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When you put a time constraint on your workout, you work more efficiently and you work harder, and that’s the game changer, because the intensity of your workout is really what supercharges your capacity to burn fatboth during your training sessions and in the hours after they’re over. So instead of focusing on the weight or volume of your reps, race the clock and work harder.
HOW IT WORKS
These workouts will feel more like a game than a training session. You’ll either work to complete as many rounds of a circuit of exercises as possible in a specified time, or you’ll try to do a set number of rounds in as short a time as possible. We bet you’ll be so focused on keeping up your pace that you won’t even notice how much harder you’re working.
DIRECTIONS
Perform each workout (Days I, II, and III) once per week, resting a day between each session. You can add these routines to the end of your existing weight workouts, or you can perform them separately as conditioning sessions. Complete one set of each exercise in turn (known as a circuit), resting as needed between rounds. One time through the circuit is one round. On Day I, do as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes; on Day II, complete five rounds in as little time as possible; on Day III, do as many rounds as you can in 15 minutes.
DAY I
BARBELL THRUSTER
Reps: 5
Grasp the bar with hands shoulder-width apart and raise your elbows until your upper arms are parallel with the floor. Take the bar out of the rack and let it rest on your fingertips. Step back and set your feet shoulder-width apart. Squat as low as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. Then come up explosively and press the bar overhead. Lower it back to your shoulders. That’s one rep. If you’re new to thrusters, use an empty barbell to start. If you’re more experienced, use 95 pounds.
PULLUP
Reps: 10
Hang from a bar with hands outside shoulder width and palms facing forward. Squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar. You may alternate your grip each round if you like (switching to chinups, for example).
KETTLEBELL SWING
Reps: 20
Stand with feet hip width apart and the weight on the floor. Grasp the handle with two hands, both palms facing you, and, keeping your lower back flat, extend your hips to raise it off the floor. Take a deep breath and bend your hips back, allowing the weight to swing back between your legs. Explosively extend your hips and exhale—allowing the momentum to swing the weight up to eye level.
DAY II
For all three exercises, beginners should use a 45– to 65- pound weight. Intermediates can use 95–115 pounds.
1. OVERHEAD SQUAT
Reps: 5
Grasp the bar with hands double shoulder-width apart and press it overhead. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointed outward. Bend your hips back and squat as low as you can without losing your back’s arch.
2. FRONT SQUAT
Reps: 10
Set up as you did for the barbell thruster on Day I but perform only the squat, not the press.
3. SQUAT
Reps: 15
Grasp the bar with hands as far apart as is comfortable and step under it. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and nudge the bar out of the rack. Step back and stand with your feet shoulder- width apart and toes pointed slightly outward. Take a deep breath and bend your hips back and then bend your knees to lower your body as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. Extend your hips to come back up.
DAY III
1. PUSH PRESS
Reps: 5
Grasp the bar with hands shoulder-width apart so your forearms point to the ceiling. Dip your knees to gather momentum and then explosively press the weight straight overhead.
2. FARMER'S WALK
Reps: Walk for 50 meters
Pick up the heaviest dumbbells you can handle and walk as quickly as you can. Stand tall with your chest out. Aim to use dumbbells that together total 70% of your own body weight.
3. ROWING MACHINE
Reps: Row for 500 meters
Set the drag on the machine to between three and five, grasp the handle, and sit back so your torso is almost vertical. Drive with your feet to push your body back and then row the handle to your sternum.
