Boot camp guests enjoy a workout on the beach during their vacation.

Workouts From The Retreat

I was talking with one of our guests a few weeks ago as we were finishing up our beach hike. She mentioned that some of the workouts and movements we had done were things she wanted to remember so she could do them at home. I don’t post a lot of our actual retreat workouts here on the blog but it inspired me to add them here. A lot of our guests will jot down notes after class or on their phones during a break so they can remember certain sequences or moves. I figured why not post a few of the favorite workouts each week right here so our fitness retreat guests can come back and reference them and so can all of you.

We cover a lot during the course of a week at boot camp. Our private retreats are all one on one training and you go home with your own personalized workouts. During a 3 - 7 night stay at boot camp, we’ll mix in strength work, cardio, dynamic warm ups and flexibility as well as balance work, kickboxing, pilates, yoga and more. Many of our workouts require little to no equipment. It’s a purposeful move to show our guests that you don’t need a ton of equipment or even a gym to get a workout in. Basically, there’s no excuse to miss a workout - even when you can’t get to the gym. These workouts are from the late July groups. If you were here the week of July 15 or July 22, these are a few of your workouts done during Vita Boot Camp.

*At the bottom of this post are a few Amazon links to some of the items we use in the retreat as well in case anyone is interested in purchasing for at home use.

BALANCE

In balance, remember to equally balance weight throughout whichever foot you are balancing on. The foot tripod is the ball under the big toe, the ball under the little toe and the heel. Balance work is helpful not only because it challenges your balance but also strengthens the lower leg, foot and ankle, refines the mind body connection and works each side of your body separately.

Circuit 1
Stand on 1 foot - 30 seconds
Side lunge to knee up - 10 each side
Lift knee up and drive the knee to the ceiling for 10 seconds - try to straighten out leg, repeat each side
Repeat circuit 3x

Circuit 2
Stand on one foot - eyes open 15 sec, eyes closed 15 sec
Side lunge 4 count - step out right half way, then into full lunge, halfway back in and then stepping feet together 10 each side
Knee up, out to side, pivot foot to wall behind you and bring leg back down - 5 each side
Repeat circuit 3x

Circuit 3
3 points - extend one leg out in front, then to side and then behind you (hitting 3 points) - 10 each side
One leg squats - 10 each side
Knee up w/twist - arms out to sides, right knee up in front, twist from waist toward right as far as you can, return to center, alternate on other side - 5 each side
Repeat circuit 3x

Circuit 4
Standing superman - reach out with arms while extending right leg straight behind you, pull back to center to upright position without touching foot to ground and repeat 30 seconds each side
Piriformis stand - take one leg behind you as if you were going into a shallow lunge, step up into front foot on full foot including heel and try to use glutes to execute this exercise - 30 seconds each side
Bridge with 1 leg extended in air - 20 sec each side

BOOT CAMP

Next workout is one of the beach boot camp workouts. These are great because they’re pretty straight forward and we don’t normally use much equipment (resistance bands and medicine balls) or just keep them bodyweight related. Again, a perfect way for you to get a workout in anywhere - at home, in a hotel room, a park or on vacation.

The Boot Camp Circuit
Push ups x 15 (on ground or elevated on beach chairs or bench)
Squat Jumps or Squats Raise To Toes - 45 seconds
Tricep Dips x 15
Walking Lunges x 1 minute
Run - 30 seconds
Side Shuffle - 30 seconds
Run backwards - 30 seconds
Repeat circuit 3x

Plank Circuit (week of July 22)
Plank alternating knees to chest - 30 seconds
20 second break
Rotating plank w/arm raise to sky - 30 seconds
20 second break
Plank alternating lateral toe tap - 30 seconds
Power walk, jog or run - 1 minute
Repeat circuit 3x

DYNAMIC WARM UP + INTERVALS

Dynamic warm ups include flexility through motion. It’s a way to get the heart rate going, prepare your CNS for the workout coming up and warm up/stretch muscles and connective tissue through movement. We generally start with a little bit of dynamic warm up daily and flow into either the boot camp session or a cardio/interval/hitt session.

The Warm Up
Walking butt kicks - 1 minute
Walking high knees - 1 minute
Straight leg kicks (opposite hand to toes) - 1 minute
Side step (in 1/4 squat position) - 30 seconds to right, 30 seconds to left
Leg circles - alternating legs (circle from center away from body) - 1 minute
Walking tap inside of ankle with opposite hand alternate sides - 1 minute
Walking torso twist with arms straight out (twist with hips) alternating - 1 minute
Complete circuit 1x

The Intervals
Run forward - 1 minute
Run backwards - 1 minute
Side shuffle - 30 seconds each side
Quick step high knee run - 1 minute
Over Under (grapevine) - 30 seconds each side
Fast butt kicks - 1 minute
High knee skip - 1 minute
Repeat circuit 2-3 times

WRAPPING IT UP

What you can see in this small sampling of workouts is that there’s a balance between mindful movement (balance work), more intense working out (boot camp) and intervals as well as flexibility through motion. Creating balance within your own fitness routine is key so that you hit all of the elements of movement. That’s what creates a balanced, strong, flexibility, healthy, injury free body. At our fitness retreat, we include all elements of movement each day which translates into each full week as well.

If you have any questions about the workouts, please drop a comment below. I’m happy to help! Hope to see you all at a retreat soon and to those reading this who have attended, a huge thank you! - Margot

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