to new participants that they shouldn’t be discouraged if they have a hard time keeping up. After a few workouts, participants quickly improve their fitness so that they can handle the warm-up without much trouble.
After the warm-up, everyone breaks for water while I explain the first circuit. A typical circuit consists of the following stations:
- Jump Rope
- Step-Ups + Knee-Up + Reverse Lunge
- Inverted Rows (with gymnastics rings)
- Jackknife Pushups (with gymnastics rings)
- Woodchoppers (with resistance band)
- Plank + Knee-Ins
Everyone picks a station to start at, and we then begin the workout and progress through the entire circuit two times, spending 45 seconds at each station, with no rest between stations. I remind everyone during the first time around the circuit to closely monitor how hard they’re working, and if they feel that they can go harder the second time around, then do so.
The goal is to push yourself hard enough so that you can complete the circuit two times, but not any more than that. After completing the second round of the circuit, you should need to take a rest and allow your heart rate to come back down.
After everyone completes their second full round of the circuit, they rest for two minutes, have a drink of water, while I modifty the circuit with new exercises for two more rounds.
Another typical circuit would look like so:
- Jumping Jacks (maximum intensity)
- Hop Lunges
- Squat + Row (resistance band)
- Roving Pushups
- V-Ups
- Side Plank
Everyone chooses a station to start at, and we begin another two rounds of high-intensity circuit training. The goal during these circuits is NOT to pace yourself so you can exercise for nearly 60 minutes straight without a rest. If you want that type of workout, there are many boot camp workouts in Vancouver that are run at a low enough intensity to exercise for nearly 60 minutes straight without a rest. The goal of our workouts is maximum intensity interval based circuit training. This means pushing yourself to the limit during each circuit, and then taking a couple of minutes to rest before you do it all over again. This is the most proven effective form of fat loss. It’s not easy, but it works.
After completing a third circuit, we’ll gear up for some intense abs and core drills that come straight out of my boxing and mixed martial arts classes. These are usually partner assisted, and consist of about 6 to 8 minutes of exercises such as medicine ball catch and crunch, medicine ball catch and twist, crunch and punch, twist and punch, leg raises, side raises, bicycle crunches, side crunches, planks, side planks, and more.
If there is some time left, we might do a round or two of an instructor led drill consisting of 3 minutes, 6 exercises, and 30 seconds per exercise. These drills are very difficult, but everyone does their best and the workout finishes on a really high note.
We finish off the class by stretching the various muscles used during the workout, such as quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, abs, chest, back, etc.
These workouts are definitely not for everyone, as they are difficult and push participants way beyond the intensity they’re used to exercising at. But if you’re serious about results, and achieving new levels of fitness, then Mode Boot Camp is one of the very few group workouts in Vancouver that’s run at an intensity high enough to truly help you achieve those results.
In my free report on the top 6 questions you should ask before you hand over your hard-earned cash to a boot camp program in Vancouver, I answered the following questions:
- How many participants should there be per class to ensure everyone receives maximum attention from the instructor?
- What are the most credible fitness certifications? (And why is “certified boot camp instructor” NOT a credible certification?)
- What qualities should you look for in a boot camp instructor?
- What is a fair price for a boot camp program in Vancouver?
- Why do the most popular boot camp programs in Vancouver provide the least value?
- How can you be sure that you will be 100% satisfied and get your money’s worth from whichever group fitness program you choose?
As a bonus to that series, here’s another question that you should ask:
Are participants required to bring all of their own equipment to each class?
If the answer to that question is “yes”, then the boot camp program in question only sees DOLLAR SIGNS in your eyes, and is not concerned with ensuring that you receive maximum RESULTS from your boot camp workouts.
The reason most boot camp companies require participants to bring their own equipment to each class is that it makes the classes very SIMPLE to run, and those companies can pack extremely LARGE NUMBERS into their classes without having to worry about equipment. These two things benefit the boot camp company, NOT the participant.
Not to mention that only the most DECONDITIONED of people who have never exercised before in their life would see much results from a workout done with the ultra-light dumbbells participants are required to bring to those aerobic boot camp programs.
