This is a simple and effective Carson City Bootcamp style fat burning circuit you can do anywhere, without any equipment.

You’re going to do ten reps of each exercise and complete as many circuits as you can in 15 minutes.

Rest briefly when you need to and then get moving again until your 15 minutes are up.

As you get in better shape, you can start adding reps to each circuit, try to complete more circuits in the 15 min, or go for longer periods (17min, 20min, etc)

The exercise order keeps your blood moving, giving you a double whammy workout of body-shaping strength exercises and fat-burning interval training.

Rather than congesting one area of the body with blood, as in a traditional bodybuilding-style workout, this circuit uses a mechanism called Peripheral Heart Action to build your cardio by keeping your heart and lungs working hard as they push blood flow to different areas of the body.

You’ll see that the exercise order is: Legs, Upper Body, Core, Repeat.

With no time wasted, if you only have 15 minutes to get fit, this is the best type of workout to do

Let’s get to it!

Workout: 10 reps of each exercise, as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes.

Rest: Brief, when needed.

Bootcamp Circuit Exercise 1: Squat

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lower your body as far as you can by pushing your hips back and bending your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Pause, and slowly stand back up. Squeeze your butt at the top.

A more advanced variation is to use the hop squat:

Bootcamp Circuit Exercise 2: Hindu Pushup

Begin in a pushup position but move your feet hip-width apart and forward, and raise your hips so your body almost forms an upside-down V (downward dog pose). Lower the front of your body until your chin nears the floor. Then lower your hips as you raise your head and shoulders toward the ceiling. Now pull your hips back to return to your starting position.

Bootcamp Circuit Exercise 3: V-Up

Lay face up on the ground with your legs extended and arms above your head. Simultaneously lift your arms and upper body along with your lower legs (knees straight) up until they meet above you. Lower your body and legs back to starting position.

Peripheral Heart Action training was originally used by physique athletes who wanted to burn fat without losing hard-built muscle.  (Curious about the benefits of muscle?  Check out this post: Get Some Firmness On Your Frame)

Combined with a high protein/low carb diet, PHA training proved to burn fat fast.  And that’s what we want, right?

Next time you can’t make it to your Carson City Bootcamp, give this circuit a try!

Push ups are a classic bootcamp exercise that strengthen and tone your upper body muscles.  But it can get BOOOOORRRRRIIINNNNGGGG doing the same old up-down pushup in your workouts.

By adding variety to your pushup training you will not only keep your bootcamp-style workouts more fun and interesting, you will help prevent injuries by working through different movements and ranges of motion.

Here are 10 Cool Push Up Variations for you to add to your workouts:

1.  Cool Pushup #1: Tiger Push Up

The Tiger Push Up is a combination plank and arm extension, great for your triceps and tummy muscles

2. Cool Pushup #2: Tripod Switch

The tripod switch is a very advanced arm training exercise (I mostly use these with mixed martial arts fighters who need to train explosive position changes)

3. Cool Pushup #3: Dive Bomber Pushup

This will really smoke your shoulder muscles

4. Cool Pushup #4: Reverse Push Up

Also called a bridging pushup, this is a motion almost never trained in traditional work out programs

5. Cool Pushup #5: Hand Lift Push Up

Keep a tight body on this one! By going all the way down and then lifting your hands, you are sure to have the same range of motion on every rep. I like to use this one for testing athletes, as it eliminates head-bobbing and half-bending reps and keeps assessment quality high

6. Cool Pushup #6: Reach Out Push Up

Want a core strength and shoulder stability challenge? Give these a shot

7. Cool Pushup #7: Forward Ellipse Pushup

One of my very favorites

8. Cool Pushup #8: Ring Triceps Extension

Not really a “push up”, but a great variation to add in for strengthening the back of your arms

9. Cool Pushup #9: Plank Walk Up

Most people only think of this as a core exercise, but it is a great workout for your pushup muscles as well

10. Cool Pushup #10: Threading Push Up

Another push up variation that takes you out of the traditional “up/down” of regular pushups

BONUS!  Pushup “Finisher” Exercise

In this finisher – use at the end of your workout! – you do as many pushups in a low position as you can, then move up to make it a little easier, push up to failure, move up a little, and repeat until you can’t move your arms. I only do a few pushups in each position in the video, as a full set of these can take over 3 minutes. (If you don’t have rings or a TRX, you can use your gym’s Smith Machine, just slide the bar up 2 inches for every set)

And of course, I like to finish every push up workout with some stretching:

Don’t have time to make it to bootcamp?

