BUT for the quickest and best fat loss results possible?
Both diet AND exercise must work together.
You don’t get that lean strong look WITHOUT dialing in your training.
As I like to say, abs aren’t made in the kitchen…they’re REVEALED in the kitchen.
And that is why pairing a healthy diet with a proper workout routine is key.
(If you need help with the diet side of things, CLICK HERE…otherwise let’s have some workout fun!)
The 30/10 Bodyweight Fat Torcher
Set a timer for 30 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest to transition to the next exercise in the circuit. Do not rest during the 30 seconds of work. It is better to modify the move so that you can keep moving!
Complete 4-6 rounds through the circuit. If needed, you may add in an extra 40-90 seconds of rest between rounds. Otherwise only rest the 10 seconds between moves!
CIRCUIT: 30 seconds Skier Hop Burpee 10 seconds Rest 30 seconds Double Pulse Squat Jumps 10 seconds Rest 30 seconds Half Burpee with Push Up 10 seconds Rest 30 seconds Squat Jump Bulldogs 10 seconds Rest 30 seconds Crawl with Sit Thru 10 seconds Rest
Remember, the key is to keep moving the entire 30 seconds while performing QUALITY reps. If you feel your form faltering or you have to rest, try regressing the movements.
Now…Let the sweat fly with this fun 30/10 workout!
MODIFICATION SUGGESTIONS:
If you are struggling with a move, these quick tips will help. I have a whole section on modifying moves to fit your needs in the Cardio Burner program too!
Skier Hop Burpee: To modify, step back on the burpee instead of jumping or even put your hands on a bench instead of going all the way down to the ground.
Double Pulse Squat Jumps: Take out the jump and just do a squat to calf raise instead of leaving the ground. You can even squat to a bench if you need to protect your knees.
Half Burpee with Push Up: Take out the push up or go down to your knees to do the push up. You can even do this off a bench instead of off the ground.
Squat Jump Bulldogs: Instead of doing the jump knee tuck, do a basic bodyweight squat. You can also also walk back instead of a single push back from the squat position.
Crawl with Sit Thru: To modify, keep both hands on the ground for the sit thru and even keep more of a plank position. You can also do the crawl on your knees if needed.
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Grab a booty band and get those glutes, and even your abs, firing with this activation series!
Really focus on what you feel working as you go through this 5-minute burner.
Because this burner isn’t about adding more resistance or heavy weights – it’s about creating that pump or “burn.”
You want to use it to improve your mind-body connection before your run, ride or lift so you can quickly and efficiently recruit the right muscles to work when you need!
Because if we aren’t recruiting the correct muscles, we can end up compensating and overloading muscles not meant to carry the full load. And this is what leads to injury.
So if you want to prevent low back, hip, knee and even ankle pain, include a quick glute activation series before your workout!
Just remember…don’t just rush through the movements! Feel those glutes and abs working and focus on feeling that BURN!
The 5-Minute Booty Band Activation Series
Complete 2 rounds through the series, working for 30 seconds on each move. Do not rest between moves or rounds.
SERIES: 30 seconds Booty Band Wall Sit 30 seconds Booty Band Skater Walks Forward/Backward 30 seconds Glute Bridges 30 seconds Plank Lateral Taps 30 seconds Abduction Toe Touches
And it’s because interval workout designs are not only a great way to get your blood pumping, but also improve your conditioning and even build strength!
Plus they are very EFFICIENT workouts that allow you to pack in more to less time.
So if you’ve got a busy schedule? Interval workouts are a great way to go!
Plus, the results you get from your interval workouts can dramatically differ depending on the interval set up you use and the moves you include.
This means you can adjust not only the time you work, but also the time you rest to get exactly the results you want from your workouts!
(And you can adjust the intervals to fit your current fitness level and progress as you get stronger!)
Below are 3 of my favorite interval workout designs and how you can use them to get the lean, strong body you’ve always wanted!
3 Killer Interval Workout Designs:
The 20/20/20 Set Up:
I love this interval set up because it is so versatile and has seriously killer fat burning benefits because you end up working hard for 40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of rest!
It also has shorter intervals of work which, no matter what variation of the set up you do, allow you to really be more explosive when you work!
