The Holiday Season is here, that means less time to work out and more unhealthy, fat filled goodies in our faces! We already know that the average American packs on 15-20 lbs. of unwanted, ugly body fat during the time between Halloween and New Years. So, what are we going to do about it? Introducing the Next Level Holiday Survival System, these tips and suggestions will help you fight that holiday weight gain that we all dread.
Step #1 of the Next Level Holiday Survival System is to get your workouts in! I don't care if you can only get in 1 workout a week, that single workout will help maintain lean muscle mass. Maintaining your lean muscle will keep your bodies burning fat, therefore when you do consume excess calories the damage will not be as extensive. The most effective workouts for fat loss and lean muscle gain are filled with total body exercises. Make sure you are on the look out for the free videos that I put up weekly, they are easy to follow, effective, FREE workouts that I use with my clients.
Step #2 Find a workout buddy! Remember you can perform super effective training programs in the privacy of your own home. Find a friend who will push you! If you have the extra time during the holidays, dedicate 20-30 minutes to intense exercise, 3-4 x a week. Social Support is very important when it comes to sticking with a training program, so find a workout buddy or buddies that you are scheduled to meet with at least 3 times a week. Hold each other accountable for making all meetings, keep a food log that you all must show each other once a week.
Step #3 Do NOT get caught up in the GYM. If you do not feel comfortable working out around a bunch of steroid abusing meat heads, then don't feel obligated to sign up for a gym membership. About 85% of gym memberships go unused for this reason! You do not need "machines" to get in shape. Learn how to move your body and not machines by exploring high intensity interval training. Click the link for this video to see the Thanksgiving workout Tabata Protocol, a workout that I use with my boot camp clients to incinerate body fat! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r8hBNBY_Cg
Make sure you do something to avoid that Holiday weight gain! Be on the look out for steps 4-6 coming your way very soon. Don't be on of the millions who pack on the holiday pounds, Follow the Next Level Holiday Survival System!
Yours In Fitness,
Steve Krebs
Showing posts with label total body workout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label total body workout. Show all posts
Monday, December 1, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
How To Build the Ultimate Next Level Circuit Training Workout For Fat Loss
In the past, the cornerstone of most resistance training workouts has been performing exercises in a straight set format, A.K.A- Body Building. Basically, this means you perform a certain number of reps for a given exercise or you perform as many reps as possible for a given exercise and then you rest anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes based on your training goals before repeating this set a certain number of times based on your goals. This form of training is based solely on body building. For more of a fat loss and lean muscle gain emphasis shorter rest periods are ideal. For more of a strength or power emphasis, longer rest periods are prescribed.
So, what’s the problem with this format? Well, though straight sets are extremely easy to comprehend for people new to fitness, they are also an extremely inefficient way to order your exercises. In most gyms you’ll typically see someone perform three sets of 8-10 reps for let’s say the Bicep Curls. They perform 10 reps, go to the water fountain, talk with some buddies, watch a couple of highlights on ESPN, and then walk back to the curl bar to hit up their second set. In general, most people, guys in particular, tend to take about 3-5 minutes between sets. In the case of three sets of 8-10 on Bicep Curls that means it would take up to 15 minutes to complete only one movement pattern. That means you’d need at least in hour to perform four different exercises!
A much more effective and time-efficient approach to ordering your exercises is utilizing the alternating set format. Here you’ll perform one exercise, rest for a short period of time, then perform another non-competing exercise, rest for a short period of time, and so forth. Alternating sets allow you to work different areas of your body when you would otherwise be resting with the straight set format. Plus, by working another area of your body with a non-competing exercise you allow your body to recover from the previous exercise(s). The result is improved training economy and density: more work accomplished in less time, the cornerstone of any sound fat loss program. There are several ways to perform alternating sets outlined below:
Supersets: Alternate between two different non-competing exercises (e.g. upper body and lower body such as push-ups and lunges)
Trisets: Alternate between three different exercises (e.g. push, pull, and lower body such as push-ups, rows, and lunges)
Circuits: Alternate between four or more different exercises (MOST EFFECTIVE FOR FAT LOSS)
Though supersets and trisets are excellent alternating set options, I believe circuit training is by the far the best option time and time again. To demonstrate why, let’s examine my favorite circuit training template using timed set intervals:
The 30-10 Five Exercise Circuit: You will alternate between 30 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for all five exercises in the following 5-minute circuit:
Exercise#1- Squats
Exercise#2- Push-Ups
Exercise#3- Mountain Climbers
Exercise#4- KB Swings
Exercise#5- Low Abs
Perform this circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.
