Cardio Boot Camp Exercises

The Cardio Boot Camp phenomenon is sweeping the health club world, and Cardio Boot Camp exercises are increasingly popular even for those unwilling to pay for a full-blown course. Others can't make that kind of time commitment, or perhaps they live in climates that don't lend themselves to the outdoors nature of a traditional Cardio Boot Camp; in these cases, modified indoor versions can fill the void nicely. Whatever your situation, there are many possible uses for this selection of proven effective Cardio Boot Camp exercises.

At its core, Cardio Boot Camp exercise is about using your bodyweight for a variety of exercises targeting different muscle groups. Here, we'll talk about the original version as well as an alternate, more traditional version of the same. That way you can choose what fits your situation the best, whether you're young or old, in Florida or Alaska.

Drop and gimme 20! The basic push up is easy enough; place yourself face down just over the floor, resting your bodyweight on your toes and hands. Push up until your arms are fully extended, then slowly descend until you get a good stretch across the chest and repeat. For variation, adjust the hand spacing from wide to narrow, even adding a hand clap for extra intensity at each push up if regular ones don't quite do it for you. Conversely, if you're not quite there yet strength-wise, kneel on the floor or place your thighs on a medicine ball. You can also use a chest press machine or do classic bench presses if you're unable to do push ups.

This staple from schools and military camps is simple enough. Start standing upright with your arms at your sides, then jump a little as you move your feet to a wide stance while raising your arms in wide arcs so they're stretched above your head. Jump again almost immediately after your feet make contact with the ground and return to the starting position, and repeat for a continuous, back-and-forth hopping. If you are overweight or have physical limitations that prevent you from doing the full exercise, only lift your arms out to the sides rather than all the way up and go with a slower tempo.

Lie down on the floor with your hips at 45 degrees and knees at 90 degree angles. Put your hands behind your neck (not back of the head) or next to your ears -- whatever you prefer, just don't yank at the back of the head since this put a lot of stress on the fragile upper spine. To perform the exercise, contract your abs so that you press your lower back into the ground while decreasing the distance between your pelvis and ribcage. It's a short movement -- your upper back will only lift a few inches -- but that's okay; the important thing is that you hit the right muscle.

Cross your arms over your chest and place your feet about shoulder-width apart, then squat until your thighs are about parallel to the floor. Now push upwards so that you jump a few inches (not so high you lose control, just enough to catch some air and then land safely). Descend in a controlled manner to the starting position and repeat. An alternative is to do leg presses in the gym, but try to get that acceleration element into the picture as well.

Finally, running in place is so basic it really needs no description. It's a great exercise to use in sequence with the other exercises, as it gives you an opportunity to recover a little before doing more push ups or jump squats without losing steam. By keeping the blood flowing you also help flush out lactic acid buildup for the more strength-oriented parts of your routine.

The original Cardio Boot Camp program, developed by Tae Bo founder Billy Blanks, is of course a lot more complex than this sampling of exercises. If you want to get serious about this program, check the local health clubs or browse Amazon for his instructional DVDs. Good luck!

• Pictures of People Exercising
• Women Fitness Models
• Male Fitness Model

• Breast Lifting Exercise
• Contour Abs
• Naked Exercise
• Naked Pilates
• Hula Hoop Exercises

• Push Ups Chest Exercise
• Exercises for Losing Weight
• Cardiovascular Exercises
• Definition of Exercise
• Sandbag Exercise