With this interval set up, you’ll work for two intervals of 20 seconds and rest for 20 seconds between each round.
This workout can use two types of rest (both full and active), depending on the moves you select.
For instance…You’ll get active rest by alternating the areas that work in the back to back intervals before fully resting between rounds. This can be great way to improve your recover times and even lactic acid tolerance.
By working two different areas or muscle groups back to back, one gets to rest while the other works so you can pack in more work to a shorter time, BUT also get more rest to be able to go harder each work interval.
It can almost make the workout feel more like a 1:2 ratio of work to rest, especially if you also cycle the intensity of those two moves back to back.
However, you can also make this 20/20/20 design feel like a 2:1 ratio of work to rest by working the same areas back to back (or even doing two full body moves back to back) before resting.
This can be a great a great way to improve your work output and even start to work on your speed endurance (aka pushing to maintain a higher intensity for longer).
And then you can change up the interval set up even further, by eliminating full rest altogether and include “active” rest for that third 20 second interval.
This active rest should allow your heart rate to come down, but you won’t as fully recover. So it should be a lower intensity movement or at least one you do at a lower intensity.
Sometimes even using isometric holds as active rest can be a good option as it will still make your body work but allow you to bring your heart rate down.
It turns this interval design into more of a tempo workout, especially if you cycle from a super intense move, to a moderate to intense move to a recovery move.
And is great to improve your endurance and even your recovery!
This workout can not only be a full-body killer, but it can help you improve your recovery times and even build your endurance.
By cycling the intensity of moves and areas worked, it can even help you improve your work capacity as you blast fat and even build strength!
With this workout design, you’ll work for 30 seconds on each move with no rest between moves. Your “rest” between rounds will be an active rest move.
It will improve your endurance and recovery times as you don’t get a full break between rounds. This will mean though that your intensity and output may DECREASE over the rounds of work.
However, the more you cycle the areas worked, and even the intensity of moves you use (maybe even including an isolation exercise for the core after a few more intense moves) on top of the active rest interval, the more you can work at a higher intensity for those full-body hybrid or compound movements earlier in the circuit.
(You’ll see in the example below even the use of an isometric for active rest, which I mentioned earlier.)
EXAMPLE: 30 seconds Burpee 30 seconds T Push Ups 30 seconds Skater Hops 30 seconds Cherry Bombs (aka isolated ab move) 30 seconds Wall Sit “Active Rest”
Beginners can even include a full 30 second interval of rest while alternating exercise intensity over the round itself. There may be more ups and downs in the movement intensity so that they don’t have to rest extra during the intervals of work.
EXAMPLE: 30 seconds Burpee 30 seconds March in Place 30 seconds Squat Jumps 30 seconds Crunch 30 seconds Rest
The key with these intervals is to pick a move that challenges you and makes you want to stop, BUT that you can continue to do the entire 30 seconds, even if you have to regress.
You do not want to rest during the intervals of work, but you also want to recognize that these moves won’t be as explosive as shorter intervals of work with longer rest periods!
The 40/20 Set Up:
This is a killer interval set up that will really make you feel the burn as you challenge your lactic threshold while improving your endurance and work capacity.
You won’t be near as explosive the entire interval of work as you could if you worked for only 20 seconds. You may be pushing at more like 80% so that you can make sure you work consistently throughout the 40 seconds.
And your work output WILL decrease over the rounds as 20 seconds is far from enough time to recover.
But this is the point of this workout and, depending on the way you use the interval set up, you can even mitigate some of the decrease in output.
The key is to select moves that make you work hard the entire 40 seconds, but that you don’t max out on so much, you can continue to work the next round through.
You can also adjust this 40/20 set up in two main ways.
You can do a circuit where you alternate areas that are working to keep your output higher (areas will then get more rest than just the 20 seconds as another area works).
You can do all rounds on one exercise with only 20 seconds of rest between rounds. This will lead to a quicker decrease in work output as you’ll be working the same muscles over and over again with only half the time to recover!
Both though have benefit, it just depends on your goals.
If you want to work on pushing through fatigue to even improve your recovery time (which could be great if you’re training for a race), you may want to use the second set up.
This can also be great if you’re working to build strength endurance.
