Here are the top 10 reasons you NEED beginner bootcamp, whether you are a camper or a camp owner:
1.) True fitness is about longevity and having fun through movement, not quick fixes and instant gratification. If you have pain in your joints you will hate working out and will quit at some point, no matter how much weight you lose in the short-term… and then all of that weight will creep back on.
2.) If you have tissue restrictions, you will never be able to properly perform the key exercises like squats, lunges, and push-ups in a pain-free, full range of motion. Thus, you will not be able to burn fat and build muscle at optimal rates. You simply CANNOT burn lots of calories with partial range of motion movements like quarter squats and lunges!!
3.) If you have ever had pain in your joints, then you need beginner bootcamp. It’s not about pain SITE, it’s about pain SOURCE! Most nagging aches and pains in your joints are caused by tightness and restrictions in the muscles above and below the joint in question.
4.) The research shows that you want about a 1:1 high-intensity work to active recovery/regeneration ratio. In other words, if you do an intense 30-minute workout then you need to do about 30-minutes of foam rolling, stretching, and mobility/activation work to prevent over-training and accelerate recovery. Having a beginner bootcamp allows you to teach campers how to do the regeneration stuff so they can eventually do it on their own to get the most out of their regular bootcamp workouts.
5.) Overweight and out of shape people need a lower intensity fitness program to build confidence and ease them into a higher intensity program. Tissue quality, flexibility, and mobility/activation circuits will be challenging enough and will bulletproof their bodies before they enter your more advanced bootcamp drastically reducing injuries and separating your camp from the competition.
6.) The vast majority of campers are men and women that are in their 30’s and 40’s. This is the age when your joints begin to naturally lose motion and lubrication thus making tissue quality, flexibility, and mobility/activation work of the highest priority.
7.) Total fitness is more than just about being lean and strong. To be truly fit you need healthy tissue, flexibility, mobility, strength, stability, power, endurance, and balance. Beginner Bootcamp provides you with your fitness foundation to build upon and it’s a step that cannot be skipped for best results.
8.) If you or your campers can’t do the front splits… then you NEED beginner bootcamp in a heinous way!
9.) Most bootcamps are simply about beating people to a pulp and making them tired- this is not a skill – this is not an art form. The group exercise world is evolving into group personal training. It’s moving away from the random, unstructured bootcamp workouts with no method behind the madness. And every solid group personal training program starts with a beginner bootcamp. You are either part of the problem or part of the solution… I hope you move away from the dark side sooner than later.
10.) It’s the right thing to do. I always like to ask myself this:
“What would the top professionals in the fitness industry think if they walked through the doors of my facility? Would they think we’re doing the right thing?
In other words, what would Boyle, Cressey, Hartman, Robertson, Cosgrove, and Dos do?
I think you already know the answer to that
You have less than 48 hours to save $20 on the exact beginner bootcamp program we use in our MISSION: METABOLISM BOOTCAMP in Milwaukee, WI:
Mobility describes the ability of a joint, or a series of joints, to move through an ideal range of motion. Though mobility relies on flexibility, it requires an additional strength, stability, and neuromuscular control component to allow for proper movement. Activation is often paired with mobility because many mobility exercises activate key, and often dormant, pillar stabilizers in your hips, core, and shoulders.
There is also a bit of a gray zone between flexibility and mobility. The best way I can describe the difference between the two is that flexibility is a lower intensity version of mobility that does NOT require mobility (or you can say that mobility is a higher intensity version of flexibility that involves stability).
For example, a split kneeling hip flexor stretch focuses on getting enough motion at the hip to allow for a full, pain-free range of motion split squat/sagittal lunge variation. Where the split squat/sagittal lunge variation requires strength, stability, and neuromuscular control, the hip flexor stretch does not.
Continuing this analogy further, I’d urge you to consider mobility/activation to be a lower intensity version of an intensive workout (or you can say that a workout is a higher-intensity version of mobility/activation). In other words, for new, overweight, or de-conditioned trainees, mobility/activation circuits are like an introduction to metabolic resistance circuit training.
For example, let’s look at the basic knee-dominant movement pattern of a lunge to establish a clear continuum here:
Step#1- Tissue Quality: Self-massage the quad/hip-flexor area to eliminate any restrictions that may impede movement and cause knee pain
Step#2- Flexibility: Stretch the quad/hip-flexor area to lengthen the tissue to optimal levels to allow for pain-free, full range of motion
Step#3- Mobility/Activation: Perform entry level split squat/sagittal lunge variations to develop the appropriate knee stability and hip mobility and stability for optimal performance
Step#4- Strength: Progress to more advanced split squat/sagittal lunge variations via stability, range of motion, loading, integration, and/or tempo progressions
Some recent studies have been quite misleading in suggesting that stretching before exercise can negatively impact performance and of course there was that immediate knee jerk reaction in the fitness industry where many trainers and coaches jumped on the band wagon and stopped stretching altogether.
