URX-MT: Boot Camp Metabolic Interval

Boot Camp Metabolic Interval is workout #4 in the URX-MT fitness program. It is led by trainer Amy Bento. Amy Bento has always been a mixed bag for me. I really like some of her workouts and others, not so much. This one falls in the not so much category. There are two main reasons. First, Amy moved so fast. I could not keep up the pace of some the moves. This feeds into the other reason. The entire point of the rebounder, as I noted in Workout #1: Metabolic Intervals and Circuits, is that it is supposed be easy on the joints–jumping on the rebounder is low impact compared to jumping on the floor. Well, Amy has you jumping on the floor even more than Gregg Cook did in Workout #1! It was ridiculous. Amy even comments once while you are actually jumping on the rebounder that its great for your joints but then she has you jumping on and off the rebounder and jumping on the floor. And she does these transitions fast, too. Not only was I lagging behind her pace but after jumping on the rebounder it feels like you are crashing onto the floor–there is a huge, obvious difference in the impact level.

On to the actual workout. It is done bootcamp style, as the title indicates. Many of the exercises are done for 2 solid minutes. You do get 20-30 second recoveries. Just previewing this workout scared me. It looked incredibly intense and exhausting. In fact, during cycle 4 one of the background exercisers clearly gassed out and was doing some personal modifications in an attempt to keep up the pace with the other women. As I watched, all I could think was–that will be me. And it was. It was an incredibly intense and advanced workout. I worked very hard and I did get a solid workout but I did not enjoy it at all. Rebounding is usually fun for me. This was not fun.

Here is a little background on this series. URX-MT stands for Urban Rebounding Extreme Metabolic Training. I bought the entire series as a program. The program is made up of 13 workouts but you can buy each workout individually on the Urban Rebounder site, so that is how I will be reviewing them. The program apparently originally came with more than just the rebounder and the workouts. It also came with sandbag hand weights that you can no longer purchase. I think all of the workouts in the program use the sandbags. They range from 1-3 pounds. I did not purchase an Urban Rebounder. My rebounder is a different brand. I also did not buy the DVD program from the Urban Rebounder website. I found it much cheaper on Ebay.

Boot Camp Metabolic Interval is 51:30 minutes; 4:30 minute warm up and 1:30 minute stretch. Equipment: rebounder and sandbag weights. Amy and crew are using the 2 pound sandbags. I own 1 pound sandbag hand weights that I used for some of the exercises and for others I just grabbed 3 pound dumbbells.

Cycle 1:

1. Start on the rebounder, jump off rebounder onto floor beside rebounder then jump back on, jump off rebounder onto floor on to the other side of the rebounder then jump back onto rebounder
2. Alternating knee raises with a hop, pushing arms overhead; changes to hopping insole taps
3. Repeat #1 & 2 three more times
4. (grab sandbag weights) Standing on floor behind rebounder, holding sandbag weights under chin, do a wide sumo squat and hold at bottom of squat, punch one arm overhead then the other arm then stand
5. Stand beside rebounder with back to rebounder, get into lunge with back leg elevated on rebounder behind you, single leg squat and while in squat, raise both arms/sandbag weights straight in front of you, lower arms then jump to straighten
6. (set sandbag weights aside) 4 plyo push ups with hands on rebounder and feet on floor + 8 mountain climbers
7. Hold plank (hands on rebounder and feet on floor) and jump straight legs side to side

Cycle 2:

1. (grab sandbag weights) Start on top of rebounder, jump backward off of rebounder and land on floor behind rebounder with legs wide (circle arms from back to front while jumping), jump back onto rebounder and jump side to side 4x on rebounder
2. Front kick runs while holding sandbags overhead
3. Repeat #1 & 2
4. Start standing on floor behind rebounder, lower into wide sumo squat and hold, do 3 bicep curls, step on top of rebounder and balance on one leg, do 3 bicep curls, do an uneven squat (one foot on rebounder and one on the floor) and do 3 bicep curls, balance on one leg on rebounder again and do 3 bicep curls, get into uneven squat again but this time hop squat forward in a circle while doing bicep curls (one foot remains on rebounder and one on the floor), repeat this pattern 3 more times
5. (set sandbags aside) 4 tricep dips with feet on floor and hands behind you on edge of rebounder, then walk hands 4 steps around to other side of rebounder and repeat
6. Straight arm side plank with hand on top of rebounder and feet on floor, bottom leg is straight, top leg is bent with insole of foot against bottom leg’s calf, raise and lower top knee 8x then stand, walk around to other side of rebounder and repeat on other side of body

Cycle 3:

1. Single leg burpee (stand with rebounder behind you, one leg elevated on rebounder behind you, lower hands to floor, lift other leg to tap rebounder beside other leg, bring that leg back to floor, return to standing with a hop (back leg never leaves the rebounder–so the hop is on one foot)
2. (grab sandbags) On rebounder, with legs close together, jump side to side 4x while holding sandbags against each other and pulling them down from overhead to one hip while hopping then hinge forward with legs shoulder width apart, lift straight arms/sandbags behind you 4x
3. Single leg deadlift with one foot elevated on rebounder behind you, while hinged forward lift arms/sandbags straight in front of you then rotate straight arms around to sides of body
4. (set sandbags aside) Start in straight arm plank with hands on rebounder and feet on floor, lower to elbow plank one arm at a time then jump hands back to straight arm plank
5. Spiderman (wide leg) mountain climbers with hands on rebounder and feet on floor
6. High knee run on rebounder
7. Repeat #4-6 four more times

Cycle 4:

1. Start on floor beside the rebounder, facing the rebounder, jump onto rebounder then continue jumping forward off the rebounder to the floor on the other side, lower hands to floor and jump feet back so they are on top of rebounder, jump feet back to floor beside hands, stand and do a 180 jump then jump back on top of rebounder, while on top of rebounder, hop 4x then step off the rebounder so you are on the floor back where you started
2. (grab sandbags) Start standing on rebounder, do a side lunge off rebounder (one foot on floor) + curtsy lunge tapping edge of rebounder behind you, do a tricep kickback with each lunge
3. Get into a tripod plank with one hand on rebounder and other hand holding sandbags, do 3 bicep curls in this position while also lifting opposite leg off floor and pulsing it then place hand holding sandbag on floor and lower foot to floor while lifting hand off rebounder for a tiny (tiny) break and keep repeating
4. Sit on rebounder, feet on floor, hold sandbags together in both hands, swing sandbags side to side 4x then halo sandbags around head
5. Deck squats (stand with rebounder behind you, squat until you are sitting on rebounder then roll back, bringing knees to chest while also pivoting body a quarter turn to side, roll back up to standing, continue repeating this move, circling your rebounder with deck squats)
6. (grab sandbags) Place one foot on rebounder, do knee pull (using floor leg) then extend leg behind you (balance move), do another knee pull then lower foot back to ground (every time you do a knee pull you are also doing a woodchop, holding sandbags together in both hands)
7. (set sandbags aside) Get into pike position with hands on floor and feet on rebounder, kick both legs up with one leading (like you are kicking up into a handstand)