Circuit Training

Playgrounds aren't just for the kiddos. Why not use the equipment to do a little strength training after you run or bike ride through the park, or while your children are playing (might as well tone your tush rather than just sitting on it)? Check out this five-minute circuit workout to target your entire body from head to toe. For a full workout, repeat the circuit six times through for a total of 30 minutes. Note that some cities have rules about adults using playground equipment, so double check before doing this workout.

• Triceps dips on a bench: Sit on a bench and place the heels of your palms next to your hips. Walk your feet away from you about six or so inches and hop your tush off so you're hovering in front of the bench. Slowly bend at your elbows and lower your upper body down toward the floor until your arms are at about a 90 degree angle. Be sure to keep your back close to the bench. Once you reach the bottom of the movement, slowly push yourself straight back up to the starting position. Repeat for one minute.
• Push-ups with both feet on a swing: Stand two feet in front of a swing and place your hands on the ground. Step onto the swing so the tops of both ankles are resting on the middle of the swing. Walk your hands out as needed so your body is in the top of a push-up position. Slowly bend your elbows, lowering your chest toward the ground, and then straighten them, coming to the starting position. Do as many push-ups as you can for one minute (it's OK to do them slowly).

Keep reading for the rest of moves in this circuit workout.

If the weather outside isn't cooperating with your idea to go for a run, hike, or bike ride, then you can still get in a good workout indoors. Believe it or not, you have something in your home that's just as good as a treadmill and weight room — the stairs. Crank up your favorite workout playlist and keep an eye on the clock, repeating this six-minute circuit five times through:

• One minute of running up and down the stairs
• One minute of triceps dips, resting your hands on the second or third step
• One minute of forward lunges, alternating between stepping the right foot on the first step, and then the left; make it harder by doing bicep curls with a set of dumbbells
• One minute of double leg jumps, starting on the floor, jumping both feet onto the first step, and then jumping back to the floor
• One minute of push-ups, elevating your feet on the first, second, or third step; if this is too difficult, then elevate your hands instead
• One minute of side squats, elevating your right foot on the first step for 30 seconds, then repeating on the left side for 30 seconds; make it more challenging by doing overhead shoulder presses with a set of dumbbells

Repeat this six-minute circuit four more times for a 30-minute workout.

What's not to love about circuit training? Combining heart-pumping elements of cardio with strength-training moves means you torch calories while toning muscles. It's just so efficient.

Here's a fun yet challenging circuit workout I did recently with my Equinox trainer Lauren. The workout has you performing each exercise for a minute, which means you need to keep a stopwatch handy, but you have the luxury of not needing to count.

Get the details of this circuit after the break.

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Self here on FitSugar!

On a recent visit to Cycle House in West Hollywood, I was amazed to discover how fast an hour-long indoor cycling class can pass when you're cycling alongside a high-energy, no-nonsense fitness instructor. It's no wonder celebrities like Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman are flocking to this new hot spot! Not only did I torch major calories, but I could barely get off the couch the next day.

"Every instructor is committed to creating the most effective interval-training, body-toning, heart-pumping, calorie-torching, challenging, fun rhythm ride workout that cannot be duplicated," says Cycle House Chief Ride Officer Nichelle Hines. "Indoor cycling allows you to craft a true training style that allows you to really shape and tone your body by adjusting speed and resistance while engaging the mind."

Luckily, you don't need to be a movie star to experience the Cycle House craze. All you need is a stationary bike to put the pedal to the metal. Says Hines, "I think the workout is so popular with the Cycle House client for one reason. It works!"

To burn 500 to 1,000 calories per hour at home, "find songs you like that inspire you" and "ride as much as you like as long as it feels good," says Hines. Incorporate these five moves into your regular routine at least twice a week for a full lower-body workout.

See the at-home cycling workout after the break!

Even if you have all the time in the world to spend at the gym, who wants to? Get in and out and on with your day by doing workouts that will strengthen all your muscle groups in a short time and get the heart rate up as well. Here are 10 do-anywhere total-body workout ideas that will save you time.

1. Celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins developed a belly-fat-blasting workout sequence that is fast and effective. From oblique crunches to exercise-ball moves, this workout combines strength training and cardio for one effective circuit. See all the moves (and download the printable PDF) here.
2. If you've got 15 minutes, you must print out this 5-4-3-2-1 workout from a FitSugar reader. Combining five minutes of cardio, four minutes of lunges and mountain climbers, three minutes of arm work, two minutes of squats, and one minute in plank will work your entire body without any equipment.
3. You may not have the pressure of walking down a runway in your underwear, but there's that whole Summer beach thing to think about. Channel your inner lingerie model with this video: a 10-minute total-body workout from Victoria's Secret trainer Andrea Orbeck.
4. If you're in the mood for something that will exercise your body as well as your mind, try this (printable) total-body yoga sequence. The nine poses will keep you calm while strengthening and lengthening your muscles.
5. Adding a ball to your normal workout routine raises the difficulty and offers variation. Do these three exercise ball exercises for a total of three sets for a challenging, all-body workout.

