Indoor Circuit Training Routine for Fat Loss

Most of the year I like to separate my strength training and my cardio sessions. Three days a week I do my strength training, which consists of traditional weight lifting and calisthenics mixed with a little bit of gymnastic strength training. In between those days, I like to go outside and do 15 to 20 minutes of sprinting for cardio and fat loss, followed by a few laps in the pool to cool down. However, as winter approaches and the weather becomes uncomfortably cold, I hate going outside.

So, needless to say, every winter I am faced with a problem: I still want to do some cardio but I don't want to go running outside and I don't own a treadmill; and, to be perfectly honest, I kind of hate running on a treadmill anyways. This is where circuit training comes in. Each year, for about 3 to 4 months, I switch to circuit training mode.

In case you're not familiar with circuit training, allow me to explain: Circuit training combines strength training and cardio so your body builds muscle while also burning a lot of calories as if you were doing an intense cardio workout. How does it do this? Simple. By moving from one (typically compound) exercise to the next without any rest in between sets, your heart rate elevates quickly and before you know it, you're huffing and puffing like you just ran a 5K.

Circuit training is great for fat loss because it helps you put on lean mass and burn a ton of calories at the same time. Similar to sprinting, or any other type of intense form of cardiovascular exercise, circuit training puts your body in a state where it is burning calories at an elevated rate for hours after you've completed your workout. It's called the "afterburn effect." You might have heard of it before.

To do this indoor circuit training routine you will need a few things: a pull-up bar, a stopwatch, and a pair of light dumbbells. I use 15 lb. dumbbells, but you can go as light as 5 lb. I wouldn't suggest anything heavier than 25 lb., though.

So, without any further ado, here is the routine:

• 1x of Pull-ups to failure
  
• 1x of 25 push-ups
  
• 1 minute of jumping jacks
  
• 1x of 10 squats
  
• 1x of 10 dumbbell clean and press
  

Try to complete this circuit as quickly as possible three to five times with no more than 1 minute of rest in between rounds. It usually takes me 4 to 5 minutes to go through each round, resulting in a 20 to 25 minute workout, give or take, depending on how long I rest in between rounds. I suggest doing this workout every other day and doing yoga for active recovery on your days off.