Circuit Training Workout For a Lean Body – The Hell With Old School Cardio
This is an advanced fat loss workout for those who want a lean and tone body…by Brad Campbell
Happy fat hater Friday everyone. Today I’m going to arm you with a deadly circuit training workout that you can use this weekend to declare war on your body fat. This is ‘new school’ cardio…and I say the hell with ‘old school’ cardio. Okay, maybe that’s a lil harsh – standard cardio does have it’s place in your fat loss workout plan…it’s just not near as effective as the accelerated methods I’m preaching about in these posts.
Standard, slow paced cardio workouts can be useful as an additional calorie burning tool that you can use to further the caloric deficit you’re creating through diet, strength training and these more intense interval based workouts. They can also be used to give your body, and especially your legs, a rest from the highly-demanding workouts you’ve been doing all week long. But that’s about it…
My ‘new school’ cardio, as I’ve been calling it, will make those 45 min jogs on the treadmill look like child’s play (speaking of which, that movie used to scare the shit outta me when I was little). And it will do so in about 1/4th of the time.
There’s really only one drawback to using this advanced fat burning cardio system – it sucks…bad…I mean it really requires you to dig deep and work hard, but only for a short amount of time. And I know you’ll suck it up and do it anyways, because of the lean body it’ll help you sculpt in less time…much less time.
We all know that HIIT cardio is the latest and greatest thing for fat burning…but this type of circuit training workout I’m about to share is kind of like HIIT on crack. This workout will hit all of your muscle fibers and put your strength and conditioning on blast.
There are several reasons this type of circuit training puts standard cardio and even traditional forms of HIIT cardio (such as jogging, walking for recovery and repeating) to shame:
–> Most cardio workouts, even many HIIT workouts, only work your lower body muscles…and even then, it’s not at an intense-enough level to reap the muscle building and fat burning effects of strength training.
–> If we can involve the upper body muscles, core muscles AND the lower body muscles —> this leads to a far greater number of muscle fibers that need to recover —> causing more calories to be burned post-workout to fuel the recovery process —> this also releases more fat burning enzymes, which means even more fat loss (can I get a Boo-Yah Jim Cramer?).
So what exactly is this crack-like, advanced HIIT, circuit training workout?
You’ll be performing 6 exercises for 1 minute each, with virtually no rest in between exercises (you’re allowed just enough time to transition to the next movement and that’s it).
We’ll be hitting muscles of the upper body, lower body and core, so we can cash-in on the benefits I just talked about.
One circuit should take you just over 6 minutes (it’ll take a few seconds to transition between each exercise) and if you don’t pass out or puke after one circuit, go ahead and rest just 1-minute and repeat another circuit.
Once you can do 3 circuits and you’re using the most advanced form of each movement, you’ve increased the intensity of each exercise and you’ve increased the weight of your dumbbells…you’ve graduated and are now a total lean body bad ass…just don’t forget to mention me when you start your new career as a fitness cover model.
Brad’s Advanced Circuit Training Workout:
–> Alternating lunges – can start with body weight only and progress to holding dumbbells
–> Upright dumbbell rows – start with lighter pair of dumbbells and try to increase the weight each time
–> Plank hold – forearms and toes only, with back perfectly straight and abs tight…if this gets easy, you can lift one leg for 30 secs each during the 1-minute hold
–> Squat jumps – explode up as high as possible, landing softly and going immediately into a deep squat (this will probably bring tears)
–> Dumbbell shoulder presses – start with light pair of dumbbells and press both together, using full range of motion, at the same time…aim to increase the weight when you repeat this workout
–> Hip thrusters – keeping back flat, jump both feet up and in, as you bring your knees up to your chest…if this is too difficult to do for the entire minute, you can step one foot at a time up and in (think slow mountain climbers)
*Remember, all exercises are done for 60 seconds (don’t stop early) and you need to transition immediately to the next exercise without resting…complete the entire circuit, rest only 1-minute and repeat 1 or 2 more times as your conditioning improves.
Give this advanced circuit training workout a shot this weekend and let me know what you think. Before I wrap this up, I’ve got another semi-dirty joke for you. I saw this on someone’s blog I was reading this morning and thought I would ‘borrow’ it to send you into the weekend with a smile on your face. Here goes:
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A kindergarten teacher is trying to explain to her class the definition of the word “definitely” to them. To make sure the students have a good understanding of the word, she asks them to use it in a sentence.
The first student raises his hand and says: “The sky is definitely blue.”
