Posts Tagged ‘circuit training’

The Ultimate 12-Exercise Circuit

Monday, November 9th, 2009

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MMA Rockout Workout Template #5- The Dirty Dozen- 45-15 12-Exercise Circuit

Contrary to popular belief, the main goal of an effective fat burning workout is to burn sugar, not fat, during your workout. The more sugar you burn during your workouts, the more fat you will burn in the hours and days between your workouts. Think about it this way- if you lower your body’s sugar tank, it will be forced to make up this fuel deficit by looking for either dietary fat and/or stored body fat. And if you eat and train to generate the appropriate caloric deficit then you eat up any dietary fat in your system and immediately start to melt off that ugly, unwanted body fat.

Maximal muscle glycogen depletion (the sugar stores in your skeletal muscle) occurs in bouts of maximum effort lasting for 30-60 seconds. The 45-second work period is the perfect middle-ground to eat up as much of your muscle’s sugar stores as possible with just enough rest to allow you to be able to get ready to rock for the next exercise/station. Combining this high-intensity interval training (HIIT) protocol with an alternating set sequence that engages your whole body (upper body, lower body, core) will skyrocket total body fat burning. In this way you get the best of both worlds: maximum intensity during each work set due to a 1-5 minute recovery period before you repeat the same movement based on your exercise order plus maximal density (total work completed per unit of time).

This training program combined with a diet high in lean proteins, natural fats, and fibrous carbohydrates and low in refined sugars and starches leads to dramatic losses in body fat and gains in lean body mass all while taking your conditioning to the next level. Get ready to melt!

- You can perform this 12-exercise circuit in one or all of the following ways: (more…)

The Effect of Workout Music on Exercise and Performance

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Why the Right Music Means a Better Workout!

By BJ Gaddour, CSCS, YFS

www.WorkoutMuse.com

It was back in December of 2007 that I started to run into a real problem. My fitness bootcamp business was exploding and I found myself working with large groups of 15-20 plus people at each workout.

So what was the problem?

Well, like any sound group exercise program, each workout consisted of timed sets of various interval protocols that best allowed a wide variety of fitness levels to work at their own pace within the same workout. After all, 10 reps of squats can be completed by a well-conditioned athlete way faster than a sedentary, overweight, novice trainee. If you’re trying to run a professional program that starts and ends at the same time every time, interval training is the way to go for bootcamp-style workouts.

But interval training is a bit of a catch 22. Sure the program was running like a well-oiled machine, but I felt like I wasn’t able to provide as much client supervision since I was constantly having to look at the clock and be the human stopwatch announcing “go… halfway… stop.”

So, I knew I had to find a solution and I did so with the creation of interval workout music to automate my training program with the simple click of a button. I made a Craig’s List post to find a local sound designer to provide sonic support and the next day I met with Topher Farrell to discuss doing so. It was love at first sight and we created Workout Muse on the spot that very day and the rest is history.

Now, I don’t mean to make this just a promotional article for my company. But I felt it was beneficial to explain the evolution of my own program design and coaching systems. I must be honest- I am a much better coach today because the music tells my clients exactly what to do so I can do what I do best: coach, motivate, and supervise my clients.

But it’s more than just the extra supervision that drastically reduces the risk of injury from an intensive group exercise program (which is alone a huge improvement to any training program). It’s about the impact the right music can have on your workouts.

According to scientists at Dalhousie University in Canada, music not only motivates but it can make you stronger. These researchers recently discovered that people who listened to workout music during training showed significantly greater strength gains in 4 weeks time than those who wore noise-cancellation headphones. According to study author Jo M. Welch, Ph.D, the explanation for this increase in performance most likely lies in the music causing a reduction in perceived exertion during the workout thus allowing the trainee to work harder. Furthermore, she explained that the key was listening to the tunes that motivate you the most, whatever musical genre that may be. (more…)

Interval Workouts with ZERO Rest!

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

Traditionally interval training consists of alternating between bouts of maximum effort (know as the work period) and bouts of active recovery (known as the rest period).

However, some of my favorite interval workouts are ones that involve consecutive work sets with ZERO rest.

I call this CONTINUOUS (enter length of work set HERE) Circuit.

This is an advanced interval training protocol, and it accomplished several things:

1.) Maximizes work output in minimal time if you alternate between non-competitive exercises: upper body push and pull, double-leg or single-leg lower body, knee or hip-dominant, core, cardio, etc.

2.) Maximizes local muscular endurance and time under tension for competing exercises that work the similar movement patterns/areas of the body (e.g. alternating between different push-up variations)

3.) The best interval protocol is the one you have done for a while, if ever- mixing it up with continuous work sets will be a great stimulus to prevent or break through plateaus!

Check out an amazing abs workout using the continuous work set format below: (more…)

Burn Over 500 Calories in 20 Minutes!

Friday, September 25th, 2009

Burn Over 500 Calories in 20 Minutes… and Elevate Metabolism for up to 48 Hours Post-Workout

I recently read a new study from University of Southern Maine that used a more accurate method to estimate caloric burn from weight training than had been used previously.

These researchers pointed out that a weight training circuit burned 71% more calories than originally thought. In fact 8 minutes of weight training burned somewhere between 159 and 231 calories which breaks down to about 20-28 calories per minute!

