Circuit Training Workout | Body Recomposition Workout Plan Day 9
By Live Lean TV
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Healthy Ice Cream Snack | Jess Does An Afterburn Workout: Live Lean Shred Ep. 09
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m taking Jess through circuit training workout #6 from the Afterburn 1.0 body recomposition workout plan, as well as sharing a healthy ice cream snack recipe.
During each circuit, you will be doing 4 exercises, with a 20 second rest between each exercise, then a 60 second rest after the circuit.
In order to complete the exercises within the circuit, while following the short indicated rest periods, find one location in the gym to set up all the equipment.
During this circuit, all you need is dumbbells and a bench.
Find a spot to set it up and own that space, so you can quickly transition from one exercise to the next.
Even though you did bodyweight pendulum lunges during your warm up, we’re now going to add some resistance.
Reps: 8 per leg
Sets: 3
Rest: 20 seconds
Coaching cues:
When performing the pendulum lunge, complete a dumbbell forward lunge, then immediately transition backward into a dumbbell reverse lunge, without touching the floor with the moving leg.
If you don’t have good balance, one thing you can do to make the transition easier is to stop in the middle of the transition by putting your foot down, then transitioning to the reverse lunge, and vice versa.
However, if you have good balance, and want to challenge yourself, transition straight from the forward lunge into the reverse lunge, without touching your moving foot to the floor.
Keep your form tight by looking straight ahead, while keeping your chest and back upright.
When completing the lunge, your front knee should not be tracking over your toes.
Focus on pushing your feet through the ground to get back up to standing and really initiate the tension in your quadriceps muscle.
Completing the forward and reverse lunge counts as one rep.
Complete all 8 reps on one leg, then switch legs and repeat.
Put the weights down and take a 20 second rest, then move on to the next exercise in the circuit, dumbbell pullovers.
A2. Dumbbell Pullover
The second exercise in circuit A is a new exercise that you haven’t seen yet, the dumbbell pullover on the bench.
Reps: 10
Sets: 3
Rest: 20 seconds
Coaching cues:
This is going to target not only the back, but also the chest.
In the internet fitness world there are debates on which muscle group the dumbbell pullover targets more.
Jessica calls it a back exercise, however based on EMG muscle activation tests, it actually does target the chest more, however you’ll also feel a good stretch in your back, so it provides the best of both worlds.
When setting up, drop your hips to give yourself an even better stretch.
Lower the dumbbell behind you, with your arms straight and extended, until your reach full extension, then keeping your arms straight, come back up to feel a good contraction in your chest.
Arnold Schwarzenegger made this exercise famous and popular.
Jessica likes it too because it feels really good.
Complete 10 reps, take a 20 second rest, then move on to the next exercise in the circuit, the alternating dumbbell flat bench press.
Plant your feet into the floor, then press both arms up to start at the top.
Lower one arm down, while keeping the other arm up, then alternate.
Initiate the muscles in the chest before pressing the dumbbell back up again.
If you’re wondering why you’re alternating arms, it’s keeping constant tension on the chest and pecs at all times.
Since one weight is going down while the other weight is up, it creates more instability, therefore to stabilize your body, you must keep your abs firing.
This is another reason why I love this dumbbell flat bench press variation.
Remember, it’s not a total of 8 presses, it’s 8 presses per arm.
If you lose count, do a few extras, since we like bonus reps.
After completing 8 reps per arm, take a 20 second rest, then move on to the fourth and final exercise in Circuit A, hand walkouts.
A4. Hand Walkout
The fourth and final exercise of circuit A is the hand walkout.
Reps: 45 seconds
Sets: 3
Rest: 60 seconds
Coaching cues:
Over on the Afterburn Facebook Group, trainees have been saying these hand walkouts are killer.
As you walk your hands out, the goal is to get into a straight arm plank position, then walk your hands back towards your body.
Repeat this movement for 45 seconds.
In my experience as a personal trainer, I realized some people like to know how much time is left in a timed set, while other people don’t want to be told the time, until they are done.
Jessica likes to know how much time is left, since she says this will push herself harder once she knows she’s almost done.
After the set, Jessica mentioned that she feels this exercise the most in the abs, as well as the arms.
If you’re not feeling it in your abs, the key is to keep your abs tight.
That’s the first circuit.
Once you complete the full 45 seconds, take a 60 second break and repeat the circuit 2 more times, for a total of 3 sets.
After completing circuit A 3 times, catch your breath, then without taking too much rest, complete the Ignite It Up.
Ignite It Up: Burpee Squat Thrust
For the Ignite It Up, you’re going to complete any of the following burpee variations, ordered from easiest to hardest, for 60 seconds:
Jessica decided to start with 2-3 reps of the jump burpee push up, then switch to the intermediate jump burpee variation, with a jump at the top, but no push up.
She finds the push up slows her down and makes her core form sloppy.
By eliminating the push up, it helps her get a better cardio workout.
Reps: 60 seconds
Sets: 1
Rest: 60 seconds
Coaching cues:
When completing burpees, 60 seconds may seem like a long time.
If 1 minute of burpees is too much, stick to whatever your fitness level is, and reduce it to 30 seconds, or whatever duration works for you.
Since this is the Ignite It Up, it basically means your goal is to kick your butt into overdrive.
She mentioned she felt like she hit a wall at 40 seconds, since that is what she’s used too, however her form was on point for all 60 seconds.
She is such a good role model for Kyla.
After completing the Ignite It Up, take a one minute break, then move on to circuit B
Circuit B
For circuit B, we’re incorporating barbell exercises, a flat bench, and an exercise mat.
