Ever feel like when you’re designing your own workouts you get stuck in a rut doing the same layout every time?
You just create circuits and do the same reps for the same number of sets?
Do you feel like you’re kind of randomly stringing things together hoping it will be “hard?”
Feel like there just has to be a fun and new and BETTER workout combination you could do to help you train smarter?!
Well there just may be!
There are soooooooo many different workout designs we can use to help us reach our goals.
Supersets, compound sets, trisets, circuits, pyramids, ladders, density intervals, density sets, rest-pause technique….and many many more. (Yup…use them all in Dynamic Strength!)
There are many different training variables we can tweak to make sure our workouts are tailored to our specific needs and goals.
However, all too often people only focus on finding “new” moves instead of trying to figure out different and “new” ways to layout their routines using those SAME moves.
New moves are great. But exercises are just one training variable.
So on that note…I wanted to share with you a great quick tweak you could plan into your routine today even….
A DROP SET!
Ever feel like you have just a little bit left in the tank but not enough to do another rep with the weight you are currently using?
Want to push past failure just a bit to really burn out an area?
Then add in a drop set.
It can be used as part of a burnout OR even as a final set to your primary lift.
I love using it especially for things like hip thrusters or weighted glute bridges to create that little extra pump and burn.
Heck, I love to hate it on bench press even haha
So….What is a drop set?
Basically to do a drop set, you perform a round of an exercise with a certain weight and then reduce the weight to complete more reps without resting immediately after.
You are dropping weight to be able to complete more reps “past failure.”
For instance, if you hit a 6 rep max on hip thrusters, you could instantly finish that round, reduce the weight, and then without resting, bust out 15 more reps for a killer burn.
Those are 15 reps you wouldn’t have been able to do had you not reduced the loads.
And because you are doing them right after the 6 reps, you’re pushing through fatigue instead of getting to recovery like between previous rounds.
When using drop sets, you don’t always have to go up in reps for the drop set. You could do the same number or even fewer depending on how you want to use the drop set and how much you reduce loads.
You can even use more than one drop set in a row, especially if you’re using this as a burner to end your workout.
The point is, this is a new and different technique you may use that challenges your body in a different way with technically LIGHTER loads. (Too often we think adding weight is the only way to challenge ourselves!)
It’s an easy tweak you could make to your workouts TODAY even to test out.
And this technique can be implemented in different ways to benefit you and your specific goals.
Because guess what should ultimately drive EVERY SINGLE VARIABLE you adjust in your program?
YOU AND YOUR GOALS!
Below is one way you can try out a drop set!
Using Drop Sets:
If you set a primary lift to start your workout…say hip thrusters…you could start with 15 reps, rest, 12 reps, rest, 8 reps then immediately perform a drop set of 15 reps.
So you would do max weight for each round of reps, resting 60-90 seconds between rounds until the final round of 8 reps where you would do max weight for those 8 then immediately lower the loads and bust out 15 reps!
Try it today!
You can adjust the reps listed too based on if you want to work more on maximal strength or more on strength endurance.
You can even adjust the number of rounds you do or the reps you perform based on the muscles/moves you plan to include.
Drop sets can be killer for deadlift, bench press, lunges, overhead press…so many different lifts!
So have some fun with this simple workout design tweak!
And for some fun and killer workouts that use training techniques like this, check out my Dynamic Strength program!
You don’t need fancy equipment or to spend hours at the gym working out to get results.
When you’re short on time, all you need is your own bodyweight and 10 minutes.
In that time you can get in a killer workout to strengthen your ENTIRE core – everything down your frontside AND your backside.
And while this workout is called the Backside Burner it targets more than just your back, hamstrings and butt. It will also work your abs, serratus anterior, obliques, quads and shoulders!
Complete 3 rounds of each circuit, moving right from one exercise to the next. After you finish the first circuit, perform 40 seconds of active rest before moving on to the second circuit. Beginners can fully rest between circuits instead of performing the active rest. Click on each exercise below to see a video demonstration and more information!
Often when we think about getting in a killer cardio workout, we eliminate as much rest as possible and put in longer work intervals.
But guess what happens when you rest less?
Your power, speed, quickness, intensity all DROP.
If you don’t have as much time to recover, while you may be going “all out” every round, your output will still dip.
So sometimes including a bit MORE rest can allow you to actually work HARDER during the intervals of work and keep your output higher throughout the entire workout.
While I love workouts that shorten rest, giving you half or even just a quarter of the time you worked to recover, there is also something to be said for workouts that allow you to rest equal to the time you worked.
That equal work to rest setup allows you to go harder each and every work interval so your intensity stays higher throughout!
