A hot, new trend is joining a Bootcamp class.  I guess you could say that I’m obsessed with how much I look forward to mine.  It has all the ingredients for the best workout.

social, upbeat, motivating instructor, accountability, crazy cardio, plenty of strength training and did I mention, social?

My bootcamp is indoors, but most other bootcamps meet at a park or high school.  The only drawbacks could be…

1. They typically take place in the early morning

2. The investment ($40-$100 a month)

Yet, when compared to personal training it is a bargain, and I am definitely a morning person.

Using your own body weight and all the abs exercises give you amazing core strength.

For upper body we workout with some smaller free weights, medicine balls and of course, we do plenty of push-ups

Every workout is different so it keeps your muscles from pattern overload, and it’s exciting to see what challenges the instructor comes up with.

There is also the nutrition counseling and someone always pushing you to give it your best.

Okay, sorry, this one I made them do because this is how you feel when you are done.  Happy that it’s over and a perfect way to start your day.  I have to give props to this bootcamp instructor; her name is Jessica Walters and this is her website www.fitnessrevolutionaz.com.  It has great articles and more information about her bootcamp class.  Thanks Jessica, you amaze me.

Whether you are at a gym or your home, stability ball workouts are the bomb.  It puts your body in a proprioceptive (i know, fancy word) environment, where you activate your core muscles.  This not only gives you a much more balanced workout, but also allows you to burn more calories.  Which, for me, is always the goal… maximizing calorie expenditure.  I got these great stick figures from www.performbetter.com.  This has been my favorite reference for creating my stability ball workouts.  So here’s my recommendation:

20 min cardio

choose 2 upper body exercises — 3 sets of 15 repetitions

choose 2 lower body exercises — 3 sets of 15 repetitions

choose 2 ab/core exercises — 3 sets of 15 repetitions

and call it a day.

Don’t forget to make it a nonstop workout.  While your upper body rests do a lower body exercise and then keep alternating it until you reach 3 sets.  Then start on a new combination.

It’s a great challenge to master this big, awkward ball.  Yet, once you workout with it for a while, you’ll see how much fun and what a great test of strength it is.   Oh, and here is one more site that I like that teaches more great stability ball exercises.