No worries, this 20 minute workout will rock your metabolism and all you need is a set of dumbbells.

You’ll combine strength training moves to put together a high intensity cardio circuit workout.

First, you need a stopwatch, clock, or iPhone workout timer app.  You’ll do each exercise at a moderate pace at the top of every minute.

Try for 1 second down, 1 second pause, and 1 second up on each rep.  That way 10 reps should take you 30 seconds.

Start exercise number one at the top of the minute.  After your 10 reps, rest for the remainder of the minute.  At the next minute, do ten reps of exercise number two.  Repeat with each exercise until you’ve done all 5.  That’s one round.

Do a total of four rounds.

Bootcamp Circuit Exercise 1: Overhead Y Squat

Stand tall and raise your arms straight above you so they form a Y with your body (Do the YMCA!). Pull your shoulder blades together and down, and lower your body as deep as you can by pushing your hips back and bending your knees. Push through your heels to raise yourself back to the starting position and repeat.

Bootcamp Circuit Exercise 2: Hand Lift Push Up

Assume a pushup position with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart and your arms straight. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your heels (long and strong). Lower your body until your chest touches the floor. Lightly lift your hands an inch off the ground, then push yourself back to the starting position and repeat

This exercise can also be done kneeling for beginners:

Bootcamp Circuit Exercise 3: Right Leg Step Back Lunge

Stand tall with your feet slightly closer than shoulder width apart. Step back with your left leg and lower your body until your right leg is bent at least 90 degrees and your left knee almost touches the floor. Push back to the starting position.

Bootcamp Circuit Exercise 4: Renegade Row

Assume a pushup position with your arms straight, with your hands grasping a pair of dumbbells. Without allowing your torso to rotate, row the dumbbell in your right hand to the side of your chest. Lower without twisting. That’s 1 rep.

This exercise can also be done with kettlebells for a greater stability challenge:

Bootcamp Circuit Exercise 5: Left Leg Step Back Lunge

Stand tall with your feet closer than shoulder width apart. Step back with your right leg and lower your body until your left leg is bent at least 90 degrees and your right knee almost touches the floor. Push back to the starting position.

That’s it! A simple and effective workout to do on the days that you can’t make it to your Carson City Boot Camp!

A Carson City Bootcamp Exercise Post by Lucas Wold

Gymnastics rings are a phenomenal training tool.  You can build strength, flexibility, and balance on one simple training tool

Most people don’t realize that two of the most popular training tools in the world right now, the TRX and the Total Gym are take offs of traditional gymnastic ring training.

The TRX is a set of rings with flat flat handles, foot stirrups, and a single point of attachment:

And the Total Gym is a take-off of an old Russian gymnastics training tool that allowed athletes to practice rings moves with a smaller percentage of their body weight

And rings aren’t just good for training gymnastics tricks.  You can use a set of rings to exercise every muscle in your body and get a great metabolism boosting workout.

To that end, here are 10 simple rings training exercises for you to try:

Gymnastic Ring Triceps Extension

This is a great exercise for the triceps muscles on the back of your arms.

Gymnastic Ring Body Row

In this video I have my feet on a Swiss Balance Ball, but a simpler variation is to put your feet on the floor. This exercise will strengthen your back and arms, and do wonders for your posture.

If there was a single exercise I’d recommend for everyone, the body row would be it.

Gymnastic Ring Pistol Squat

Pistol squats are a phenomenal exercise, but they are very difficult. Using the gymnastic rings allows you to train the pistol without losing your balance, plus the rings take some of the load off your working leg, allowing you to build up to a full pistol squat.

Gymnastic Ring Straight Arm Pulldown

This exercise is a great way to develop your back and core

Gymnastic Ring Reach Out

This is one of the best exercises for training your core.

Gymnastic Ring Dip

Dips have been called the “squat of upper body training.” If you want a strong chest, strong arms, and shoulder stability, try dips.

Gymnastic Ring Low Trap Pull

Scapular depression is one of the most under-trained movements in the gym. It is also one of the most important things you can do to improve your posture and shoulder health.

Gymnastic Ring Biceps Curls

If you’re going to do curls, do them on the rings.

Gymnastic Ring Push Up

You can improve the basic push up by using the rings. It will challenge not only your “push up” muscles, but also your shoulder stability and core strength.

For beginning exercisers, you can use the rings to reduce the amount of your body weight that you are pushing, making it less difficult than a push up on the floor.

Gymnastic Ring Face Pull

One of my favorite exercises for the back of the shoulders.

