Bootcamp Vs Pilates - Which One Wins?

Hey everyone,

Iam sitting here writing this after just participating in one of my Bootcamp workouts and am feeling awesome, so I just wanted to share something with you that has really been bugging me for quite some time now.

Last week I was training one of my private clients when the topic of Pilates came up during conversation.

To put you in the picture, my client has been with me for about 9 months during which time she has lost around 17 pounds, has improved on her muscle tone and shape and her fitness levels have gone through the roof.

She also attends one of my Bootcamp workouts a week aswell.

Along with this she also attends a pilates class with another local instructor.

So anyway, we were halfway through the workout and as she was resting in between sets my client turned to me (whilst getting her breath back of course!)and said: "The Pilates Instructor hates Bootcamp, and doesn't want anyone doing it."

At this point, I looked at her and said: "okay, and why's that?" with a puzzled look on my face.

"She said yesterday that it causes injury and it doesn't focus on core stability."

I was amazed when I heard this and couldn't believe that a fellow professional with well over 15 years experience in the fitness industry had made such an outrageous claim.

Here was my detailed answer to my client and this statement that I wanted to share with you.

Firstly,

You CANNOT compare the Two classes. Each class focuses on different components of fitness!

Depending on what style of class you go to, Pilates generally focuses on balance,flexibility core stability and motor skills.

The exact opposite to Bootcamp! No One said Bootcamp focuses on Core Stability!

There might be a small portion of the workout dedicated to core work and flexibilty but that's not the soul purpose of the session.

Bootcamp workouts focus on Fat Loss.

The aim of each Bootcamp session (or 'circuit training' to use another phrase)is to create Metabolic Disturbance (meaning how many calories you'll burn long after the workout finishes.The minute instructors start focusing on core stability and balance during a Bootcamp workout then it becomes a Pilates class.

So to compare the 2 classes in the first place is actually ridiculous because they both work on different components of fitness.

Secondly,

To say Bootcamp workouts cause injury is just plain dim!


I've been teaching Bootcamp style workouts for well over 10 years and I can genuinely say that this simply isn't true. Come to think of it, I can't think of one serious injury in my class during those 10 years.

I've always said (and still do)that attending some kind of Pilates or Yoga class will benefit you massively in the long run and will undoubtedley compliment your Bootcamp workouts nicely.

The key is to get a balance with your fitness.

If you like attending classes and like to work in a group then combining Bootcamp with Pilates or Yoga is the perfect match and should definitely be considered if you want a balanced fitness program.

and thirdly,

If we avoid Bootcamp Style Workouts completely, how else are we to burn calories?

If it was down to our "local instructor", she would have us all doing Pilates, which is great but what about metabolic disturbance, what about burning calories, what about working on our stamina, strength and endurance?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to disrepect Pilates and I'm certainly not suggesting that Bootcamp is the ONLY way to train, but what I am saying is that we simply can't compare the two classes.

One simply isn't better than the other!

The moral of the story?

Let's ditch the outrageous claims and stop the "Bootcamp Bashing" because without Bootcamp, you may NEVER burn bodyfat.

There's a thought!

Okay, my rant is over and I hope I've made my point.

I'd love to hear what you have to say on this subject. Do I make a good point or am I way off line?


>>> Write your thoughts in the comment section below <<<

Do This (Burn More Bodyfat!)

I get alot of emails asking me about Metabolic Typing so I thought I'd make a quick video on how you can find out more about it.

Take a look at this video. It will tell you exactly what you need to do to find out what YOUR Metabolic Type is so that you can enhance your fat loss results even further.

(I look half asleep in this video! I did some interval training and time trails on the exercise bike before this and they kinda wore me out!)




Here's that link again to find out what your metabolic type is.

Yes, I want to find out what my metabolic type is.

Go go fill it out and I'll email you back your results.

Have an awesome week,

Sam

PS - Here's the link for the the Metabolic Typing book I refer to in the video : )

Disneyworld Hotel Room Workout

It's been a week since I've come back from Disneyworld Orlando and I've finally caught up with everything since I went away (and for those of you that asked, No I couldn't get Mickey's autograph!)

Travelling on my own has kind of given me the bug to do it more often. I had plenty of time to reflect on things and although I may not explore Disneyworld on my own again, I am without a doubt going to plan a solo adventure vacation for next year.

Anyway,that's not the reason why I'm writing to you because today I wanted to share with you my Disneyworld Hotel Room Workout that I did whilst I was away.

Here's the history behind this video = >

I'd decided before I went to Orlando that I would get a few workouts in when I was there so when I checked out the hotel gym I was real disappointed with it. It was small, not much in the way of equipment and there seemed to be a funny smell coming from it so I decided to do a workout in my room instead.

It worked out fine. It didn't require much space and provided I put my "do not disturb" sign on my door then it wasn't a problem (the cleaners were quite persistant at the Hilton!)


So following on from my hotel room workouts in Orlando I've decided to switch my training up completely and do bodyweight workouts only for the next month without having to rely on gym machines or dumbells.

I've also figured of late that I've been hitting the weights quite hard so I want to try a different training stimulus for the next 4 weeks and shock my system.

Here's my Disneyworld Hotel Room Workout:
(I kept forgetting my script in this video!)



Here's how it looks on paper:

***

Circuit 1

Push Ups into 2 x Mountain Climbers
Single Leg Bridging
Inchworms
Prisoner Lunge (walking or static depending on how much room you have)
Grasshoppers

Circuit 2

Plank touching Shoulders
Crab Walking
Y Squat
Squat-Crawl (include push up to make it harder)
Burpees

Bodyweight Tabata Intervals

20 seconds of High Knee Lifts
10 seconds recovery
20 seconds Jump Squats
10 seconds recovery

For 4 minutes

***

And that's my Disneyworld Hotel Room Workout!

>> Try it out and let me know how you get on in the comments section below <<

Peace out,

Sam Winkworth
CPT, SPN

PS - If you're looking for more bodyweight workouts like this then you'll love Craig Ballantyne's Bodyweight Workout Manual. It's a 4 week workout that will help you burn body fat and help you transform your bodyshape whether you're a beginner, intermediate or advanced. Go burn some bodyfat NOW!