You may even find you include extra rest between rounds to keep your intensity higher!
But if you’re looking for a great cardio killer that gives you a bit of extra rest so you can get even MORE out of the session, try this 30/30 Bodyweight Cardio Workout.
WORKOUT: Set a timer for 30 second intervals. You will work for 30 seconds then rest for 30 seconds before moving on to the next exercise. Go through the circuit, resting 30 seconds between moves. Do not rest extra between rounds although beginners can rest 1 minute if needed between rounds. Complete 3-6 rounds. If you are short on time, just complete 3 rounds.
DO NOT SHORTEN REST. Get in more reps during the intervals of work. Intensify variations. But do not shorten rest to make things harder. If it doesn’t feel hard, you need to push yourself harder during those work intervals! You should feel like you NEED the rest to fully recover whether from your muscles burning or your heart rate elevating.
When you have access to limited space and equipment, sliders are a great way to make basic bodyweight moves even more fun and challenging while being easy to take with you anywhere!
So whether you need a quick go-to option at home or a workout when you’re short on time and traveling, try this Slider Upper Body And Core Burner that’s just about 10 minutes long!
Set a timer for 30 second intervals of work and move right from one exercise to the next. The final exercise in each circuit can also be modified to be a full rest interval if needed. Complete 2 rounds through each circuit, resting up to 1 minute between circuits.
To do Knee Tuck Push Ups, place your feet on sliders and set up in a plank position with your hands under your shoulders.
Then perform a push up, keeping your body in a nice straight line as you drop your chest to the ground. Press back up with your body moving as one unit. Your arms should made an arrow shape with your body. Do not shrug or let your arms form a T.
In the high plank position, tuck your knees in. Do not let your butt go way up in the air as you tuck or use the tuck as a chance to rest. Pull your knees in using your abs and then straighten your legs right back out and repeat the push up.
As you return to the plank position, do not sag your hips or let your butt go up in the air. Also, make sure your hands stay outside your chest and don’t creep forward past your shoulders.
Beginners can do this off an incline and do a single knee tuck at a time without the sliders or they can do a push up from their knees then move to the high plank position to perform the tuck.
Alternating Slider Tabletop Curls:
To do Alternating Slider Tabletop Curls, place a slider under each foot and sit on the ground with your heels on the sliders and hands behind you on the ground. Turn your hands out or back as you place your hands on the ground behind your butt.
Bend your knees and bring your heels back close to you so you can bridge up into a tabletop bridge. Squeeze your glutes as you lift your butt up and press your chest out.
You can perform a posterior pelvic tilt to help engage your abs as you hold this tabletop position and even slightly tuck your chin to look out beyond your knees.
The slowly extend one leg out before using your hamstring to pull your heel on the slider back in. Then extend the other leg out, pulling the heel back in again with your hamstring.
As you pull the slider back in, really even think about driving the slider down into the ground to help work your hamstring more.
Do not let your hips drop toward the ground as you extend. You want to keep your abs and butt engaged the entire time as you slowly alternate sides.
Slider Ab Extensions:
To do Slider Ab Extensions, place a slider under each hand and set up as if you’re doing a push up from your knees.
You want to have your hands under your shoulders and your body in a nice straight line from your head to your knees. Brace your abs and squeeze your glutes.
Slide both hands out as far as you can, lowering your body toward the ground. Extend out, if you can, until you’re hovering just above the ground.
Then pull the sliders back under your shoulders without bending your arms as your body moves back into the plank position. By sliding your hands back under, pulling with your back to bring your hands back in, your body will move back into the plank position.
Do not sit your butt back or let your lower back engage as you extend out or pull your hands back in. You want to brace your abs and keep your body in a nice straight line the entire time.
Once back in that knee plank position, repeat the slide back out. Do not let your hips sag, lower back arch or butt go up in the air. Also, make sure you don’t sit your butt back to help pull your arms back in. You only “rise up” because your hands come back under your shoulders.
Beginners may not slide out as far or they may extend one hand, then the other, then pull one in at a time.
Banana Hold:
To do the Banana hold, start by lying on your back with your legs out straight and your arms reaching overhead on the ground. Your legs should be together and your arms should be right by your head.
Press your low back into the ground and draw your belly button in toward your spine as you lift your legs and arms up off the ground. Your neck and head should be in a neutral position between your arms and your legs should be together and out straight a few inches off the ground.
Hold here, squeezing your legs together as you try to get your shoulder blades up off the ground while keeping your low back against the ground and abs engaged.