Now, if you want to use rings in your training, set up your workouts to use ring exercises in a circuit. Here’s an example:

Have fun!

I’m working on the workout plans for the new Wold Tactical Fitness Bootcamp (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 6:30-7:30pm) and thought it would be fun to share some of the exercises we’re going to be using to reach the next level of fitness….

Reverse Bridge Push Up:

Twisting Planker Push Up:

Bootstrapper Squats:

Scorpion-Style Shin Box:

Suspended Hamstring Curls:

Tripod Switch:

Tight Burpee:

Kettlebell Split Snatch:

Box Jumps:

Kick-Through Side Plank:

Tiger Push Up:

Hip Touch Twist:

Shoulder Roll:

Deadlift/Pushup Combo:

Modified Rope Climbs:

Twisting Mountain Climbers:

Reverse Wall Walks:

Suspended Triceps Extension:

One Armed Burpees and Deck Squats:

Clapping Dive Bomber Push Up:

Handstands and Handstand Push Ups:

Arm Thread Push Up:

Rocky IV Flags:

Kettlebell Snatch and Windmill:

Spiral Squat:

Shin Box Flag:

Kneeling Jump:

Kick Through Squat With Pillow Twist:

Ok, there’s lots lots more to post, but I’ve got to go set up for tonight’s bootcamp!

Catch ya later!

~ Luke Wold

PS – This is what I look like when we’re done filming these videos for you:

I wanted to do something special for my first post of the year, since the new Wold Fitness Bootcamp facility will be opening in just a few days.  When I think back on the hundreds of people I’ve worked with in person, online, and at seminars I’ve helped succeed with fitness, health, and weight loss, I wanted to share some of the secrets of people who’ve transformed their lives the most.

To that end, I’ve made some New Year’s Resolutions for you.

That’s a pretty “in-your-face” thing to do.  But this list is some of the easiest things to implement in your life, and it’s made up of the things that separate the people who get there quickly from those who just muddle along and never make any progress.

Any and all of these make great New Year’s Resolutions – so much so that I personally guarantee you results if you do these things and stick to them.

The Only “Improve Your Life” 2011 Resolutions You Need

1.  Get Out Of Your House

You can’t improve something you’re not working on.

In the phenomenal book “Outliers”, Malcolm Gladwell shows that anyone who is great at what they do has put in approximately 10,000 hours of ‘practice time.’

Now, he’s talking about elite like Michael Jordan in basketball or the Beatles in music.

You don’t need to be anywhere near 10,000 hours to have a rockin’ body and glowing health – but you do have to practice.

A great mindset shift many of my clients have had is to think of health and fitness as ‘practice time.’  Not only time spent in the gym, but time cooking delicious meals, getting fresh air, and spending time with fit friends all count as ‘practice time.”

How much practice do you need?  Generally, more is better.  3-5 hours a week of exercise, and a few hours a week of preparing food is a good starting minimum.

Can you commit to this?

2.  Get A Good Group

A workout partner or group motivates you to get out of the house, lets you learn from their successes and failures, raises your mood, and makes losing weight much, much easier.

If your regular friends aren’t a good fitness group, train them!  (Or send them to my bootcamp and I’LL train them for you J )

A study from Harvard University found that hanging around with overweight people makes you much more likely to become overweight.  Tony Robbins says that your weight will be the average weight of your five closest friends.

While I’m not telling you to ditch your friends, spend more of your time with positive people who are moving towards something, not with negative Nancys or with people who just don’t care.

Here are some of the benefits of a partner or group:

• Peer pressure to do what you said you would
• Having a friend try something with you reduces the anxiety that comes from getting out of your comfort zone
• Exercising with friends is more fun.  Good moods are contagious and stick with you.
• Faster improvement.  You can watch and learn from your fitness friends (I always get great meal ideas and food strategies from my friends).  Plus, friends know you better than anyone – it’s really hard to analyze your own progress and you almost always need someone to help.

If your friends aren’t trainable, find some pre-trained.  The best place for this is at bootcamp and at fitness-based social events like highland games, 5ks, and the like.

Seriously, exercise and nutrition alone are far better than nothing, but you’re making it much tougher to learn, much tougher to stick, and much tougher to succeed.  Get a good group!

3.  Decide What You Want

If you don’t know what you want, if you don’t know how to get it, if you don’t know how to tell when you do get it, then your odds of success are very small.

Be specific:

Don’t just say you want to “lose weight.”  The scale sucks for measuring health, fitness, and vitality.  Decide you want to fit into size four jeans, or have visible muscles in your stomach.

