Fitness Friday- Body Part Bootcamp

Hi folks! Wanna have fun with a little body-part bootcamp we did in class last week?

It focusses on one major muscle group at a time:

1. The “PUSH” muscles: chest, shoulders, and triceps
2. The “PULL” muscles: lats, rhomboids, and biceps
3. LEGS (There are technically PUSH and PULL muscles in the legs as well, but for an outdoor bootcamp without machines, it’s better to not try to isolate the muscles of the legs… we’ll just do ’em all together.)

The benefit of separating muscle groups is that you do all the “push” exercises together, then legs, then all the “pull” exercises.  By doing this, you fatigue the whole muscle group at once… so the fatigue happens sooner and more thoroughly than if you alternate a chest exercise, then back, then legs, then abs, etc.  The bottom line is that you’ll build more strength and muscular endurance by grouping your body parts together.  It’s an efficient way to work out!

To keep your heart rate up, I’ve included a cardio exercise in each grouping that still emphasizes the muscle group in focus.

Wanna try?  This workout will take you about 40 minutes including warm-up and cool-down.

Pushups (you can start from your knees or your toes):

 

 

 

 

 

Mountain climbers (cardio emphasis… do these quickly without touching your top foot):

 

 

 

 

 

Dumbbell squats (you don’t have to go down so far, but make sure your knees stay behind your toes, and keep your weight centered over your heels):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Squat jumps (obviously, you’ve gotta jump, even though my pic didn’t catch it!):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alternating reverse lunges (step backwards, not forwards, keeping your weight in your front heel):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing V-grip rows (make sure to keep a little arch in your low back and knees a bit bend):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jump rope:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Superman (keep your feet on the ground & turn your palms away from you):

 

 

 

 

 

Let me know if you try this workout and how it goes.  Happy Friday, everyone!