Traditional resistance training; the format most of us have used or know about involves performing exercises in a sets and reps format.

You perform a certain number of reps for each given exercise or you perform until fatigue

Rest for 30 seconds up to 5 minutes depending on your training goals.

Repeat for a specified number of sets, again based on your goals.

For fat loss and lean muscle  shorter rest periods (30-45 seconds) are recommended.

For strength and power, longer rest periods are prescribed.

Do you see the problem?
Straight sets are easy to follow especially if you are new to fitness, but they are an inefficient way to order your exercises. Picture this, you are training at your commercial gym, you pump out 10 reps on the Leg press, head to the water fountain, chat with a few buddies, catch a climpse of the cardio theatre, head back to the leg press and repeat. Most people, guys in particular take about 3-5 minutes between sets. That means that 3 sets of 10 on the Leg Press would take up to 15 minutes to complete. And you have only done one movement pattern (double leg push). You would need at least one hour to perform four different exercises!

Can we make it better?

Alternating Sets
The alternating set format is a more effective and time-efficient approach to ordering your exercises. You will perform one exercise, followed by a short rest and then perform another non-competing exercise with a short rest and so on and so forth. Alternating sets allows you to recover one area of your body while performing work on another area. This improves training economy and density: more work in less time, the cornerstone for any sound fat loss program. Below are different ways to perform alternating sets:

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

Though supersets and trisets are excellent alternating set options, I believe circuit training is by the far the best option. To demonstrate why, let’s examine my favorite circuit training template using timed set intervals:

The 50-10 Five Exercise Circuit: You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for all five exercises in the following 5-minute circuit:

Exercise#1- Squats

Exercise#2- Dips

Exercise#3- Single-Leg Hip Extensions

Exercise#4- Pull-ups

Exercise#5- Leg Raises

Perform this circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.

Wow, in the same 15 minutes that it took for 3 sets of leg press you have now gotten in 3 sets of 5 different exercises. That is a staggering total of 15 work sets! In addition, the intensity on each exercise is just as high as if you had performed the straight set format. You will have had a full 4 minutes to recover before returning to any selected exercise. (same as the straight set format described earlier)

To recap, Performing every exercise with maximal intensity, separated by short rest periods, creating a high volume of total work in the shortest amount of time is the key. The key to creating the optimal hormone enviroment for fat loss. Circuit training gives you the best of both worlds and therefore is unmatched for the ability to simultaneously maximize fat loss and lean muscle gain. Try the following template that I use with my boot camp members for some killer, yet simple fat loss, lean muscle building circuits:

Exercise#1- Double-Leg

Exercise#2- Push

Exercise#3- Single-Leg

Exercise#4- Pull

Exercise#5- Core

Here’s a workout video showing you a great circuit you can perform anywhere:

http://tinyurl.com/n8dufg

I’ll be sharing some more great circuit training workouts from my boot camps in the weeks to come

Become a HOT FOX

Lynnell Ible

http://www.hotfoxbootcamp.com