Don’t say you want to “feel better.”  Decide that feeling better means no headaches, no energy/mood swings, and sleeping through the night.

Don’t cop out with “be healthier.”  Decide that you’re going to get off blood pressure medication, stop taking ibuprofen throughout the day, and never touch an antacid again.

And don’t just say you want to “look better.”  Decide that you’re going to upgrade your wardrobe, change the hairstyle you’ve had since the 90s, lose 4 inches off your waist, and start using moisturizer.  Which actually leads us to…

4. Upgrade Your Hair And Wardrobe

Weird advice on a health and fitness website, right?

But I have a theory (stolen from my sister) that people keep the hairstyle from when they thought they looked their best, no matter how it looks on them now.

I see women with the same hair they had in high school in 1985.  I see bald guys growing their fringe out long.  Hair and identity are wrapped together very tightly.

By changing your hair you signify to yourself that you’re taking charge of your life.  Who cares what you looked like in college, you can look great RIGHT NOW!

Seriously, losing fat and toning up is going to totally transform your life.  But as I’ve said before, you can make immediate changes in how you look and feel by changing your hair and your wardrobe.

Closet full of baggy black clothes?  Get rid of them!

Knowing what you’re doing is the only hard part, since the clothes that will make you look your best are very different than runway “high fashion.”

For your hair, find a good stylist.  (My totally awesome client Victoria cuts my hair.  The only direction I give her is “Make me look sexy.”  Here’s a video of me in her office:  Eyebrow Waxing Ouch!)

Women, get Clinton Kelly’s books: Freakin’ Fabulous and Oh No She Didn’t

Guys, it’s highly controversial, but I recommend Brad Ps Fashion Bible (Caution, everything else he’s written is for mature audiences only!)

Getting your hair and clothes handled is crucial, but not time-consuming.  You only have to work on your wardrobe once this year – if it looks great tomorrow it will still look great in December!

Oh, one last thing, if you’re joining bootcamp or going on a weight loss diet, don’t wait to start upgrading your look until you’ve lost the weight.  Like I said, hair and identity are intertwined.  Losing weight and getting in kick-butt shape will be much easier if you look and feel good while you’re doing it.

5.  Track Your Progress

It’s fascinating that any measuring will improve your progress.

There are infinite variable you can look at, but the first and simplest is keeping a food journal.  Interestingly, people who write down everything they eat and drink – even when they’re not on a diet – lose more weight that people who don’t write anything down.

And if you don’t like writing, here’s a cool trick that’s almost as effective: Use your phone to take a picture of absolutely everything you eat or drink and upload it to an online album.

The next step is measuring your body.  Monthly pictures in your underwear will motivate you like nothing else.  (Don’t want your spouse to take a picture of you in your underwear?  That’s a signal that you should make some changes!)

Scale weight is an ok starting point, too.  But scales can also be demotivating if your weight swings up just a little when you’ve been working out super-hard.  And a scale won’t tell you if that extra pound is muscle, fat, or just bloating.

It’s much better to take circumference measurements around your hips, waist, thighs, chest, and arms, and to check out your bodyfat percentage.

To get really serious, twice-yearly blood tests will tell you what’s going on with your health.

6.  Take Up A New Hobby

What you spend your time on should be things that you’re passionate about.  I can’t overemphasize how important this is to your happiness.

It doesn’t even have to be something fitness related – last year I started drawing and I’m still having a blast!  This year I’m working on cooking (expect some delicious recipes soon!)

And hey, leave a comment at the bottom of this post, I’d love to hear what your hobbies are!

7.  Stay Up To Date

I’ve been a trainer for a long time now, and I’ll be honest with you: It would be a lot easier to keep saying the same stuff I thought I knew back in 2000.  But that wouldn’t be good since I’ve learned so much in the last 11 years.

The pendulum swings in what’s popular in the fitness world, but the more people I work with the more I see what really works.

High carb, low fat diets paired with lots of jogging was popular 30 years ago, but it’s failed the test of the real world.  The same with machine circuits, step aerobics, “cleansing” diets, and all the other fads.

Fitness has come a long way in even the last 5 years, and any problems that someone has using an old system have probably already been fixed.

At my seminars and on this website I like to share the latest studies to support what works.