The teacher responds: “Well, that isn’t entirely true…because sometimes it’s gray and cloudy.”
Another student says: “Grass is definitely green.”
The teacher again replies: “If grass doesn’t get enough water it turns brown…so that isn’t really correct either.”
Another student raises his hand and asks the teacher: “Do farts have lumps?”
The teacher looked at him and said: “No…but that isn’t really a question you want to ask in class discussion.”
So the student replies: “Then I definitely just shit my pants!”
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Your Fat Loss Coach,
Brad Campbell
Posted by Brad Campbell | in Advanced Fat Loss, Fat Loss Workouts | 17 Comments
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by FatLossTrainer: New Blog Post: Advanced Circuit Training Workout: http://tinyurl.com/ykb24yd ( #workout #fitness #fatloss #weightloss #exercise )…
Brad- another great post! I’m going to do this circuit workout tomorrow and see if I can make it through 2 rounds. It does sound very hard, but it’s just what I need to get going! Love the pics and your joke
Kim
Thanks Kim…it will be challenging to say the least, but well worth it. Your stomach will feel tighter the next morning, I promise. Appreciate the feedback. Keep rockin’ it girl
Your Fat Loss Coach,
Brad Campbell
Brad, thank you for the workout. This one looks like it’s going to kick my butt! Going to burn some fat today for sure!
TC- like the attitude…enjoy the butt-kicking workout
Your Coach,
Brad Campbell
Good one. I tried it and was very winded. Way better than wasting time in the treadmill. Nice crack picture
Klint – that’s what I’m saying…quality over quantity any day. I love that pic haha.
Brad
PS – Got a lil behind yesterday, but should have some time today to give some feedback.
[...] Next, Jessica rocks a weight training circuit. She performs 3 sets of 20 repetitions using 3-lb dumbbells, for the following [...]
Hey Brad,
Did this workout on day 2 of the Advanced Total Body Workout. Not much to say other than aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!! that hurt! Ha haaa..I aint kidding ya but I was wrecked! Did the routine before I started work, thought I’d easily do 3 circuits but was badly mistaken.
I’ve recently started doing Tabata workouts but this was much, much harder! The dumbbells weighed a total of 30lbs but felt more like 50! My legs were done in and my form was gone by the end of the second circuit. Didn’t think it wise to carry on with a 3rd circuit with bad form..don’t want to end up injured!
This workout on it’s own should shed some fat…good workout man!!
Rob – good stuff man. I know the pain you’re going through. These workouts are short, but brutal. Lots of lactic acid and O2 debt that will lead to a boost in metabolism. Good choice not going for a 3rd circuit…no need to go past the point where you absolutely can’t maintain form. You’ll have to focus on making slight progress each week. Thanks for the updates…keep them coming.
Your Coach,
Brad Campbell
[...] into work early and did the Tuesday workout from http://www.topfatlosstrainer.com/2009/11/06/circuit-training-workout-for-a-lean-body-the-hell-with-o… The total weight of the dumbbells was 30lbs although it felt a lot more at the end of the second [...]
Hi Brad,
Second week following the Fat Loss routine…I have just decided that this routine is the most badassist (is that a word???) workout of them all!! I managed to do a 3rd circuit this time, but the rep count was so low for each exercise I don’t think it counts! The squat jumps nearly killed me..the hip thrusters did!
Felt better after finishing it this week compared to last week
Rob- still going strong my man, great to hear. I’ll take that title any day, lol. You’re improving…3 circuits is pretty impressive – still kills me every time. Squat jumps and hip thrusters never seem to get any easier, unfortunately. Keep going strong and you’ll see improvements week after week. Make sure that diet is dialed in as well so all your hard work isn’t diminished. Keep me updated on your progess.
Your Coach,
-b
[...] personally find this workout a killer http://www.topfatlosstrainer.com/2009/11/06/circuit-training-workout-for-a-lean-body-the-hell-with-o… I will have to post a video of myself doing this workout..you may find it rather amusing watching a [...]
[...] workout creases me more than any of the others! http://www.topfatlosstrainer.com/2009/11/06/circuit-training-workout-for-a-lean-body-the-hell-with-o… You don’t need to be pushing loads of weight with this one as it’s a cardio workout. [...]
[...] Tuesday –> Circuit cardio workout [...]
[...] When you finish your circuit training, perform 2 sets of 12 repetitions for the following plyometric exercises (taking only 30 seconds in [...]