Beginners may find they need to lift their legs up higher toward the ceiling or bend their knees to keep their low back against the ground and their abs engaged. Beginners can also try an easier variation of the Pelvic Tilt if they feel their low back taking over.
Fly Push Ups:
To do the Fly to Push Up, set up in a push up position with a towel or slider under each hand. You can do the Fly to Push Up from your knees (beginner) or toes (advanced).
Beginners may also want to start with one hand on a slider and the other hand on the ground (black frame). They will then slide the hand on the slider out to the side and perform a push up. As they push up, they will slide the hand back in toward their hand on the ground. They will complete all reps on one side before switching.
If the single slider Fly to Push Up is too much, this move can be done by just stepping the hand out to the side on the ground or even on an incline. To advance the Fly to Push Up, you will use two sliders. Start at the top of a push up and then slide one hand out to the side and perform a push up. After the push up, slide the hand back into the starting position. Even though this is a wider push up, don’t let your elbows flare way out by your ears. Then slide the other hand out on the slider and perform a push up. Keep alternating sides until all reps are complete.
If you want to do the Full Fly to Push Up, you will have a slider on each hand. You will then slide both hands out to the side as you lower into the push up and then pull them back in as you come back up out of the push up. You will perform the fly as you perform the push up instead of sliding out, doing a push up and sliding back in.
Slider Plank to Bulldog:
To do the Slider Plank to Bulldog, place a slider under each foot and set up in a high plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your body in a nice straight line down to your feet. Your feet should be no wider than hip-width apart.
Holding this plank position, use your abs to tuck one knee in and then the other to come into a bulldog position.
Your knees should be about under your hips or in slightly closer in, but do not tuck them so far in you can sit back on your heels. Really focus on using your abs to slide them in, bracing your core to keep your body in a nice straight line the entire time.
Then extend your legs back out, one at a time. Make sure your butt stays down and you don’t slide back too far, but instead keep your hands under your shoulders. Then repeat, drawing one knee in then the other.
Body Saw:
To do the Body Saw, set up in a plank position on your forearms with your feet on the sliders. Elbows should be under your shoulders and your feet should be together or no wider than hip-width apart.
With your body in a nice straight line from your head to your heels, slide your feet back and lengthen through your arms. As you slide back you should extend your body down to your elbows, shifting your shoulders back behind your elbows. Do not let your hips sag as you slide back. You are extending your triceps as you slide back.
Then, using your lats and core, pull your feet back in to the plank position. When you come back into the plank position, do not let your butt go up in the air. Make sure your hips don’t sag either.
Then slide back out, lengthening your body out as much as you can. Again do not let your low back take over. Make sure that you also aren’t simply sliding forward and then back to the start but are actually sliding back and lengthening through your arms.
Superman Wave:
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.
Or maybe you just need a quick burner to end your workout to torch some extra calories or completely burnout the muscle groups you were working.
Either way, having a few BURNERS on hand, like this Dumbbell Hybrid Burner from my Arm Burner cards, is key!
Quick burners like this one are even a great way to create a little extra training volume during the week to increase your training frequency and improve your results without you having to do a full workout.
So try this Dumbbell Hybrid Burner as a quick standalone routine when you are short on time or as a finisher after your upper body or lower body lifting session!
The Dumbbell Hybrid Burner
Complete 2-4 rounds of the circuit below without resting. Modify moves as needed so that you don’t have to rest during the 30 seconds of work. Better to regress than to rest if it is more than a very brief pause.
CIRCUIT: 30 seconds Squat Burpee with Front Raise 30 seconds Lunge Curl Press 30 seconds Mountain Climber Row Push Up 30 seconds Sit Thru Bridge and Press 30 seconds Leg Raise Wipers
EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Squat Burpee with Front Raise:
To do the Squat Burpee with Front Raise, start in the plank position with a light dumbbell in each hand. You can also use a single dumbbell if you don’t have a weight pair light enough although you’ll then want to set it between your hands. Then jump your feet up and outside your hands or as close as you can get. Jump your feet out wider as you so that you can come into a squat position. As you do, lift your arms up straight in front of you to about shoulder height, holding the dumbbells. If you use a single dumbbell, you will pick it up in both hands as you lift your chest and come into the squat. Use jumping into the squat to help you raise the weights up to shoulder height with your arms straight. Lower your hands back down as you stay in the squat then jump your feet back and repeat! Make sure the weights are challenging but light enough you can fully control the movement. Beginners can also step back instead of jumping.