What’s the best part… this wasn’t even a program designed for fat loss!

ENTER 30-30 MAYHEM POWERED BY WORKOUT MUSE BABY!

interval workout music

Below is a killer high-intensity interval training total body strength circuit that’s fat loss focused and it will have you burning 500 calories or more in ONLY 20 minutes: (more…)

Corporate Fitness Boot Camps Powered by Workout Muse

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

The Benefits of Workout Muse Interval Training Music for Corporate Fitness Boot Camps

We have a wide variety of corporate fitness bootcamp locations.  Some locations we train twice a week, some once a week, others only see us twice a month.

It’s really important for us to make sure that these folks get the most out of their workout, but even more importantly we want to ensure that they are performing the movements properly.  This is where Workout Muse is the ideal interval workout music for corporate fitness bootcamps.

With Workout Muse we’re focusing on watching form, correcting form, and more importantly not staring at a clock waiting to say the words start, stop, rest, halfway, etc.  We have constant interaction with our clients during their bootcamp session.

This video is one of more frequently visited corporate fitness bootcamps.  They completed 5 rounds of a 50 on / 10 off work to rest ratio from Boot Camp Dynamite Powered by Workout Muse.

Rounds 1 & 3 were lower body based: squats, jump squats, alternating reverse lunges, jumping lunges, and in & outs.

Rounds 2 & 4 were upper body based: presses, push presses, and push ups.

The last round was a mixture of burpees, flutter kicks, sit ups, mountain climbers, and they got to end with burpees again.

Such a simple workout for corporate fitness bootcamps, mostly body weight movements, one dumbbell, and the Best Bootcamp Workout Music powered by Workout Muse.

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Pamela MacElree holds a Bachelor of Science from The Pennsylvania State University and is currently completing a Masters of Science in Exercise Science, with a focus on Injury Prevention and Performance Enhancement from California University of Pennsylvania.  Pamela is co-owner of Urban Athlete, which operates a strength and conditioning studio and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Additionally, she is an independent contractor for one of North America’s largest pharmaceutical companies, supplying health and wellness education to its employees.  Recognizing the value in quality programs and their applications Pamela has also collaborated on developing and delivering the most comprehensive Kettlebell training certification for Fitness Professionals in the United States and Germany. Please visit www.UrbanAthlete.tv to see Pam in action!

PS- For more info about the best bootcamp music for group exercise, general fitness boot camps, or corporate fitness boot camps, please visit the link below:

Group Fitness and Exercise Music

Fitness Music for Group Exercise and Bootcamps

Interval Training Music for Total Body Circuit Training Workout

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Today I’ve got a great outdoor total body circuit training workout:

1- Suspended Fallouts

2- Suspended Rows

3- Suspended Single-Leg Squat Jumps (switch legs half-way)

4- Kettlebell 2-Handed Swings

5- Jump Squat + Free Band Chest Press Combo

The best interval training music for this would be:

For more Fat Loss/Conditioning/Endurance Emphasis: 50-10 Five Exercise Circuit available at www.bootcampdynamite.com.

For more of a Strength/Lean Muscle Gain Emphasis: 40-20 Five Exercise Circuit available at www.workoutmuse.com/grapplersgym

(more…)

The Rapid Fat Loss Bootcamp Workout of the Day!

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

The Bootcamp Workout of the Day

Rapid Fat Loss Resistance Training

I. Pre-Workout: Movement Prep- 5 Minutes

Dynamic Warm-up: 50-10 Five Exercise Warm-up Circuit

Exercise# Exercise Variation
1 Stationary High Knee Run
2 Jumping Jacks Variation
3 Stationary Lunge, Overhead Reach, and Twist- Left Leg Forward
4 Stationary Lunge, Overhead Reach, and Twist- Right Leg Forward
5 T-Pillar Stabilizations

II. Workout: Resistance Training- 20 Minutes

50-10 Interval Five Exercise Total Body Circuit
1 Double-Leg: Bilateral Knee-Dominant- 1.5 Squat Variation
2 Push: Vertical Push- DB Arnold Press
3 Single-Leg: Unilateral Hip-Dominant – Single-Leg Good Morning Variation
4 Pull: Vertical Pull- DB Hammer Curl
5 Core: Lateral/Rotational Stabilization or Hip-Dominant- Leg Raise Variation

III. Post-Workout: Corrective Stretching and Self Massage- 5 Minutes

Option A- Corrective Foam Rolling: Perform at least 5-10 rolls OR 30-60 s of rolling on each muscle group

Lower Body: Front/Inner/Outer Thighs, Outer Hips/Glutes (optional- Calves/Lower Legs, Tennis Ball Quad/Hip Flexor)
Upper Body: Upper Back/Thoracic Spine, Lats (optional- Tricep, Tennis Ball Chest)

Option B- Corrective Stretching: The Ultimate Stretch at 5 reps/leg

Option C- Corrective Stretching: Hold each high priority stretch for at least 30-60 s

Quad-Hip Flexor + Overhead Band Chest Stretch Combo @ 60 s/leg
Glute/Piriformis Stretch @ 60 s/leg
Calf-Hamstring Stretch @ 60 s/leg
Upper Trap/Internal Rotator Stretch @ 60 s/arm

Crank it!

BJ