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.