Lunge Curl Press:
To do the Lunge, Curl and Press, start standing tall with a dumbbell in each hand down by your side. You can choose to have your palms facing forward or even in toward each other to perform both the curl and the press. Lunge forward with your arms down by your sides. Holding the lunge, perform a bicep curl, curling the weights up to your shoulders. Keep your chest up as you curl to maintain good form. Once you curl up to your shoulders, press the weights overhead, staying nice and low in the lunge with your abs engaged. Press all the way up, then bring them back down to your shoulders and reverse the curl. Once the weights are back by your sides, push back up to standing in one movement. Beginners may not lunge out as far or as deep. They may also choose to lunge then perform the curl and press while standing. You can stay on the same side or perform lunges alternating sides.
Mountain Climber Row Push Up:
To do the Mountain Climber Row Push Up, set up in a high plank position with a dumbbell in each hand. Your feet will be wider apart to help stabilize and your hands should be under your shoulders. Then from this high plank position, draw one knee in and across toward your opposite shoulder. Perform a cross body mountain climber, moving slowly. Straighten the leg back out and then row the weight in the hand on the same side as the leg you tucked in up to your side. Perform the row without rotating or letting your butt go up in the air. After rowing the weight up to your side, feeling your back work to row it up, lower it back down so you’re back in the high plank. Then perform a push-up (you can do this from your knees too). Come back to a plank then perform a mountain climber cross body on the other side and a row before another push up. Keep alternating sides.
Sit Thru Bridge and Press:
To do the Sit Thru Bridge and Press, start on your hands and knees with a dumbbell under each hand. Then flex your feet and lift up onto your hands and feet with your knees under your hips and your hands under your shoulders. From this position, step your right foot under your body as you raise your right hand and dumbbell up toward the ceiling. As you step through and put your foot flat on the ground, rotate your hips open to the ceiling as you press the weight up overhead. Really squeeze your glutes as you bridge up and press. Then rotate your right leg back under your body as you bring the weight back down to the ground. Come back into that bulldog front position then step your left leg under to lift your right hand up and press the weight overhead as you bridge up. Really bridge up and squeeze your glutes at the top. Keep your abs engaged and do not hyperextend your low back. Keep alternating sides.
Leg Raise Wipers:
To do Leg Raise Wipers, hold a dumbbell in each hand as you lie on your back with your legs out straight in front of you. Press the weights up toward the ceiling at about chest height. Full straighten your arms and don’t let the weights fall out to the sides. Brace your abs and lift your legs straight up toward the ceiling together. Then, keeping your abs engaged, lower your legs straight down to hover an inch off the ground. You want to lower as close to the ground as you can without your lower back taking over. Beginners may not lower as low. Raise your legs back up toward the ceiling then lower them both down to the right. Try not to let your legs drift away from you as you lower to the side. Keep the weights pressed up toward the ceiling as you twist and lower. You want to lower about 6 inches from the ground. Do not touch down or release the engagement by going to low. Then use your abs to pull your legs straight up toward the ceiling. Perform another straight leg lower down the center. Once your legs are back up toward the ceiling, lower to the other side. Feel your abs working to lower to the side but make sure you don’t go too low and either disengage or need to use your lower back to pull your legs back up toward the ceiling. Keep the weights pressed up toward the ceiling the entire time. Beginners can bend their knees to 90 degrees to start and tap their toes down center for the leg raise.
Want a killer Upper Body and Core program with some great cardio finishers like this one?
Want to strengthen and tone your upper body and core, but short on time?
Then Density Sets are the way to go!
With Density Sets you can not only build strength but also burn fat in less time because not only are you lifting, but you are creating a greater training density by performing a higher volume of work in less time!
So if you’re looking for a great workout to strengthen your upper body and tone your shoulders, triceps and abs, try this Chest, Shoulders and Triceps Density Sets Workout from my Arm Burner Workouts!
The Chest, Shoulders And Tricep Workout:
Set a timer for 15 minutes and complete as many rounds of each circuit as you can in that time. Rest 2 minutes between circuits so you can go hard each 15 minute interval. Record how many rounds you get and the reps you do to beat next time. If you’re getting tired, regress moves to keep moving or even perform fewer reps so that you can limit rest as you will start to burnout areas.
CIRCUIT #1:
4-6 reps Push Ups to Dips*
8-12 reps Front to Side Raises
8-12 reps Fly with Leg Lowers
CIRCUIT #2:
8-12 reps Slider Fly Push Ups*
8-12 reps per side Tricep Push Ups
6-8 reps per side Turkish Hinge
*2 push ups to 2 dips equals one rep.
*If you do a unilateral variation, do 4-6 reps per side.
Love this Upper Body Workout?
Learn More Of My Arm Burner “Secrets” To Help You Sculpt Strong, Sexy Arms And Shoulders!
