Build Upper-body Strength with This Burn Boot Camp Workout

Devan and Morgan Kline recently marked Burn Boot Camp’s 10th anniversary. With around 400 franchises in the United States, the couple wanted to celebrate by providing the Muscle & Fitness family with an exclusive online upper body strength workout. “We’re just gonna give you a little sample of our bootcamp heaven!” says Devan.

The Burn Bootcamp concept was formed with busy families in mind, allowing individuals or couples to take part in challenging 45-minute bootcamp style training sessions. And, with free child care on offer during your visit, there are no more excuses for failing to maintain your fitness levels. “We’ve had ‘child watch’ since day one and it’s always been a part of our membership,” says Devan. “As our brand began to grow, members started to tell us how much they wanted their spouses to come and workout with them. So, our locations offer a family friendly environment where moms and dads can bring their children and workout together.”

It’s a model that works for members all over the country, and many of them undertake a session each and every day. But this upper body strength workout is designed to bring results, often focusing on lifting to your limit and reaching hypotrophy in order to increase strength and muscle growth.

“Our camps are intense,” says Devan. “Not only is 45 minutes convenient, but it’s all you need. As trainers ourselves, we teach our training teams that ‘results are our resume’. We are serious about our transformations, and it all starts with the workout. They’re designed by our Master Trainer, Matt Morris. We roll the workouts out to our system in advance, via an app and our Lead Trainers are then responsible for executing the workout each day in our locations. We aim for sessions to be engaging, fun, communal, never the same, and relatively challenging to the individual fitness levels of our members!”

To get stuck into a Burn Boot Camp workout yourself, start with this upper body strength circuit filmed and demonstrated in Lake Norman, NC. As you will see in the video, and the details below, there are ways to modify each exercise to make it easier or more advanced, and if you really want to mix things up, you can add some “Round Intermissions” into the mix.

Burn Boot Camp’s Upper Body Workout For Strength

Burn Boot Camp’s Upper-Body Dynamic Warmup

• 30 seconds: Wing taps (Modification: To simplify: move one arm at a time.)
• 30 seconds: Pressup: (Laying facedown on floor, extend your arms, then move hands to pressup position. Press up, down, then repeat.)
  • (Modification: To simplify, use knees for pressups. To make more advanced, try performing 2 press ups each time)
• 30 seconds: Single dumbbell two-arm biceps. (Modifications:  Adjust dumbbell weight as needed.)

Burn Boot Camp’s Upper-Body Strength Workout (5 exercise circuit for 4 rounds, 60 sec. each):

• Horizontal chest press: Press with one arm, then the other, then both at the same time. (Modification to make simpler or advanced: alter the dumbbell weight)
• Tate press: With dumbbells over the chest and arms extended, lower the dumbbells with your thumbs facing down towards the center of your chest. Then return, focusing on your triceps. (Modification to make simpler or advanced: alter the dumbbell weight)
• Resistance band curl: Curl in a slow and controlled motion each rep. (Modification: Choose a lighter or stronger resistance band)
• Dumbbell front raise: Lift left arm, then right, then both arms at the same time. (Modification: Adjust dumbbell weight when needed.)
• Dumbbell hammer curl: Raise left, right, and then both arms at the same time. (Modification: Adjust dumbbell weight when needed.)

Round intermissions: Challenge yourself further with 30-second intermission sets of bent over rows or seated triceps dips between any of the rounds above.

Burn Boot Camp’s Upper Body Finisher (2 exercises for 3 rounds, 30 seconds each):

• Skull crushers: (Modification to make simpler or advanced: alter the dumbbell weight)
• Alternating dumbbell press:(Modification to make simpler or advanced: alter the dumbbell weight)