Summer Shape Up: 30-Minute Circuit Training Workout Program

With summer just around the corner I thought I’d ask my good friend and fitness expert Marissa Lysaght, co-owner of Fitness Redefined, to create an intense circuit training workout combining cardio bursts with resistance training. I can assure you this type of training is the fastest and most time-efficient way to blast fat, boost your metabolism and get a full-body workout…in the shortest time possible. One of the best things about this workout is that you don’t need a gym or any fancy equipment (a stop watch and pair of 5 or 8 pound dumbbells is all you need.)

But, when I say the workout is intense, I’m not kidding. This is not the sort of workout you can not do while chatting with a friend or zoning out watching your favorite TV show. After doing just one 6-minute circuit I was so out of breath I could barely talk (which was most embarrassing considering Marissa is 5 1/2 months pregnant and was breezing through the workout while describing how to do the exercises.)

How the Workout Works

In a nutshell, this workout will elevate your metabolism and help you lose excess body fat. The short and intense cardio bursts in this 30-minute workout program are one of the most effective ways to boost the “after-burn”, or the number of calories you burn after your workout is over. So, with this workout, you won’t just be burning calories during the time you spend exercising, you’ll be burning calories for up to 48 hours after your workout.

In addition to the cardio bursts conditioning and strengthening your heart and helping boost post-workout calorie burn, they also target fast-twitch muscles. Exercises that use fast twitch muscle fiber burn significantly more calories and more fat than exercises that recruit slow twitch muscle fiber (such as jogging, biking, swimming, etc.) This means any exercise program that recruits fast twitch muscle fibers (such as this one!) will accelerate your fat-burning and weight loss efforts.

Contrary to popular belief, going for a slow and steady jog, run or power walk is not nearly as effective for fat-burning as the short and intense method. Even if you don’t have excess fat to lose, training fast twitch muscle fibers is still a great way to enhance sports performance, improve coordination and achieve a shapely “tight” look. And of course the resistance training moves incorporated throughout the workout will also tighten and tone your body from head to toe. But again, it’s not easy! Even though I know the science, I rarely push myself the way I did in this workout.

Summer Shape Up: 30-Minute Circuit Training Workout Program

Equipment:

• Stop watch
• Light dumbbells, 5 to 8 pounds for women, 8 to 12 pounds for men

The Workout:

**Repeat the circuit 4 times through.

**Start circuit with RIGHT side (doing the lunges, standing balance exercise and oblique planks on the right). Switch to the LEFT side for the 2^nd circuit. Repeat.

Warm-up:

• Wood choppers: 10 reps
• Side twists: 20 reps
• Diagonal wood choppers: 10 reps Left/ 10 reps Right

Circuit:

• Lunge Toe Taps: 30 seconds
• 15 second REST
• Cardio Blast: Side to Side Skater Steps (Beginner) or Jumps (Advanced): 30 seconds
• 15 second REST
• Push-ups with Alternating Knee Tucks: 30 seconds
• 15 second REST
• Cardio Blast: Side to Side Skater Steps (Beginner) or Jumps (Advanced): 30 seconds
• 15 second REST
• Single Leg Balancing Rows: 8 pounds / 30 seconds
• 15 second REST
• Cardio Blast: Side to Side Skater Steps (Beginner) or Jumps (Advanced): 30 seconds
• 15 second REST
• Oblique 15 second REST
• Planks with Inward Rolls: 30 seconds
• Cardio Blast: Squat Jacks: 30 seconds

Many thanks again to Marissa (xooxo). If watching Marissa do this workout at 5 1/2 pregnant doesn’t inspire you to get moving then I don’t know what will!