The biggest changes I’ve seen lately have got me really excited, they include:

• Research into Paleolithic diets.  Switching to paleo eating makes weight loss easy and helps prevent almost every modern disease (diabetes, obesity, alzheimers, heart disease, etc)
• Shifting to training with more “real world” tools like kettlebells, suspension trainers, ValSlides, and especially your own body
• Focusing on raising metabolism rather than burning calories
• Group functional workouts instead of solo aerobics and weight machines
• Fixing body imbalances to make every workout more productive and to get rid of chronic aches and pains

I spend a lot of time and money making sure I’m up to date with what really works.  If you want to do the same start reading books and blogs, going to seminars, and investing in information products developed by trainers, nutritionists, and doctors who know how to get results.

8.  Take Something Out

It’s much easier to add something in (exercise, supplements) than it is to take something out (processed carbs, negative friends)

I know you don’t have a lot of free time.  And to add to your life you need to create time for yourself.

I don’t know exactly what your life is like so I can’t tell you exactly what to do here.

However, a lot of time-wasters, lifestyle-killers, and fat-adders have these things in common: indoors, non-social, can take a lot of time, and sucks all your energy.

TV and computers fit into all four of these.

If that’s how you relax, cool.  But give yourself a limit and stick to it.  The only TV show I watch is Entourage with my bro John, and other than that maybe a DVD or two per week.  I know people who watch more TV than that EVERY DAY!

Here’s a few ideas of things to take out that will leave you with more time for your health and fitness goals:

• TV
• Facebook/iPhone games
• Drinking (go out, but not 3 nights a week.  Once or twice a month is plenty to have fun)
• Hanging out with people who suck

9.  Expand Your Comfort Zone

Do things that push you out of your comfort zone.

Go scuba diving.  Ride a roller coaster.  Go camping.  Sing karaoke.  Learn to dance.  Do something!

Breaking free of self-imposed limits frees your mind and energy so much that losing weight is just another challenge, not some all-consuming dreadful monster that will take over your life.

Getting out of your comfort zone applies to working out, too.

Push yourself hard.  Learn how to use something cool (tire flipping anyone?).  See what you can do.

And of course, we all have food comfort zones.

I’m always trying new vegetables and spices, or new ways of cooking.  Hey, sometimes things don’t taste the way I wanted them to, I just chalk it up to experience J

10.  Ask For Help

I confess – I wasn’t great at this for a long time.  (It was too far out of my comfort zone)

Now I’m a help-asking MANIAC.  I get people to show me cooking techniques.  My trainer friends video exercises for me.  I get pointed to all of the right resources.

Guidance gets you to where you want to be.

Most people want to get their body from point A to point B, so they join a gym.  But joining a gym doesn’t get them there.

If you wanted to get from one town to another you’d think the solution would be a car, right?  But it’s not.  It’s actually directions, driving instructions, and a full tank of gas.  A car is useless if you don’t know where you’re going.

A gym membership or home workout machine is just the car.  To get from point A to point B you need directions, instruction, and fuel.

If you haven’t already, make 2011 the year you ask for help and take control of your life.

So… that’s it.  Nothing in here is that hard or unrealistic.  10 simple New Year’s Resolutions that will get you where you want to go.

Talk soon,

~ Luke

Dear Carson City Friend,

This is no passing fad.

Fitness Boot Camps are sweeping across the country, replacing old, tired, hard, long and boring exercise with new, energetic, simple, quick and fun boot camp workouts that get amazing results for men and women, regardless of your age or fitness history.

Now you can be a part of the hottest trend in waist-reducing fitness results and begin transforming your body fast with the Wold Fitness Boot Camp.

You can try us out with complete confidence that you are in expert hands, receiving expert guidance, coaching and support from Carson City’s most accomplished and respected fitness and body transformation specialists. In the past my team and I have helped hundreds of people get into the best shape of their lives.

What You Can Expect From Wold Fitness Boot Camp

1. Freedom: This is all it takes: in just a few short weeks you will never be the same again. Your body will change, fat and inches will melt away, the fit person inside you will emerge. But what’s even more astonishing is how your “seize the day” attitude and zest for life will grow. You will get physical and emotional freedom in your first weeks of boot camp. Read on to see how…

2. FUN! Face it…if it’s not fun…you don’t want to do it. Nobody does. That’s the #1 reason people struggle with their fitness and weight loss…they don’t enjoy! Not anymore. Boot Camp is TONS OF FUN. You’ll get a body-trimming workout, lose weight and inches, feel great about yourself, accomplish more, increase your energy and improve your life in so many ways…and you’ll have FUN doing it.

