Overindulging during the Holiday season is all too easy, I know from experience! Even the best intentions can be forgotten among the parties, and generous meal portions and sizes. Holiday weight gain is an inevitability for 99.8% of the US population so those of us who are not competitive bodybuilders need to be ready to combat that added girth come January.
What happens in January when you want to shed those extra pounds? Back to the same old gym routine? Why not start the New Year with a new training philosophy – high-intensity circuit training?
Let’s see how we can battle holiday weight gain with high-intensity circuits.
Circuit Training for Fat Loss
There is a lot of conflicting advice about how long and how hard you need to exercise to lose weight. A high-intensity circuit is proven to increase your metabolism and burn loads of calories.
High-intensity exercises should push you to between 70% and 80% of your working heart rate. It requires hard work, but don’t let this put you off. Given a balanced nutritious diet, high-intensity exercises will help you to achieve your weight loss goals.
Below is one of our favorite weight loss circuits. Perform three circuits of all eight exercises, with no rest breaks between exercises and two minutes of rest between circuits. The circuit should take just over one hour in total.
The Hardcore Circuit Training Weight Loss Circuit
High-intensity circuit training delivers both muscular and cardiovascular endurance, but, above all, it is fun, engaging, and ultimately rewarding.
- Skipping – 3 minutes.
- Farmer’s Walk – 4 x 20m Walks. Mark out 20 yards on the ground, holding one dumbbell in each hand, and walk quickly.
- Run (Treadmill) – 5 minutes. Try inclining your run to add extra difficulty.
- Aerobic Rows – 3 minutes.
- Burpees – 5 sets of 10 with 30 seconds rest between sets. Start in the push-up position, bring your knees to your chest, and then stand up quickly performing a jump, before returning to your original position.
- Airdyne Bike – 1 minute. Use your arms only. If you can’t find one of these, try stacking some steps under a normal exercise bike and using the pedals from that instead.
- Mountain Climbers – 5 sets of 10 with 30 seconds rest between sets. Start in the pushup position. Bring one knee to your chest keeping the other leg straight. Quickly swap by straightening your bent leg and bringing your other knee into your chest.
- Exercise Bike – 5 minutes.
Final Thoughts
By incorporating high-intensity circuit training into your fitness routine, you can effectively combat holiday weight gain while boosting your endurance and strength. This dynamic approach not only burns calories rapidly but also keeps your metabolism elevated long after the workout ends.
Remember, the key to success is consistency and pushing yourself within safe limits. Start today and it should only take you oh… 2-3 months to undo your unmoderated holiday damage.
Read more: What is HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training
Tags: circuit training, circuits, Conditioning, hirt, holiday weight gain, holidays, lose weight, weight gain, weight loss