Basically, in the same 15 minutes that it took to get in three sets on the bench you could have gotten in three sets of five different exercise for a staggering total of 15 work sets! Plus, the intensity on each exercise will be just as high as in the straight set format because in this five exercise circuit you will have full recovery with over four minutes before you return to any given exercise (just as you did with the straight set format described earlier).
To recap, the key to creating the optimal hormonal environment for fat loss is to perform each exercise with maximal intensity while separated by brief rest periods in order to accumulate a high volume of total body work in the shortest amount of time possible. Circuit training provides for the best of both worlds and is thus simply unmatched for simultaneously maximizing fat loss and lean muscle gain. Use the following template I use with my many boot camp clients for some killer, yet simple fat loss circuits:
Exercise#1- MB Squat 2 Press
Exercise#2- Push Up
Exercise#3- Frankenstein Squat
Exercise#4- MB/KB Row
Exercise#5- KB Swing
Here’s a workout video showing you a great circuit you can perform anywhere:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAqVho-d0D0
I’ll be sharing some more great circuit training workouts from my boot camps in the weeks to come!
Next Level Beach Body Boot Camp
www.nextlevelbeachbodybootcamp.com
Yours In Fitness,
Steve Krebs
So, what’s the problem with this format? Well, though straight sets are extremely easy to comprehend for people new to fitness, they are also an extremely inefficient way to order your exercises. In most gyms you’ll typically see someone perform three sets of 8-10 reps for let’s say the Bicep Curls. They perform 10 reps, go to the water fountain, talk with some buddies, watch a couple of highlights on ESPN, and then walk back to the curl bar to hit up their second set. In general, most people, guys in particular, tend to take about 3-5 minutes between sets. In the case of three sets of 8-10 on Bicep Curls that means it would take up to 15 minutes to complete only one movement pattern. That means you’d need at least in hour to perform four different exercises!
A much more effective and time-efficient approach to ordering your exercises is utilizing the alternating set format. Here you’ll perform one exercise, rest for a short period of time, then perform another non-competing exercise, rest for a short period of time, and so forth. Alternating sets allow you to work different areas of your body when you would otherwise be resting with the straight set format. Plus, by working another area of your body with a non-competing exercise you allow your body to recover from the previous exercise(s). The result is improved training economy and density: more work accomplished in less time, the cornerstone of any sound fat loss program. There are several ways to perform alternating sets outlined below:
Supersets: Alternate between two different non-competing exercises (e.g. upper body and lower body such as push-ups and lunges)
Trisets: Alternate between three different exercises (e.g. push, pull, and lower body such as push-ups, rows, and lunges)
Circuits: Alternate between four or more different exercises (MOST EFFECTIVE FOR FAT LOSS)
Though supersets and trisets are excellent alternating set options, I believe circuit training is by the far the best option time and time again. To demonstrate why, let’s examine my favorite circuit training template using timed set intervals:
The 30-10 Five Exercise Circuit: You will alternate between 30 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for all five exercises in the following 5-minute circuit:
Exercise#1- Squats
Exercise#2- Push-Ups
Exercise#3- Mountain Climbers
Exercise#4- KB Swings
Exercise#5- Low Abs
Perform this circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.
Basically, in the same 15 minutes that it took to get in three sets on the bench you could have gotten in three sets of five different exercise for a staggering total of 15 work sets! Plus, the intensity on each exercise will be just as high as in the straight set format because in this five exercise circuit you will have full recovery with over four minutes before you return to any given exercise (just as you did with the straight set format described earlier).
To recap, the key to creating the optimal hormonal environment for fat loss is to perform each exercise with maximal intensity while separated by brief rest periods in order to accumulate a high volume of total body work in the shortest amount of time possible. Circuit training provides for the best of both worlds and is thus simply unmatched for simultaneously maximizing fat loss and lean muscle gain. Use the following template I use with my many boot camp clients for some killer, yet simple fat loss circuits:
Exercise#1- MB Squat 2 Press
Exercise#2- Push Up
Exercise#3- Frankenstein Squat
Exercise#4- MB/KB Row
Exercise#5- KB Swing
Here’s a workout video showing you a great circuit you can perform anywhere:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAqVho-d0D0
I’ll be sharing some more great circuit training workouts from my boot camps in the weeks to come!
Next Level Beach Body Boot Camp
www.nextlevelbeachbodybootcamp.com
Yours In Fitness,
Steve Krebs
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
