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Attend your own private boot camp

Posted: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 8:21 PM
Filed Under: ,

By Kathy Kaehler

 

Looking for a quick and inexpensive way to get in shape this summer? Set up your own boot camp.

 

All you need are a bike, some hills, weights, a pool (yours, your neighbors or the local one) and a whole lot of motivation.

 

Stick to a three-day-a-week camp. Plan to set aside an hour or so for each day, preferably in the morning when the temperature is cool and others are still sleeping. 

 

The camp has three components:

  1. Bike to a location where you can walk or run up a hill. You can make the bike ride and the hill as long or as short as you like.
  2. Get back on your bike and pedal to your weights. Then engage in a range of activities to work all muscle groups. Some ideas to get you going: push-ups, crunches, shoulder presses, biceps curls, triceps dips, lunges and squats. Stick to two sets of 15 repetitions on each exercise. Add more as you improve.
  3. Get back on your bike and head to the pool (if it is right in your backyard then opt for another spin around the neighborhood first). Once in the pool, get going on your laps, slowly at first and then pick up the pace. Finish up with some water treading -- 5 minutes in the deep end while kicking the legs and doing figure eight's with the arms.

Keep the camp going from now until Labor Day.

 

Discuss: Share your favorite summer toning tips

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Comments

Well and good if you live in a bicycle-friendly area. Our local pool is down a curvy 2-lane road and across the highway. The "hike & bike" trail is down an even curvier 2-lane road.

How about a suggestion for those of us who don't live in a sprawling, bike-laned, HOA neighborhood?

And while you're at it, where's the caveat about making sure people are healthy enough before starting this program?

Texas (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 2:51 PM)

Oh please!  Seems no good suggestion goes unpunished.

First off, if you live in congested Houston, you can try one of the local bayous [drainage ditches] for hills.  If you live in busy Dallas, try the local Costco parking lot instead of a hike and bike trail.

If you're in Austin, where only there would they care that a caveat about being healthy enough to exercise was not posted, well, what else can you find to complain about.

Austin, TX (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 3:05 PM)

Welll, if you aren't fit before starting the program, don't start it. A little common sense goes a long way. Why is it everybody's responsibility but the individual to make sure they are prepared to do something.  

Billy, okinawa, Japan (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 3:09 PM)

There are no hills at all where I live!

Christine, FL Panhandle (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 3:35 PM)

No hills? That's why man invented stairs! Try your local football stadium, office building or even your own home. People, be creative for heavens sake!

Steve, Raleigh NC (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 3:45 PM)

Those who are unmotivated will always find an excuse to abstain from working out. This article is a good idea. Be creative, run stairs if you have no mountain & find a public pool if you have no cement pond in your back yard. Most of all, if your environs are uninspiring... Consider re-locating.

Joe, Boulder/Denver, CO (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 3:51 PM)

Simple point:  MOVE!  For those of us who spend most of their waking hours in an office and the car, it's important to get some activity in your day.  This article was just written for those who can't come up with their own ideas.  If working out for working out's sake isn't good for you, try something else as long as it's not sitting in front of the TV watching Law and Order Reruns.  Dancing, martial arts, recreational swimming, or a sports league are all good ideas.  And, about the common line about seeing a doctor, if this country saw a little more activity and fewer big-macs we would need fewer cardiologists.

David, Dublin, OH (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 4:47 PM)

Hey, be careful about criticizing Law and order reruns. I watch Law and order reruns most evenings on USA, Bravo or TBS while I am on the treadmill or elliptical!

beth, rome GA (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 5:34 PM)

I think People tend to make excuses when it comes to working out.  I initially was weighing 244 pounds about 4 months ago i been doing cardio 6 times a week for 30 minutes and doing full body workouts 3 times a week and have lost over 20 Pounds.  No matter where you live u can be fit...It is all n the mind..

Lui Cisneros (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 5:41 PM)

I leave my house by 7:30am CST every morning to be at work by 9 and don't get home until 7:30 pm every evening. I still try to make time twice a week if not more to walk around the neighborhood. If that's not possible, I do "laps" in the house or go up & down the stairs to the office or the kids' rooms. On weekends I try to do at least 2 laps around the local park. If I can do it with my busy schedule, anyone can!!!