3. Lose Weight, Tighten, Tone and Firm Your Body. Seven years ago I changed my own personal workouts from lots of weight lifting and long, boring cardio, to calisthenics, body weight exercises and interval type training (if you’re not familiar with these words, don’t worry, you’ll learn them all and love them all) and watched as my sports performance, agility, core strength, stamina and energy levels shot through the roof. Not to mention that I got leaner faster than ever before. Since then I started coaching my members on many of the same movements and watched as they got the same fantastic results. Not only are these exercises fun to do, they’re also quick, easy…and really work to burn the maximum number of calories. This IS the new wave of fitness.

4. Feel Great About Your Accomplishment: If you’ve struggled with weight loss and fitness in the past, then you know how frustrating it can be when you don’t see results. Instead of empowering you, it can undermine your confidence and give you a sense of hopelessness. You won’t feel that way ever again because everyone succeeds at accomplishing their body transformation goals when you’re in this kind of up-beat, fun and supportive environment. If there is a “silver bullet” when it comes to weight loss and fitness…it’s this. You can start now with 100% confidence and certainty you will come out the other end a winner…in just a few short weeks.

5. Meet Others Like You: One of the really nice benefits of Boot Camp is that you’re surrounded by like-minded, kind and supportive people just like you. Everyone has the same goal, and everyone works together to help each other, inspire each other and motivate each other. In an environment like this…you cannot fail.

6. Master Your Metabolism, Regardless of Your Age: Two discouraging and deceptive myths perpetuated by the uninformed are that your metabolism is genetically pre-determined. That simply is not true. We’ve helped hundreds of people just like you, from 15 to 67 years old, master their metabolism and fire-up their fat-burning furnace by strengthening their muscles through movement. With each passing week you’ll see your body shrink before your eyes as you ramp up your metabolism so you’re burning fat all day at work or rest.

7. Friendly, Expert Guidance In a Supportive, Structured and Motivational Program: Our entire team of Certified Personal Trainers are respectful and supportive, but we also know how to motivate and lead, helping bring out the best in you and get you into the best shape of your life. Wold Fitness Boot Camp is a structured, proven program providing the accountability, inspiration and expert guidance you need to transform your body and your life.

8. Get Your Private and Public Victory: it is our unique ability of “self-awareness” that allows us to break old, bad habits and create new, good ones. And there’s nothing more potent in the human arsenal than this ability. You CAN change your life, be and do whatever you want. You have that power. All you need is the right guidance, support and environment. And with each step towards your new goal, you experience a private victory that makes you progressively stronger and more determined than ever. I’ve seen this transformation occur so often in women I work with, but it still never ceases to amaze me. Few things, if anything, are as empowering as taking charge of your health and fitness and watching your body transform before your eyes…and the eyes of everyone else in your life. New found confidence to explore all the possibilities in your life emerges. Obstacles dissolve away. You no longer shrink from challenges, you embrace them, meet them head on, and overcome them. And everyone notices. You take proactive control over your life and are no longer the victim of circumstance. I can’t wait for you to experience this with us!

9. NO DIETING! Wooohoo! The dieting ends now. You see, we don’t just show you how to exercise for body transformation, we also coach you on nutrition. And one of the BIG lessons you’ll learn is how restrictive diets damage your metabolism. You’ll be eating more frequently, not less. And you’ll be eating many of your favorite foods.

10. Get Twice As Much Done…And Feel Great Doing It: If you’re a professional person, a parent, or both – if you work inside or outside the home – you know how demanding the responsibilities are. Most of us are overwhelmed by all the activities and obligations in our lives. And at the end of the day…you’re pooped. Here’s the secret to increased productivity, diminished stress and twice as much energy: a fun, fast, efficient, heart pounding, blood-pumping workout.

• Do you want the energy to meet all the demands on your life and time?

• Do you want to zip through your day, blasting past your co-workers or even out-running your kids?

• Do you want to perform at optimum capacity, running your internal engine hard and fast all day long, effortlessly accomplishing twice as much without the stress – and with a permanent, real, enthusiastic and contagious smile on your face?

• Do you want to feel like a million bucks from sun-up to sun-down and well into the evening, then sleep like a baby, waking up totally recharged, rejuvenated and ready to go? If so, the Wol Fitness Boot Camp is right for you!

