Workout – Weight Loss
While feeling good in your body is clearly now a priority for many, weight loss remains a top New Year’s resolution in the U.S., and possibly the most frequently broken commitment. The formula is pretty simple—more calories burned than consumed—but the mechanisms are sophisticated. You need to burn stored fat, not carbs, and you need to sustain that burn even after your workout in order to see a difference.
The circuit in this workout combines body-weight movements that lie at the more challenging end of the spectrum with resistance training. The circuit format—back-to-back movement without rests in between moves—provides the intensity required to trigger your body to use more oxygen and burn more calories in the process of recovery. If your physiological and mental disruptors are low, you can reduce rest time between each circuit to increase that oxygen consumption. But if you’re under more physical or psychological stress, allow more time for recovery to balance the process and ensure you get the benefit this workout was designed to deliver.
Warm-Up
Workout
- Perform 15 reps of each movement before moving on to the next.
- Do the movements in sequence to complete one circuit; perform two or three circuits.
- Choose a medium weight.
Narrow to Wide Jump Squat
- Begin standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms by your sides.
- Swing your arms back as you squat down, then swing them forward to jump your feet in, landing in a squat.
- Jump your feet back out and land in a squat. Repeat, alternating narrow to wide squats.
Forward Lunge to Overhead Press
- Begin standing with your feet under your hips, holding dumbbells at shoulder height.
- Step your right foot forward into a lunge. At the bottom of the lunge, press the dumbbells overhead. Lower the dumbbells and press out of your right foot to return to stand.
- Repeat on the other leg. Continue, alternating legs. Both sides count as one rep.
- Modify it: If your disruptors are high, keep the dumbbells at shoulder height and don’t press them overhead. This modification sustains calorie burn but reduces neural fatigue.
Lateral Lunge Low to High Chop With Band
- Begin standing with your feet under your hips, a band under your right foot and holding the band in both hands.
- Step your left foot out laterally and sit back on your left hip into a side lunge. At the bottom of the lunge, chop the band up over your left shoulder.
- Chop the band back down and return to stand. Repeat 15 times to one side, then switch legs.
Lateral Crawl Push-Up
- Begin in an extended plank pose, with your feet hip-width apart, your toes on the ground and your hands under your shoulders.
- Perform a push-up, then walk your hands and feet laterally for one step, and perform another push-up. Walk back to start and perform a push-up.
- Continue alternating between push-ups and lateral walks, keeping your spine long from head to heels.
- Modify it: Skip the lateral crawl if your disruptors are high. You’ll reduce neural fatigue but still burn calories.
Cool-Down
Photo credit: Studio Firma, Stocksy
GIFs: Mark Kuroda, kurodastudios.com
Model: Benedict “Ben” Meneses, 24 Hour Fitness