Christy, Lewisburg, TN (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 6:34 PM)

As long as you have the motivation to get going, using a little imagination and planning, it is possible to put together a fun workout - whether in the 'hood, at a park, health club/facility, or even the back yard. Best chance for success comes with keeping a little log of your program and finding a buddy to work out with or to at least share workout stories and ideas. Good luck!

Carla, Austin, Tx (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 10:21 PM)

I like to alternate mountain biking with road biking and hiking with a bit of weight training. I ride (vigorously) 15 to 20 miles warm ups and then do 40 to 60 miles later in the season,road biking. I ride off road and have a blast down hilling, jumping logs, and climbing (5 to 10 miles of this)and to wind down I do a 3 to 5 mile hike and try to get some weight training (light for upper body )in that order. This keeps me going 3 to 5 days a week and I'm over 60 yrs old.

Sal,East Haven,CT (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 10:32 PM)

Hmmmm, I think Parris Island, San Antonio, San Diego, North Chicago and any of the 5 Army locations are not considered HILLY. Small hills, yes, but nothing like perhaps San Francisco. If the military can train in any environment in the world, SO CAN YOU. Push ups, sit ups, running/jogging and eating better. If you die during training, you weren't healthy enough to start.

theWestIsBest, Seattle WA (Sent Wednesday, June 27, 2007 10:49 PM)

I would like to give a big AMEN BROTHER to Billy in Okinawa for his comment.  People spend waaaay too much time passing the blame for their problems to other people.  If we spent that time realizing we and nobody else are responsible for our own lives, we can then seize that moment and take control of our lives.

Andrew, Houlton, ME (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 8:40 AM)

I know people in Florida who train on the bridges and instead of doing hill repeats they do bridge repeats. It doesn't matter the height of the hill or the grade, it is the intesity with which you train on it.

Daphne Clark, Williston, ND (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 12:16 PM)

Those are great suggestions, and some good responses too! I have developed my own fitness regime due to time and money constraints (no pool or gym memberships for me right now). I walk every day for a half hour, finish off with stairs 5 days a week, do light aerobics three days a week, upper body weight training twice a week, and calesthenics/intense aerobics and yoga once a week. All at home, in my neighbourhood, or in my building.

There are two fairly new conclusions about exercise that have emerged recently; the first is that ANY exercise is better than none, even if it's just one or two sets of stairs a day or walking around the block once. The other is that intense exercise is significantly more beneficial than light or moderate exercise.

So on the one hand, all the folks who think there's no point in parking a block further away from work or using the stairs every now and then are WRONG, but on the other hand if people want to be REALLY fit, they have to REALLY work and sweat.

I discuss a lot of health and fitness issues on my company's blog, this topic is very close to my heart.

Natalie Anne Lanoville, Vancouver Canada (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 5:58 PM)

I have had knee surgery, after a two year healing of a foot injury, so walking has not been something I could do for a long time.  I hope to be able to get back into using my treadmill now that I seem to be all in one piece. How much and how long would you suggest so I don't overdue this long spell of inactivity?

Shirley A, Kirkville, NY (Sent Sunday, July 01, 2007 8:03 PM)

Shirley, listen to your body and when something doesn't feel right, stop and rest and if necessary take a few days off until you recover.  The treadmill is a good place to start because if you feel something wrong, you can stop and sit down, whereas if you are out hiking you would have to hobble back home.  

As for how much and how long, as a rule of thumb, try 15 minutes of brisk walking (where you feel your heartrate is elevated) minimum to start, work up to 30 minutes or longer if possible.  Try to do this every day or at least 3 times a week, listening to your body to avoid aggravating your old injuries.  Work up to whatever intensity you can manage physically and time-commitment wise.

If possible consult your doctor before beginning any exercise regimen. Be sure to wear any brace or support on your knee and foot as directed by your physician.  If in doubt, ask your physician for a physical therapy consult.

John, Hopkins MD (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 7:10 PM)

My buddy Jon sent me this, what a guy!

ZEN (Sent Friday, August 10, 2007 12:30 PM)

I didn't read all the nonsense but as a 20 year military PTI I know you don't suggest exercise without a trip to the doc first. \be responsible with advice

England (Sent Sunday, August 19, 2007 9:02 PM)



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