For that set up, you would just an exercise, say the Rower and stay on it for 5 rounds of 40/20 then go to another exercise after those 5 rounds to do intervals of 40 on, 20 off.
However, if you use the first design, you would create more of a circuit, with 20 seconds between moves.
You could then cycle areas worked and even the intensity of the moves so that areas get more rest so the intense moves you can go harder on.
EXAMPLE: 40 seconds Side Shuffle with Down Up 20 seconds Rest 40 seconds Climber Push Ups 20 seconds Rest 40 seconds Split Squat Jumps 20 seconds Rest 40 seconds Sit Ups 20 seconds Rest
This would allow areas to rest and recover a bit as other muscle groups worked more. It would allow you to have a higher work output throughout (which you can even track by recording reps each round!).
The great part about all 3 of these interval set ups is you can build strength and burn fat without having to spend hours in the gym. AND you can tweak them to match your needs and specific goals!
For more amazing workouts to help you see fabulous results, check out my Dynamic Strength program.
Build a strong back and sexy arms with this Back and Bicep Triset Blast (and KILLER bicep drop set burner!). YOUCH!
If you want a strong back that not only looks amazing, but also helps you improve your pull ups AND avoid neck and shoulder pain, this workout is perfect to include in your routine.
An added bonus of this workout is that it will also strengthen your core by using some great hybrid plank variations. Work your back, shoulders and abs all at once!
Talk about some great bang for your buck!
If you like this workout, check out my other killer upper body series in my Arm Burner cards!
Whether you want strong, sexy arms, a toned back, to improve your pull ups and push ups or even to avoid injury, the Arm Burners have you covered (and there are some killer hybrid core moves and cardio burners in there too)!
Now to the workout fun!
The Back And Bicep Blast
Complete 3 rounds of each triset, resting 45-60 seconds between rounds. Then rest 1-2 minutes between trisets. After all 3 trisets are complete, complete the Bicep Burnout!
TRISET #1: 10-15 reps per side Single Arm Plank Rotation with Knee 6-12 reps per side Alternating Arm Dumbbell Rows 10-15 reps per side Superman Waves
TRISET #2: 6-12 reps Lat Pull Downs 10-15 reps Back Flyes 10-15 reps per side Side Plank Rows
TRISET #3: 10-15 reps Mini Pull Ups 6-12 reps per side Suspension Trainer Single-Arm Rotational Rows 10-15 reps per side Bench Plank Rows
BICEP BURNER: You’ll complete 3 rounds in this drop set series.
Complete 6 reps of each of the 3 bicep curls back to back with one weight. Then quickly switch to lighter weights for 9 reps of each. Then again drop the weights and go lighter for 12 reps of each. Make sure to pick a weight that challenges you for the reps listed!
CIRCUIT: 6-9-12 reps Full Bicep Curls 6-9-12 reps Bottom Curls 6-9-12 reps Top Curls
(Feel the burn!? Get more killer Arm Burner Workouts HERE! YAAASSS!)
EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Single Arm Plank Rotation with Knee:
To do the Single Arm Plank Rotation With Knee, set up in a side plank position from your hand with your bottom leg in back of your top leg.
Then lift that back leg as if kicking it back and up toward the ceiling slightly. Reach your top hand out in front of you and overhead. Your chest will rotate toward the ground as you lift up into this side plank position with your opposite arm and leg raised.
Rotate your chest back open as you tuck your raised leg under and forward, driving your knee forward as you tuck your raised arm down to meet it. Try to touch your knee to your elbow as you rotate your chest back open and away from the ground.
After slowly tucking the knee to the elbow and feeling yourself pivot around that shoulder. The muscles around your rib cage should really be working. Then kick the leg back out and reach back out and overhead with your hand.
Move slowly to stay balanced and try to keep your hand on the ground under your shoulder.
Beginners can tap the toe down behind them or even just do the knee tuck without the kick out.
Alternating Arm Dumbbell Rows:
To do Alternating Arm Dumbbell Rows, hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing in and hinge over, pushing your butt back while keeping your knees soft and back flat. Engage your upper back with your arms extended down toward the ground.
Then drive one elbow down and back toward your hip as you row the dumbbell up to your chest. Do not shrug your shoulder and really focus on pulling with your back. Do not turn it into a bicep curl. You should row the weight up to about nipple height.