Remember, if those boot camp companies were primarily concerned with helping you achieve RESULTS, they’d supply ALL of the equipment for each workout, and design workouts based on utilizing all of that exercise equipment to the MAX. This would mean more money spent on running the business, more time spent designing and planning workouts, and it would require more expertise from the instructor. But having you bring ultra-light dumbbells to each workout is a business decision designed to maximize their PROFITS, and in particular it is a formula that lends itself to franchising, and allowing every Tom, Dick, and Sally to be able to call themselves boot camp instructors and take your money.
So if you’re considering joining a boot camp program in Vancouver, and the program you’re considering requires you to bring your own little “hand weights” to each workout, unless you’ve never exercised before in your entire life, DON’T waste your money on such a low quality workout.
Our June boot camp programs are quickly selling out. Two programs have already reached capacity, and the other three are filling up fast.
If you’ve been on the fence about registering, don’t delay too much longer, otherwise you’ll need to wait until at least July to experience the hugely successful outdoor fitness program chosen by Nike as the exclusive boot camp workout for hundreds of their clients in Coal Harbour.
The weather was pretty bad tonight, but 18 motivated men and women still came out for a challenging workout along the Coal Harbour seawall.
Our June boot camp programs are quickly filling up, but there are still some spaces available in all of our classes. We’re running 3-days per week and 2-days per week programs at 6AM and 7AM, as well as at least one 3-days per week program in the evening. Register today to avoid disappointment.
Mode Athletics offers a free report on the top 6 questions you should ask before you hand over your hard-earned cash to a boot camp program in Vancouver.
The report includes answers to the following questions:
- How many participants should there be per class to ensure everyone receives maximum attention from the instructor?
- What are the most credible fitness certifications? (And why is “certified boot camp instructor” NOT a credible certification?)
- What qualities should you look for in a boot camp instructor?
- What is a fair price for a boot camp program in Vancouver?
- Why do the most popular boot camp programs in Vancouver provide the least value?
The last email in the series answers the following critical question:
- How can you be sure that you will be 100% satisfied and get your money’s worth from whichever group fitness program you choose?
Sign up for the free report today, and take a big step towards making sure you don’t get fleeced by a boot camp company in Vancouver that’s only interested in your wallet.
This past week we added some additional Vancouver boot camp programs to the schedule. The new classes are running at 7AM Monday through Friday; and 6PM Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
The new Vancouver boot camp classes breakdown as follows:
- Camp C : 7AM : Monday, Wednesday, Friday
- Camp D : 7AM : Tuesday, Thursday
- Camp E : 6PM : Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The 6AM classes for May are all sold out, but there are sill a few spots available for next month’s classes starting June 2nd, so register today to avoid missing out.
My sister made an interesting observation today regarding my Vancouver boot camp classes. She suggested that my boot camp classes are more like group personal training sessions than boot camps. I tend to agree with her.
Her logic was that boot camp classes tend to consist of a very large group of people (20 to 40+), all exercising together in an instructor led class (i.e. exactly how traditional aerobics classes are run). And the exercises are generally limited to what can be done with a mat and light (often 2 lb) dumbbells.
My boot camp classes are significantly different. The maximum number of participants per class never exceeds 10 people, and our workouts are structured very much like a personal training session. The participants perform a wide range of functional exercises with such equipment as dumbbells, medicine balls, gymnastic rings, exercise bands, kick shields, boxing gloves, jump ropes, and more. Anyone who has ever done a one-on-one personal training session with me will find that my boot camp classes are very similar.
Going forward, I intend to really promote the group personal training aspect of my boot camp classes. My Vancouver boot camp workouts are completely different than any boot camp program offered in Vancouver, and at a fraction of the cost of the programs offered by other boot camp companies.
I believe so strongly and passionately in the quality and price of my fitness programs, I’m offering the most iron-clad guarantee in the industry. You have absolutely no risk in trying one of our programs because if for any reason at all you’re not thrilled and satisfied (hasn’t happened yet, but there’s a first for everything) I’ll gladly refund every penny of your purchase price.