Read on for five more fast ways to work your entire body.

FitSugar reader FitFabCities has a circuit workout that works your entire body. She shared the video with us in our Fit Community.

Grab a resistance band and a pair of dumbbells, and you're good to go for this full-body circuit-training workout . . . and the best part is you don't even have to leave your living room to do it. That said, this is also a great workout to try at the gym if you're looking to switch up your regular routine.

Circuit training means you move from exercise to exercise and take minimal breaks between the moves so you keep your heart rate up the entire time. This helps to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time, something I love. There are eight exercises total in this workout, and we are going for about 15 reps per exercise. You'll notice there are a lot of multimuscle group exercises meaning you'll work more than one muscle at once, which is perfect if you're short on time. Let's be honest, who's isn't?

Strength training is so important since it helps to prevent injury, increase bone density, increase muscle mass (meaning you burn more calories just doing things like driving your car or watching Bravo) and, of course, it helps you feel fab in your jeans.

You might want to watch this workout video once to preview the exercises then follow along for a kick-butt, total body workout sure to burn lots of calories and tighten and tone every muscle in your body!

Keep reading for the video and workout breakdown.

Circuit training is one of my favorite ways to get my sweat on. You torch calories by getting your heart rate up while building muscle with strength training — a win-win workout. My Equinox trainer, Lauren, likes 'em too. Recently she put me through the paces of the following circuit workout, and I just had to share the fun. Get ready to sweat!

There are three circuits of four exercises each. Do 15 reps of each exercise, and keep rolling through the four exercises for 10 minutes. Between each circuit, rest (stretch and hydrate) for one to two minutes. To warm up, run on a treadmill for five minutes. This workout uses 12 kg. kettlebells and a variety of dumbbell weights. As always, work with a weight that is appropriate for your strength level.

Keep reading! There are two more circuits after the break.

Fans of circuit training will love the latest class offering from Crunch Gym: Diesel Motivation. The hour-long class is fast paced, challenging, and, best of all, a total-body workout. Expect to leave sweaty and sore.

If you're not familiar with circuit training, exercises are performed one after the other with no rest in between the moves. In Diesel Motivation, that breaks down to a mix of strength training moves intermixed with sets of high-intensity cardio. For the class, each student needs two sets of dumbbells (both a heavier and lighter set), a Bosu ball, a barbell, and a gliding disc.

Though no class is exactly alike, the same formula is always followed: class starts with a five-minute warmup consisting of light cardio and dynamic stretches followed by the meat of the workout and then a short 10-minute cooldown consisting of deep static stretches. Between the warming up and cooling down, the instructor leads the class through a series of back-to-back strength moves that focus on one area of the body, which is then followed by an intense two-minute burst of cardio (usually 30-second sets of jumping jacks, ice skaters, jump rope, and boxing moves). This intense cycle continues for about 45 minutes; the idea is that by the end of the class, you'll have worked every muscle group of the body. As for the strength training moves, it's about maximizing results — supersets of compound exercises. Some typical moves are lunges with bicep curls, sumo squats with arm raises, and push-ups performed on the Bosu.

See what I think of Diesel Motivation after the break!

Tabata. These three simple rhythmic syllables when uttered by a personal trainer can make a person sweat with nervous anticipation. And the nervous sweating will be followed by lots of actual sweating once the workout begins. After hearing rumors of this intense workout, yesterday my Equinox trainer Lauren decided it was time to introduce me to Tabata training; today my abs, glutes, and upper back feel quite well acquainted with the interval-style workout. Although originally created for sprint intervals with speed skating and cycling, you can Tabata anything (yep, I just turned it into a verb).

Tabata is a very concise way to organize intervals of work and rest. You perform your chosen exercise, jumping rope or doing burpees with a BOSU, for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds maintaining this on/off sequence for a total of eight cycles. Each full round is four minutes long, and you keep repeating the four-minute structure with different exercises. You want to work as hard and as fast as you can in those 20 seconds — no dilly dallying. I did a total of nine cycles after running for 10 minutes as warmup. To keep things exciting, Lauren organized my workout around three pieces of equipment (eight-pound medicine ball, BOSU, cable pulleys), using each piece for three exercises. The hour flew by, and I burned almost 500 calories. Look for Tabata classes at your gym — circuit Tabata classes usually have you go through 12 to 15 exercises in 60 minutes.

You don't need a trainer hovering over you or a class to keep track of your cycles; create a Tabata workout at home using this loud and colorful Tabata clock to track your time so you can get your sweat on without worrying about the numbers. If you are using weights in your workout, start out light. What feels right the first couple of cycles may be way too much when you hit the sixth one.