Lower the weight back down and row up on the other side. Brace your abs and really pull with your back. Do not bounce with the weight or rotate a ton just to try to row up higher. Make sure you don’t hyperextend your lower back as you stay hinged over.
Brace your abs, press your chest out and keep your knees soft the entire time to protect that lower back and focus on working your upper back.
Also, look slightly out to keep your head about in line with your spine and not strain your neck. Move at a controlled pace as you row, alternating arms. You do not have to pause with both at the bottom but can row one up as you lower the other down.
Superman Waves:
To do Superman Waves, lie face down on the ground with you arms reaching overhead and your legs out straight behind you.
Then lift your arms and legs off the ground, engaging your glutes and back to lift. Try to lift your chest up as high as you can and get your quads off the ground as much as possible.
Holding here, sweep one arm out and down toward your side, keeping your arms straight. Keep the other arm reaching straight out overhead as you wave the other arm down.
As you lower one arm down by your side, keep it as high off the ground as possible to work the back of your shoulder.
Wave the arm back overhead then sweep the other arm out and down to your side. Keep alternating sides as you engage your back and butt to stay up in the superman position. Move at a controlled pace.
Lat Pull Downs:
To do Lat Pull Downs, you can use a machine or even resistance bands. Using a resistance band, anchor the resistance band up high and grab the band in both hands with your palms facing away. You can use a variety of grips and even hold it with your palms facing each other or toward you.
Then step back so that there is tension on the band even with your hands extended toward the anchor point. Sink into a lunge with the back leg straight. You can also stand with your feet together if you don’t need to counterbalance against the band. Lean forward over the front leg with your back flat and reach your hands up overhead toward the anchor point as you hold the band. You want to create a nice straight line from your hands to your tailbone so that you can mimic the vertical pull of the Pull Up.
With your chest pressed out, pull the band down to your shoulders, driving your elbows down toward your hips. Feel your shoulder blades retracting and the sides of your back working to pull the band down. Keep your core tight as you pull the band down and do not let your back round as you pull.
Hold for a second at the bottom of the pull then extend your arms back overhead and repeat. Make sure to keep your back flat and draw your shoulder blades down and back as you pull the band down to you.
Step further away from the anchor point to increase the tension on the band and make the move harder. You can also use a heavier band.
Back Flyes:
To do Back Flyes using dumbbells, hold a light dumbbell in each hand. Start light so that you can focus on your upper back and the backs of your shoulder’s working without engaging your upper traps, neck or lower back.
Hinge over at the hips holding the weights with your arms hanging straight down toward the ground. Keep your back flat and slightly bend your knees. Make sure to drop your chest to about parallel to the ground. If you start to stand back up, you could start to overuse your upper traps instead of using your upper back. You do not want to turn this into an upright row.
Then, bracing your abs, fly your arms out to the side. Keep your elbows soft as you lift your arms out to the sides and back toward the ceiling at about, or just below, shoulder height. Pinch your shoulder blades together as you fly your arms open and really feel your upper back and the backs of your shoulders working. Keep your neck relaxed as you fly.
Lower back down and repeat the fly. Try not to swing, but really focus on using your back to lift. Also, make sure to keep your elbows soft as you fly your arms up and out.
If you feel your neck and upper traps engaging, you can place your head against the wall or on top of a bench. Also, make sure your low back doesn’t engaged as you keep your back flat. You may need to brace your abs more or bend your knees slightly, especially if your hamstrings are tight.
Side Plank Rows:
To do the Side Plank Row, set up in a high side plank from your hand with your feet staggered (your top foot will be in front). You will hold a dumbbell just off the ground down in front of you with your top hand.
Keeping that nice side plank position, row that weight up and across your body, driving your elbow back toward the wall behind you. You will slightly rotate open as you row. Feel your back pulling the weight up and across as your bottom side works to keep your bottom hip up for that nice plank position.
Lower the weight back down and across toward the ground and repeat the row.
Mini Pull Ups:
To do Mini Pull Ups, start hanging from the bar with your palms facing away from you and your hands about shoulder-width apart.