While it has been shown that performing static stretching immediately before explosive movements results in a reduction in power output, the drop in performance was so insignificant that it’s not even worth noting when you consider that if you follow static stretching with proper mobility/activation drills it’s been shown that the reduction in performance no longer exists.
The reason mobility/activation work should follow flexibility training is because it helps develop the neural connections to reinforce new ranges of motion. Plus, it helps grease the groove on all of the foundational bodyweight movement patterns like a squat, push-up, lunge, etc. to provide for a safer, more effective high-intensity workout.
As I mentioned in the recent posts about tissue quality and flexibility, it’s not about PAIN SITE… it’s about PAIN SOURCE!!
World renowned strength coach Mike Boyle is well known for advancing the concept of a joint by joint approach to training.
The reader’s digest version of this concept is that the body is simply a stack of joints and the joints in the body alternate between a need for mobility and stability. The outline below summarizes what our body needs more of, from bottoms up:
Ankle Mobility (sagittal plane) –>
Knee Stability –>
Hip Stability (multi-planar) –>
Lumbar Stability –>
Thoracic Spine Mobility –>
Scapular Stability –>
Gleno-humeral Mobility
Another one of Coach Boyle’s golden nuggets is that problems in one joint typically lead to pain or dysfunction in the joint above or below.
Knee pain is often caused by lack of ankle mobility and lack of hip stability (thus requiring hip/glute activation).
Lower back pain is often caused by a lack of hip and thoracic spine mobility and a lack of hip and core stability (thus requiring hip and core activation).
Neck and shoulder pain is often caused by a lack of thoracic spine mobility and a lack of scapulothoracic stability (thus requiring scapulothoracic activation).
In my personal experience, I have found the following 5 mobility/activation exercises to be of the highest priority for the general population. These are also the big 5 foundational bodyweight movement patterns in most bootcamp/group exercise settings with limited equipment access:
1.) Squat Variation: Proper squatting requires ankle, hip, and t-spine mobility. It also requires strong hip abductors to prevent the knees from caving in. My favorite exercise cues for my campers are “eyes up, chest and knees out, weight on your outer heels”. I like the goblet squats here because it allows you to really sit back into a deep squat position with counterbalance. The assisted TRX squat is also great as it allows you to unload your bodyweight to make squatting easier at first.
2.) Sagittal Lunge Variation: Lunge progressions begin in a static and stationary environment and progress to a dynamic and moving environment. Proper sagittal plane lunging requires both knee and hip stability and hip mobility.My favorite exercise cues for my campers are “stay tall up top, drop your hips, and keep your weight on your front heel.” One thing I learned from my buddy Mike Robertson at a recent seminar is that you should teach the split squat by having your clients place their toes against a wall/post which will prevent knee-driving and force them to drop at the hips- it works like magic!!
3.) Frontal/Transverse Lunge Variation: It’s critical to be able to lunge in all 3 planes of motion, including the frontal plane (side to side) and transverse plane (rotational). The limiting factor in frontal/transverse lunging (think lateral and rotational squats and lunges) is often poor adductor flexibility. If you can’t lunge properly then you can’t decelerate or change direction properly and that means that you will not be able to properly stop or run without risk of injury.In other words, sound lunging is key for properly training speed and agility. My favorite exercise cues for my campers are “stay tall up top, push your hips back, and keep your weight on the heel of your lead leg.”
4.) Stiff-Legged Deadlift (SLDL)/Hip-Hinge Variation: This is by far the hardest movement to teach because most people have such poor hamstring flexibility that they are unable to extend their hip without compensating by squatting and/or flexing at the lumbar spine. I see too many trainers teach swings before they ever teach their clients how to hip-hinge. This is crazy because the hip-hinge is an unloaded, slower bodyweight version of the swing- let’s not skip steps people!My favorite exercise cues for my campers are “flex your knee(s), load your heel, and extend your limbs as far away from each other as you can.”