Before starting the first exercise in the circuit, set up your circuit station with a barbell and bench, then own this spot in the gym for your next 3 sets.
That’s how you successfully complete circuits in the gym.
Once you have your circuit station set up, begin the first exercise.
If any of these exercises are new to you, and you’re unsure of which weight to select, complete a quick test lift before actually starting your working set.
That way you don’t get into the working set, then realize the weight is too heavy or light, based on the number of reps.
Dumbbell substitution: Since Jessica didn’t have access to an olympic barbell, and the bar on the smith machine doesn’t go high enough, she substituted this exercise for the dumbbell push press.
Coaching cues:
The push press basically hits the entire body.
Lower your body into a 1/4 squat, then press your legs through the ground to press the dumbbells overhead with power.
If you’re using dumbbells, the best grip for your shoulders is a palms facing in neutral grip.
This grip will also be easier if you are not as strong in your lower back.
However, you can also use a palms facing away grip.
Dumbbell substitution: Since Jessica didn’t have access to an olympic barbell, she substituted this exercise for the smith machine front squat.
Coaching cues:
Since you already had your circuit station set up before starting the first exercise, you do not have to move far between sets because you should already have the barbell on the squat rack.
Front squats are great for the quadriceps and core since the weight is in front of your body.
Position the barbell in the front rack position, with your elbows high and parallel to the floor.
Lower your body until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, then press back up to standing.
At the bottom of the squat, you can see Jessica does not have any butt wink, where her pelvis tucks under her body.
This means she’s going down to a good depth, while protecting her lower back.
Complete 8 reps, then take a 20 second break before moving on to the final exercise of circuit B, the feet elevated straight leg hip raise..
I usually complete this with your feet together, however since boxer’s are in a split stance, this would also be a more functional position.
In the beginning, hold the dumbbells in front of your chest, with a neutral palms in grip.
While completing the punch, rotate your arms to end the punch with your palms facing down.
When counting the reps, cue the Rocky music and think 1-1, 2-2, etc.
Your shoulders will be burning and looking on fire.
C2. Plyometric Push Up
The second exercise in circuit C is the explosive plyometric push up on the floor.
Reps: 10
Sets: 3
Rest: 20 seconds
Coaching cues:
Since this is an explosive plyometric move, it’s going to tap in to your type 2 muscle fibers in your chest, which are used for explosive athletic movements.
I purposely programmed this exercise after the dumbbell boxer’s punch since you’ll further tax your already fired up shoulder muscles.
The Afterburn is real.
Complete 10 reps.
Beginner modification: if you are not able to do the plyometic push up on the floor, complete the plyometric incline push up on step or bench, which makes it easier due to the incline.
Don’t be one of those people that cranks your neck on the way up.
The crunch movement is initiated through the core.
The reason for putting your hands behind your ears is to make the exercise more difficult.
You are not supposed to use your hands to pull up your head.
In fact, your hands should barely be touching your head.
Focus on the breathing, by inhaling on the way down, and then exhale on the way up.
Exhaling air out while flexing and pulling your abs in is what will give you the cuts and lines in your abs, once you have low enough body fat levels, which Jessica obviously has.
Don’t forget, laughing flexes your abs too, so if you fart during the crunch, laugh 😂.
Complete 20 reps, then take your 60 second break, and complete 2 more circuits.
Once you finish your last circuit, there is no Ignite It Up.
Do this plyometric variation if you’re beast mode.
In this video, Jessica did the non-plyometric variation of the clock push up, where she completed a push up, then shifted her hands and feet to rotate her body 1/4 around the clock.
Complete for 20 seconds, then take a 10 second break before moving on to the next exercise.
D3. Alternating Side To Side Single Leg Jump Squat
In the video, rather than rotating legs back and forth, Jessica completed 10 seconds of the single leg squat jump on one leg, then switched to the other leg for the remaining 10 seconds.
At this point of the workout, Jessica was losing her stamina.
Complete for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds, then move on to the last exercise.
Beginner variation: if this is too difficult complete the jump squat with two legs.
D4. Jump Burpee Push Up
The last exercise is the jump burpee push up, however you can choose whatever kind of burpee you want.
I never underestimate her, but I wasn’t expecting the jump.
I asked her to give me a tuck jump on the last rep, but she laughed it off and said it wasn’t happening.
Complete 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds, then complete 1 more round, and you are done.
Jessica’s Workout Feedback
That’s another Afterburn 1.0 workout in the books.
Here’s the final feedback from trainee Jessica.
Jessica: I feel amazing. The workout just gives you energy.
However, it’s unfortunate because it’s bedtime now and I’m probably going to be buzzing since I usually don’t workout this late at night.
I love all the exercises, it hits every part of your body, all your major muscle groups, and it trains you to be explosive, powerful, quick, and athletic.
Plus, the results are killer.
You’ll feel leaner the next day after you do just one of these Afterburn 1.0 body recomposition workouts.
I already feel leaner right now, and I just barely finished.
I also love that the workouts are always changing too, so it’s never the same old boring workout.
Therefore, you don’t go to the gym and think, “Oh this workout again”.
It’s great that the workouts are always something different, even though you’re using the basic compound movements that actually work.
I can’t wait to see your Live Lean Shred results from both the Home Shred and Live Lean Afterburn 1.0 body recomposition workout plans.
The home workouts are so good for you, but if you really want to see maximum results, do at least one or two of these Afterburn 1.0 workouts per week, as well.
Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.