Circuit Training for fat loss doesn't have to be boring or "lightweight."

In fact, pushing yourself to use HEAVY resistance while training for fat loss offers tremendous benefits in terms of maintaining strength and muscle mass.

Plus, it's WAY more fun.

THIS circuit is going to challenge every single major muscle group in your body, as well as your determination and mental toughness.

The Outline

This will be 4 exercise, non-stop circuit done for 3-5 rounds. Take 2 minutes rest in between circuits. We'll be covering an upper body push, a lunge, an upper body pull and a squat, essentially covering every major muscle group in your body.

Exercise 1 - One-Arm Bench Push-Ups - 4-6 reps each arm

To do this one, you'll need to be fairly strong with the regular push-up (able to do at least 20 to 30 reps).

** You can substitute pretty much any push-up variation for this one, if you're not able to do this exact movement.

You'll set one hand on a bench as an "outrigger" then do the push-up with the other arm. This helps put more tension on the pec of the working side rather than the tricep (which happens with regular one-arm push-ups). It also puts a nice stretch on the outrigger side pec as well.

Do your reps on one hand, then switch to the other.

On the second round of the circuit, start with the other arm, i.e. if you started with your right arm pushing on the first round, start with your left arm pushing on the second round. Alternate starting arm on each round.

 

Exercise 2 - DB on Shoulder Walking Lunges - for distance (4 x 20 feet)

This exercise is done by first shouldering a dumbbell then doing a Walking Lunge with it. I'm using a 105 lb dumbbell in the demo. The dumbbell is held vertically, resting on end on one shoulder. One hand is gripping the handle, the other hand is resting on the bottom "bell" of the dumbbell to help stabilize it.

** This one can be done by anybody simply by using a lighter dumbbell. I still recommend going as relatively heavy as you can, though, for the greatest challenge.

For this, I did 4 times up and down my gym floor (about 20 feet each way), changing shoulders after each time. You can select any distance you like, but I do recommend using this "rep" approach so that you have to set the dumbbell down and change shoulders regularly, to keep balanced loading on the body.

Part of the challenge is getting it from the floor to the shoulder (aka dumbbell shouldering). This exercise puts great load on the upper body and the breathing muscles while you're doing a walking lunge, starting from a dead stop (knee on the ground) on each rep. It's brutal.

To shoulder a dumbbell, start in the split squat position with the dumbbell set just beside your front leg. Grip the handle with both hands, then use your lower back, legs and arms to heave it up and back until it's in position on your shoulder. Practice this with lighter weight first, before you move into the heavier loads.

When you get to the end, set the dumbbell down, then shoulder it back up to your other shoulder and go again.

On the second round (and alternating rounds), start with the other shoulder.

 

Exercise 3 - Bar Traversing - until something gives out

On this exercise, I'm using the cross-beam of my cable cross-over station. If you don't have a setup like this, you can still do this exercise on a regular chin-up bar...you'll just be moving back and forth more frequently.

In terms of distance, you can set a performance goal (I did 4 times back and forth) or just keep going until something gives out (i.e. grip, arms, lats, etc.). After several rounds of this circuit, I would just keep going until I couldn't hold onto the beam anymore. If you're using a shorter chin-up bar, this is the best way to go.

** If you're not strong enough to do this exact exercise, you can also do a traversing Inverted Row. To do this, you would have a bar set in the rack (or Smith Machine bar) at about stomach height. Your feet will be on the ground, body held straight, then just walk your hands side to side on the bar (same general idea as this traversing chin exercise only with less body resistance). You may need to move your feet a bit to compensate for the changing body location.

Start at one end, keeping your elbows bent, then move yourself along the beam to the other end then back (if you're familiar with the American Ninja Warrior TV show, this is like the Cliffhanger event).

When doing this one, you can either some leg swing and body momentum to move your body along the bar. It's not cheating...it just allows you to get further before you can't stay on the beam anymore.

 

Exercise 4 - Dumbbell Jump Squats - 4 -6 reps

Use a fairly light to moderate pair of dumbbells for this exercise. You want to be sure the weight is light enough that you can actually get off the ground.

Now, normally, you should do explosive training first in a circuit or workout.

This time, however, I wanted to train explosiveness while in a fatigued state (yes, me doing something backwards and wrong, imagine that). My reasoning is that in many athletic events, you don't have the luxury of being fully rested before you have to perform explosively. If you're playing basketball, you have to run down the court and jump.

For this purpose, the dumbbell jump squat is the perfect exercise as it requires almost zero technique (unlike Olympic lifts, which should ALWAYS be done while you're relatively fresh, so that you don't get fatigue-induced form errors creeping in).

All you have to do with this exercise is hold dumbbells and jump. When you're winding up for it, it's important that you only come down into a half-squat, not a full squat. This will give you the most power and acceleration out of the bottom.

Keep the reps low on this one. I recommend 4 to 6 reps. It's not heavy weight, but explosiveness will fade out fairly quickly.

If you find that before hit 4 reps,that your "drive" is fading, don't push it. There's no benefit in going to failure on an explosive exercise. End the set when you lose the explosiveness.

Now Rest 2 Minutes and Do It AGAIN

Perform this circuit 3 to 5 times in total. Each round takes about 4 to 5 minutes to complete.

And if you're doing it right, you'll want to curse me most of the way through...

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I HIGHLY recommend watching the video for this circuit...it'll show you exactly how to do the exercises included and the level of intensity required.

If you like this style of training, you're going to love this...I'm in the process of putting together an entire book of workouts just like this one!

In the meantime, if you're interested in fat loss while keeping muscle and strength, have a look at my book "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss".

This program takes you through 36 days of intense training (and eating) designed to pull the fat from your body while you keep (and even BUILD!) muscle and strength.

Check it out here.

Nick Nilsson
The "Mad Scientist of Muscle"