Beach Boot Camp

I am just back from conducting my first beach boot camp session on the beautiful beach in Emerald Isle, NC. There were seven energetic participants moving through a series of exercises designed to develop strength and agility. Exercises required no or very little equipment (pails filled with sand provided extra resistance when needed), but were still challenging. It was a reminder that you do not need to belong to a gym or own a lot of expensive equipment in order to have an effective work out. Here is a partial list of the exercises we completed during the workout: agility ladder (drawn in the sand), squats, push-ups, curl ups, walking lunges, pail carry, plank walks, Russian twist, back row (with resistance bands), bench dips (using wooden benches near the beach entry), Russian twist, and single leg squat.

In addition, exercising in a group, large or small, can provide an element of fun and that extra motivation to keep going. Perhaps you are not fortunate enough to be able to do your workout on the beach, but you can do your workout virtually anywhere – the park, your living room, on the patio. Just get moving!