DIY Bootcamp-style Workout - Help/Advice!

[meilinrei]

Hello!
I'm in the process of planning out my own personal bootcamp-styled workout for my boyfriend and I. I'm planning three times a week for one hour each time. We're going to do it for 6 weeks (July 5-August 16). Obviously there should be a warm up and cool down, but how long for each? And then a mix of cardio and strength training.
I was thinking of following this website because it has lovely pictures:

For the cardio interval what would we do and for how long?
Should this whole routine take the entire hour (aside from warm up and cool down) or should there be a chunk of 'regular' cardio (like a hike)?

All I've read about bootcamp-styled workouts say that they increase in difficulty as the weeks progress. How can I make sure our workouts get progressively more challenging? And also that we don't start off too hard all at once?

Any advice would be great!

 

[MAR1984]

Well, first, what are your goals and why do you feel you need a bootcamp?

If its that you're just starting out and wanting to lose weight, I'm going to have to recommend you take a different approach. Because, if you're just starting out, doing a tru bootcamp for anything is really going to suck. Even if you make it, all you're going to be thinking about is when you can stop doing it. And you're not going to see any sustainable progress for doing something for 6 weeks, and then stopping.

If, on the other hand, you've been training for a while for some event, or losing weight for a while, or something, and just want to be extra focused for the next 6 weeks, we still need to know what it is you hope to get out from this bootcamp in order to make any suggestions.

 

[meilinrei]

Oh! Right ^_^;

I started eating healthier and exercising September 2009. Since then I've lost 25lbs. I have done a relatively good job at maintaining right around this 25lb loss, but am finding it rather difficult to stay focused on exercise or eating healthy for very long. I'm hoping this bootcamp idea will keep me focused. My boyfriend has also been trying to eat better, exercise and lose weight, but he hasn't been very focused either. I think that both of us doing it together will really help us both. We wanting to make changes that will last even when we finish the bootcamp.
I try to think of eating healthier and exercising as a lifestyle choice not as a diet, but sometimes this attitude fails me and I think "I can't live my whole life without ____ <--type of food!" so then I just eat it...or at least that's how it's been going lately. I like the short-term-ness of the bootcamp idea because, yes, I should be able to have foods I like in moderation, but I just really need something to "force" me not to right now. I just want to see some results again! I'm tired of gaining and losing the same couple pounds!

I also like the team support aspect of a bootcamp. My boyfriend and I will be a support team for each other. We will encourage each other to get out there and exercise on our planned days. We're both going to record our food in a diary as well.
So yeah, I'm not just starting out...and I'm not too hung up on doing a "real" bootcamp...just more exercise than I've been doing, all planned out for a set period of time!

 

[MAR1984]

Congrats on the 25lbs lost so far! thats huge!

So, it seems like you've basically hit a little plateau in weight loss and a little stall in motivation. Thats ok, and I think you're handling it well. You're still maintaining your progress, and your looking for a way to push though it and continue on with more progress.

I think what might capture your idea of a bootcamp is sort of like a monthly challenge, for you and your boyfriend to do together. Now is the perfect time, since tomorrow is a new month. Maybe today would be a good time to calculate your BMR's and then calculate how many calories you need to lose weight - cut 500 calories per day for every lb you want to lose a week and whatnot, and remember, don't try to lose more than 1% of your body weight a week. Then you guys can set individual, realistic goals. Figure out how much you want to weight at the end of july, remember, don't ose more than 1% per week. Keeping a food diary is a good idea, make sure you record amounts and total calories. Shoot for the number of calories you calculated. Maybe for this boot camp month, weigh yourself every morning as soon as you wake up and do your morning business. You'll see daily fluctuations, but you'll get a better idea of short term trends, letting you know if you have to adjust up or down.

As for workouts, 3-5 days per week would be fine. I'd shoot for 3 days of weight lifting. If you go for walks, hikes, go play tennis, golfing, DDR, Wii fit, etc, that can be your cardio, or you can use cardio machines or go for runs. If you're up for it, you might consider doing HIIT twice a week for a month. With True HIIT, you probably won't be able to lift or do any other working out the same day. Sessions probably would start out 10 minutes tops the first week, and you might get to 15 minutes by the end of the month. It'll definitely make it feel like a boot camp.

Thats what I would do anyways... nothing too out of control, just enough to stay focused. And its all stuff you can continue doing later on if you like the results.