11. Affordable, Convenient and Fast: You zip in and zip out. Boot Camp is incredibly affordable professional fitness training. Boot Camp is held Monday through Friday for an hour starting at your choice of 6am, 8:30am,  and 5:30 p.m. We are located at 291 Rhodes St in Carson City, near the intersection of Curry and Rhodes. (Between Liason Salon and Greenhouse Garden Center)

12. GUARANTEED RESULTS: After your first workout, if you decide to keep going, as everyone does, here’s our rock-solid guarantee of results to you:

• In just a few short weeks of following our program…

• You will burn more fat and inches off your thighs, hips, waist, and arms than ever before…reducing body fat by as much as 2% and decreasing midsection by at least 1-2 inches is typical…

• You will drop at least a pant size and lose up to 15 pounds…

• You will double your energy…improve your posture…sleep MUCH better…

• You will make new, supportive friends…

• You will increase your endurance and strength substantially…at least 25%…and increase your confidence 100%

• You will have FUN…

• You will look and feel fantastic…

13. More Fun: I know this has been kind of a long “list” of stuff you can expect from Wold Fitness Boot Camp and I appreciate you reading it all. And just the fact that you’ve read this far is a clear indication you are precisely the kind of person who can benefit the most from Boot Camp, and who will get the best results…because you take your health and fitness seriously. And we are very serious about results…but I want to tell you again that we get serious results…by having serious fun. Fun is the key. Fun is the secret. Because you have to have fun…or you won’t keep it up. Come join us and have fun while you burn the fat, melt away the inches, drop the dress sizes and take control – complete control – over your body, your health, your fitness and your life!

Talk to you soon,

~ Luke Wold

An Exercise Boot Camp post by Luke Wold

Besides being ineffective, crunches are freaking BORING!

No long lead-in here, just 7 boot camp style exercises that will firm up your core and add a little ZAZZ to your training program

Boot Camp Core Exercise #1: Reverse Cable Wood Chop

Your torso muscles work in an X pattern.

Think about throwing a ball: your core flexes to pull your right shoulder down towards your left hip.

Most core exercises take advantage of this movement pattern.

But when you REVERSE that pattern, you’re working your muscles in a whole new way!

The foot set up for these is the same as for a standard cable chop, the difference is you set the pulley at the bottom pin and chop from low to high.

Boot Camp Core Exercise #2: Jackal Push Up

Your abs really engage when your hold an extended plank – something where your upper arm isn’t directly below your shoulder.

Jackal Pushups are the next-level of this idea.  Instead of just holding an extended plank, everything in your core tightens as you lift your body off the floor:

Boot Camp Core Exercise #3: Incline Rope Sit Up Eccentrics

Sure, these are a little more complicated to set up than just grabbing a mat and busting out a few crunches.  But they’re worth it.

It starts with an normal weighted sit up.  No problem.

Then you straighten your arms out overhead and lower yourself back slowly, keeping your body and arms in a straight line.  Brutal:

Tips:

• Think about keeping your arms by your ears – not in front or in back of your head
• Don’t push the rope handles together, keep them slightly apart
• Don’t let your shoulders “wing” back, press the handles constantly
• If you can see your hands or arms, you’ve let your body drift behind the rope, this makes it totally easy and you aren’t working your core much

Boot Camp Core Exercise #4: Cable Plank Pulls

Having one of your arms or legs moving while you hold a static core exercise is a phenomenal way to work your core.

I actually prefer to do these with a heavy elastic band instead of a cable, so the tension really tries to pull you over and you have to stay very tight.

As with all planking variations, don’t let your hips roll or you take the benefit away from your abs.

Boot Camp Core Exercise #5: Gorilla Ups

This is a standard grappling exercise I learned in my career as a wrestler.  (Seriously advanced athletes can do them with one arm!)

You have to keep everything tight and also flex your knees up while pulling with the arms.  There’s a lot going on here!

Boot Camp Core Exercise #6: Kettlebell Press To Windmill

As you press the weight overhead, your core stabilizers have to work overtime to keep you from pitching to the side.

The windmill portion of this exercise will totally smoke the muscles on the side of your torso.

Funny story: One of my clients did 4 sets of the windmill for the first time.  Next day she comes in holding her obliques (side abs) and said, “I HATE WINDMILLS!  I’m so sore!”

All I replied was, “Didn’t you tell me you wanted to work on your ‘love handles’?”

You could see the big cartoon light bulb go on over her head as she realized she’d NEVER worked her core like this.  She said, “You’re right!  I LOVE windmills!!”

Boot Camp Core Exercise #7: Kick Through Extended Side Planks

I’m taking all of the credit for inventing this one.  (I haven’t seen it anywhere else.  If you have, please keep quiet, I like feeling inventive :))

The arm extended position makes side planks much harder.  Using only the top leg makes stabilizing harder and works your inner thigh like you wouldn’t believe.  Placing your feet on a raised surface makes the plank even tougher.