From this dead hang position, press your chest out and up toward the bar as you draw your shoulder blades down and together. Feel your back engage as you draw your shoulder blades together and press your chest up toward the bar. You will feel your shoulders “unshrugging.”
Don’t bend your elbows and turn this into a pull up. You are simply working on that initial retraction and engagement. Really press your chest out and retract your shoulder blades, bringing them down and together.
Again, do not bend your arms to pull up. Use your back and feel your back engage. You should also feel your shoulders go down as your chest lifts up.
Pause at the top then relax back down to a full dead hang and repeat. Remember, you are not bending your elbows to make this movement bigger.
Suspension Trainer Single-Arm Rotational Rows:
To do a Single-Arm Rotational Row, grab one strap in one hand. Walk your feet forward and lean back to put your body at an incline. Start with your hand holding the strap in at your chest as you reach the other hand up the strap as high as you can. Do not let your shoulder holding the handle shrug. Pretend you’ve already rowed up and you’re driving your elbow down and back as your hand is in at your chest and your body is rotated toward the strap.
Then lower yourself down, extending the arm holding the strap as you rotate the hand reaching up down toward the ground almost as if you are doing a hanging side plank. Keep your body in a straight line and don’t let the hips sag toward the ground.
Keeping your core tight, row your chest back up to the handle, and as you do, rotate back to the start, turning your chest back toward the strap as you reach your other hand as high up the strap as you can.
Do not shrug your shoulder as you row. Really feel your lat and back on the side you are rowing with working. To advance (or regress this move), change the incline of your body. The closer you get to parallel to the ground, the harder the move gets.
Bench Plank Rows:
To do Bench Plank Rows, hold a dumbbell in one hand and place your other hand down on the bench as you move your feet back so you are in a high plank position. Set your feet about hip-width apart so your core doesn’t rotate as you row. Let the arm with the dumbbell hang down.
Then holding this plank position with your abs braced and back flat, row the weight up to your chest, driving your elbow back. Make sure to pull from your back as you row the weight up to about chest height. Don’t shrug your shoulder as you row or turn it into a bicep curl. Feel your back engage as you row it up.
Then lower it back down and repeat. Make sure to keep your core engaged so you don’t sag or rotate as you row. If you have wrist issues or even want to make it harder, go down to your forearm on the bench.
To make it easier, use a higher box. Do not go lower than a box at about knee height!
Full Bicep Curls, Bottom Curls, Top Curls:
To do the three different bicep curls, hold a dumbbell in each hand, standing with your feet about hip-width apart and arms down by your side with your palms facing up.
Without swinging the weights, curl them all the way up to your shoulders, keeping your elbows pointing down toward the ground. Control the lower back down and repeat. That is the full bicep curl.
To do the Bottom Bicep Curl, you will only curl the weights up to the point your forearms are about parallel to the ground and then lower back down. You are curling for only the bottom half of the full curl. Even take a quick pause when you reach that halfway point.
To do the Top Bicep Curl, you will start at the top of that bottom curl, so about halfway up in the curl. From this point, you will curl the weights to your shoulders. When you lower back down, control the weights down to that halfway point. Don’t go lower and make sure to pause there so you can’t use much, if any, momentum. Remember you are curling to the top and lowering so that your forearms are parallel to the ground.
So what is this magical “fat burning zone” you’ve heard about?!
Is it true that if you work at a certain intensity during your cardio workouts, you’ll burn more fat?!
Is it also true that you get into that “fat burning zone,” when you do more steady-state, lower intensity cardio?
The simple answer is – the magical “fat burning zone” is a MYTH.
I’ll often have clients tell me they HAVE to run or do steady state cardio to lose weight. (Of course we all too know that diet is key no matter how much we may try to out exercise our poor nutrition choices.)
And not only is the fat burning zone a “myth” but steady-state cardio can yield underwhelming results for weight loss when done on its own.
We need to include workouts that train all 3 energy systems if we want the best results possible, not only for getting in killer shape and improving our health, but also in terms of our weight loss and fat loss efforts!
So…the “fat burning zone,” at least as we wished it worked, is a total myth.
What Is The “Fat Burning Zone?” And How Did The Myth Come About?
The myth of the fat burning zone arose because technically you burn more fat during lower intensity, steady state cardio exercise.
