1. What Do You Really Need To Get Started?
Investment: a few bucks
Markers / Cones / Witches hats
If I had to choose only one piece of
equipment to run bootcamps , I
would choose these cheap little
plastic hats. They are so versatile. I
use them as stations in circuits,
markers for agility drills, score
counters, relay batons, currency(!)
and even as team mascots!
www.kaizenoutdoorfitness.com
By Garry Robinson
www.kaizenoutdoorfitness.com
Bootcamp Equipment
How much equipment do you really need to run an outdoor fitness business? What is the best equipment to buy?
One huge advantage we have as personal trainers is that you can start an outdoor fitness business with literally no equipment and just acquire it as your client base grows.
By starting small at first and setting aside 10% of your income each week for investing in equipment, you will have all you need to run a very profitable, full-scale outdoor fitness business in just a few months.
2. Next Steps – What To Buy Next? Investment: a few hundred bucks
After a few weeks, you should have enough put aside to invest in some useful additions. At this stage, I would go for
Skipping Ropes / Jump Ropes
Balls of various shapes and sizes
Rubber resistance bands
Battling ropes
Bands and ropes are important because it is difficult to train pulling movements with bod-yweight alone.
Go for a purpose made rope that is thick, heavy and has sealed and coated ends. Ideally they need to be about 15m long and at least 75mm thick.
www.kaizenoutdoorfitness.com
Knowledge about bodyweight training
You will need to understand exactly how to use gravity and bodyweight to increase and decrease the re-
sistance for fundamental bodyweight exercises such as push ups, pulls and squats. Dragon Door publish
the best books available on this subject.
You’ll also need access to a library of functional exercises that will add variety and fun to your training.
3. Running a Full Time Bootcamp Business Investment: a few thousand bucks
OK. Once you are rocking along with 30+ clients you should be thinking that it’s time to turn this into a full
time business and get serious. At this stage, you should have some money set aside and you will be ready to
invest in some truly versatile and quality training equipment. Here’s what I recommend you get:
Sandbags
Sandbags are an awesome substitute for barbell training and have an added advantage that they simulate
real-life loads.
Get good quality, waterproof sand-
bags with good seals so that they do
not leak. Both zip and Velcro. You
will need bags that have sealed in-
ners so you can interchange them
and make various weights. Get twice
or three times as many inners as you
have sandbags and fill them up with
dry sand in units of 5kg and 10kg.
For my workout programs, begin-
ners would start out with 5k to 15kg
bags. Intermediates 15kg to 30kg
and Advanced participants anything
upwards of 30kg+
Sandbags are the most affordable way to acquire heavy weight. Sand is free if you live near a beach and can
be purchased very inexpensively from builder’s merchants if you are land-locked.
www.kaizenoutdoorfitness.com
Kettlebells
Kettlebells are so versatile – they can
be used to develop conditioning as
well as strength. Originally used by
the Russian military, this training
style was introduced to westerners
and made popular by esteemed
strength coach Pavel Tsatsouline.
I would suggest 8kg and 12kg for la-
dies and beginners, and 16kg and
24kg for guys and intermediate to
advanced clients.
It’s vital to learn how to coach and cue basic kettlebell lifts such as swings, get-ups and the clean and press.
Do not introduce kettlebell training without first learning these movements yourself, preferably from a quali-
fied RKC.
When used properly, kettlebells have been proven to repair and rehabilitate all manner of shoulder and back
injuries but they are often blamed for doing just the opposite if you are careless.
www.kaizenoutdoorfitness.com
Rubber-coated Dumbbells
A good alternative to kettlebells for
beginners or those client who are
not ready for kettlebells.
I found that having just three or four
smaller sizes is optimal. I like 4kg,
7kg and 10kg
Medicine Balls.
3kg or 4kg for beginners, 5kg or 6kg
for intermediates and 8kg to 10kg for
advanced.
Get the rubber-coated balls that you
can throw around and bounce off the
ground.
Boxing Pads and shields
Boxing is an awesome way to train
lactate and aerobic conditioning and
build muscular endurance. It also
adds fun and variety to your sessions
and everyone loves to punch and
kick, even though they might not
admit it.
It’s worth taking a short course or
certification to learn how to teach
and cue properly and safely. You
don’t need to be too technical. In fact it helps if you keep it really simple.
The Bootcamp Workout Ideas e-Manuals contain over 60 different boxing combos and drills to spice things
up if you run out of i
Click here to discover the risk-free way to run a group training
program that guarantees results
www.kaizenoutdoorfitness.com
Bootcamp Equipment DO’s and DON’Ts DO take a short course or certification in the equipment that you use. You get way more out of it when you learn how to use it properly.
DO design your workouts to make maximum use of minimal equipment
DO have mostly lighter weights. Group outdoor training is popular because it is fun, accessible and non-threatening. Most civilians fall into the beginner and intermediate categories – so cater for them first.
DON’T invest in a lot of equipment if you are just starting out. Grow your equipment inventory as you grow your business.
DON’T be tempted to make your own equipment. Its unsafe, unprofessional and unnecessary.
http://www.kaizenoutdoorfitness.com/fitness-bootcamp-equipment-dos-and-donts/
Click here to discover the risk-free way to run a group training
program that guarantees results
www.kaizenoutdoorfitness.com
Top Related