And kicking your leg means your body will be trying to sway and drop and you have to keep everything especially tight to keep from pitching over like this:

Forget boring, useless crunches.

Try one of these great core exercises in your next workout!

Talk soon,

~ Luke Wold

When I walked up into the weight room someone’s Dad was in there “working out.”

He gave me a sheepish look when I told him the upstairs of the gym is reserved for private clients.  But since he’d already started I said to go ahead and finish.

After a quick warm-up I hit this circuit 6 times: Kettlebell snatch x6 each arm, ValSlide Reverse Lunge x 10 each leg, and Weighted Chin Ups x 5, repeat with no rest.

Then a quick sip of water and my second circuit was 3 rounds of: ValSlide Double Reach-Out x 10, Handstand Push Up x 3, and Bodyweight Row x 12.

It took me about 25 minutes.

In that same 25 minutes this guy did 5 sets of Dumbbell Curls.  Seriously.

Unfortunately, spending more time in the gym than you need to is super-common, and I think that’s why people whine that they have no time to work out.

Now, today I’m going to drop 2 studies showing that not only will high-intensity circuits get you out of the weight room faster, they’ll also give you BETTER results.

(Of course, you could spend the same hour in the gym training with this style and get more done in those 60 minutes than the standard gym-goer does in 2 weeks of screwing around.  I think that’s freaking cool!)

This is the first study:

Kelleher et al. The Metabolic Costs of Reciprocal Supersets vs. Traditional Resistance Exercise in Young Recreationally Active Adults. JSCR 2010 Mar 17.

Kelleher et al examined the difference between traditional “straight set” resistance training to “reciprocal superset” training.

Here’s two quick definitions for you:

STRAIGHT SET: Standard resistance training protocol – One set of presses, rest.  Set of presses, rest.  Repeat until all sets are done.

RECIPROCAL SUPERSET: Pairing opposite movements – Set of presses, quick rest, set of rows, quick rest.  Not only do you actually get the same amount of rest between presses, you get twice as much work done in the same time.  And thanks to a principle called “reciprocal innervation” you will actually be able to handle more weight in the paired exercises.

The researchers above concluded: “Reciprocal supersets produced greater exercise kJ.min, blood lactate, and EPOC than did [traditional straight sets]. Incorporating this method of resistance exercise may benefit exercisers attempting to increase energy expenditure and have a fixed exercise volume with limited exercise time available.”

In plain speak: You will raise your metabolism and make greater changes in your body IN LESS TIME with reciprocal supersets than with straight sets.

INSIDE LUKE’S HEAD: How can I create reciprocal supersets in all of my workouts?

The second study:

Paoli et al. Effects of three distinct protocols of fitness training on body composition, strength and blood lactate. JSMPF. 2010 Mar;50(1):43-51

Paoli et al compared 3 different training methods: cardio-only, low-intensity circuit, and high-intensity circuit.

Out of the 3 groups, the high-intensity circuit group lost the most weight, lost the most fat, lost the most off their waist measurement, raised their metabolism the most, and gained the most strength.

Here’s an excerpt from their conclusion: “The results obtained favored the conclusion that high-intensity exercise combined with endurance training in the circuit training technique is more effective than endurance training alone or low intensity circuit training in improving body composition, blood lactate, moreover high intensity circuit training results in significantly greater strength increase compared to traditional circuit training”

So… high-intensity circuits kick ass compared to low-intensity circuits and totally blow traditional cardio out of the water.

INSIDE LUKE’S HEAD (con’t from above): How can I put reciprocal supersets into high-intensity circuits?

When the chips are all on the table and changing your body really counts, forget traditional weight training and endurance-style cardio – use high intensity resistance training circuits instead.

Putting It All Together

Resistance training includes bodyweight exercises.  Build your workouts around bodyweight and loaded exercises either paired or put into circuits, combine them with interval training, and clean up your diet and you’ll have a totally slamming body in wayyy less time.

I design all of the circuits for my personal training and bootcamp members – all you have to do is show up and push hard.  If you’re not in bootcamp (why not?) start tweaking your workouts with these two ideas and you’ll finally start to see some results from your time in the gym!

This is one of my very favorite Boot Camp exercises. It really works your arms and core:

Here’s how to do it:

Get into a low plank position, weight on your forearms and toes, back flat.

Now, straighten your arms out until you are in a high plank position.

Then come back down.

I like to do these for time, alternated with a lower body exercise, like squats. Pairing exercises like this REALLY increases your metabolism, plus it allows you to get much more done during your workout!

Give these Up Down Planks a shot in your next workout and let me know what you think!