However, what that really means is simply that a higher percentage of the calories you burn during exercise come from fat.
When you work at lower intensities, 50% of the calories burned can come from fat whereas at higher intensities that number may only be about 35%.
So now you’re thinking, “Well then how is the fat burning zone a myth? And why wouldn’t I want to work in it if fat loss and weight loss are my goal!?”
Because while you may burn a higher percentage of calories from fat working at lower intensities, you also burn far fewer calories!
So in the end, you burn more fat by working at a higher intensity because you burn more calories.
If you burn more calories while consuming fewer, you’re going to lose weight!
The Downsides Of Adaptation:
So not only do you not really burn more fat in the end with that lower intensity, steady state cardio, but you also burn fewer calories doing the same duration or distances over time.
Basically, over time we ADAPT.
And while this adaptation is amazing, it’s why we can do that 5 mile run without it feeling super hard and even focus on increasing our pace, it also means we require less energy to do the same task.
AKA our body becomes more efficient which means we burn fewer calories during these same workouts that once used to leave us tired and worked.
So unless you’re constantly running (or cycling or going on the elliptical) for LONGER or pushing the pace and going FASTER on harder terrain each and every time, you’re not going to be burning as many calories over time during your workouts.
Again, this is great as it means our body has become stronger and more efficient, BUT it doesn’t lead to continued adaptations or the extra calorie burn that can assist with weight loss.
But What About Boosting Your Metabolism?
Going along the whole fat burning myth, I’ve also had clients also say, “But I need to do cardio to boost my metabolism!”
Unfortunately, this is also sort of a myth.
Not only does steady state cardio not necessarily lead to as great an increase in calories burned AFTER the workout is done as say interval training does, BUT it also doesn’t affect our metabolic rate in the way we believe.
If you want to boost your metabolism, you need to gain muscle.
Muscle affects metabolism and helps you burn more calories, and fat, even at rest.
More muscle means more of a “boost” to your metabolism.
And guess what isn’t so great at helping you build muscle?
Steady-state cardio!
There have even been studies showing that it can actually be CATABOLIC to muscle tissuing, meaning that not only can it not help you build muscle, but it can even lead to some muscle LOSS.
This is just another reason why you want to include cardio workouts that use intervals, density sets and even timed circuits as well as include even moves using weights!
So What Does This All Mean? Should You NOT Do Steady State Cardio?
First off, if you love your long runs or rides, NEVER give them up.
You don’t need to.
And walking can be a great form of stress relief and extra movement for our body which is AMAZING!
Steady-state cardio can help you build a strong aerobic base.
BUT you also want to know what you need to do to reach specific goals.
And if one of those goals IS fat loss or weight loss?
Well you don’t want to ONLY do steady-state cardio.
Including different interval set ups and even cardio workouts with weights can be incredibly important to help you get better results faster.
Even if you want to set a new PR in your next long-distance race or ride, some interval training may be just what you need to get results!
That is why I created my Cardio Burners using a variety of workout design and work to rest intervals so you can make sure you have cardio workouts to help you meet your specific goals!
When we think of “cardio,” we think of steady-state endurance activities like cycling and running and cardio machines.
Or we think of interval training and short, quick bursts of activity.
But it isn’t really either or!
There are so many different ways we can design cardio workouts AND they can even help us build strength.
YUP! Your workout doesn’t have to be cardio OR strength training…it can be both!
By using a relay workout design, which is a version of a timed circuit, you can get the metabolic benefits of cardio (and improve your work capacity) as you build strength.
This is a perfect workout design to use if you are short on time, especially if you can only make it to the gym a couple of times a week!
So if you want to include some strength training in your cardio, or some cardio in your strength training, try this Relay Workout!
The 30-Minute Relay Strength And Cardio Workout:
Set a timer for 30 minutes and complete as many rounds of the circuit below as possible. Beginners can do shorter distances/lowers reps to start and add reps/distance as they progress. Rest only as needed.
Record how many rounds you complete to beat next time! For the run/ride/row, pick just one to use the entire workout.
Better to do fewer reps of a move but keep moving over doing more reps but have to rest. Also, depending on your fitness level and goals, you can also focus on going heavier for fewer reps over lighter for more!