5.) Push-upVariation: The push-up is the ultimate total body stability exercise and I feel some variation of it needs to be trained at every single workout. Start by mastering the push-up hold before moving to dynamic push-ups and for the love of God do not allow your clients to do those hideous elbows out, hump the floor push-ups. Proper push-ups require maintaining a straight line from your head through your heels- this is best accomplished by squeezing the glutes. My favorite exercise cues for my campers are “squeeze your butt and keep your elbows tight to your rib cage.”
Below is an outline of our 30-10 mobility/activation circuit in our MISSION: UNBREAKABLE beginner bootcamp in Milwaukee, WI:
30-10 Mobility/Activation Circuit
1
T-Spine Mobility
2
Y, T, W, L, I Raises or Wall/Floor Slides Variation
3
Push-up/Front Pillar Variation
4
Side Pillar Variation (L)
5
Side Pillar Variation (R)
6
Hip Extension Variation
7
SLDL Variation (L)
8
SLDL Variation (R)
9
Ankle Mobility
10
Goblet Squat/Squat to Stand Variation
11
Sagittal Lunge Variation
12
Sagittal Lunge Variation
13
Frontal Lunge Variation
14
Frontal Lunge Variation
15
Transverse Lunge Variation
16
Transverse Lunge Variation
Watch the video below for a highlight reel of the mobility/activation exercises that we use:
I’m a big fan of a relative stability/range of motion/difficulty scale when it comes to mobility/activation, for example:
- Using a relative stability/range of motion/difficulty scale of 1-10, “1” being full range of motion/most stable/very easy to perform and “10” being partial range of motion/most unstable/very difficult to perform, please check the appropriate box for each mobility/activation exercise below whenever you feel a challenge that is greater than a 5 out of 10
- Your fitness homework is to religiously perform all mobility/activation exercises that were a 5 or greater on the stability/range of motion/difficulty scale both pre-workout and several times post-workout every day. Be sure to first self-massage AND stretch all tight/related muscle groups in order to eliminate any tissue restrictions for optimal performance of these foundational bodyweight strength exercises
- For best results and injury prevention, perform this entire 30-10 mobility/activation circuit at least once per week
Why 30-sec0nds for mobility/activation?
Well, we want to warm-up without overly fatiguing ourselves for the upcoming workout.
Still, make no mistake about it- this mobility activation circuit is like a beginner metabolic bootcamp workout. It will get people sweating and puffing without overwhelming them before they enter your more advanced programs.
It will also bulletproof their bodies so that they are ready to handle anything else you throw their way.
What are your favorite mobility/activation exercises? Let us know by posting a comment to this blog post
LISTEN TO THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ABOUT MISSION: UNBREAKABLE WITH BJ GADDOUR, WORKOUT MUSE CO-CREATOR AND FITNESS DIRECTOR, AND DR. K, WORLD RENOWNED PHYSICAL THERAPIST:
Over the last 7-8 months, I have been busily working behind the scenes with my good friend Dr. Kareem Samhouri on developing a groundbreaking product called MISSION: UNBREAKABLE (M: U).
M: U features custom interval training workout music soundtracks for pre-workout and post-workout routines, with specific tracks for tissue quality (self-massage with foam roller, tennis balls, softballs, massage sticks, etc.), flexibility, and mobility/activation.
Our goal was to bring a corrective, physical therapy-based approach to the group exercise and fitness bootcamp world leveraging our individual specialties.
It comes complete with videos of all of the exercises, cheat sheets, and my exact beginner bootcamp template from my MISSION: METABOLISM BOOTCAMP in Milwaukee, WI (more on this over the next week or so as M: U launches next week at a special intro price!!).
If you don’t know who Dr. K is, well… he is possibly the most brilliant man in the fitness world.
What would happen if the most interesting man in the world (left) partnered with the most brilliant man in the fitness world (right)… it would be EXPLOSIVE!!
When he was 4 years old, he taught himself how to flex and extend his arm at the same time.
If your body hurts, it is because he missed lunch and he’s grumpy.
Where most people use 10% of their brains, he uses 10% of all of our brains at all times… plus 90% of his own.
His smile is so bright you can see it from space.
He talks so fast that he makes the old micromachine commercials seem like they take place in slow-motion.
When he goes swimming, he can communicate with dolphins via sonar.
If he looks at you hard enough, he can repair worn cartilage while standing on one foot… while grabbing his nose… and balancing his checkbook… while reading the Bible in Chinese.
If you have ever suffered from nagging aches in pains in your knees, hips, shoulders, or back, then you need to listen to this interview TODAY:
I’ve listened to a lot of fitness pros speak and I can honestly say that I learned more in this 1 hour+ interview than any other hour in the history of my fitness career.
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