How to Build the Ultimate Workout for a Sexy Body

Most workouts are used in a straight set fashion whereby you stay at one exercise and perform the prescribed number of reps and then you rest for 30 seconds up to 5 minutes and then you repeat this sequence three to four times. When it’s all said and done, you have spent up to 20 minutes just on one exercise. But to get the most results for fat loss and gaining lean muscle, you need to trim the “fat” off of your workout by shortening the rest periods.

So what is the problem with the straight set method? First of all, it’s easy to do especially for beginners since you are only performing one exercise at a time. You see it in the gym all the time; some guy does 10 repetitions of a bench press then walks slowly to the drinking fountain, glances up at the TV to catch the latest sports and talks with his friends before he lies down again for another set. This scenario can take 15 minutes just on one horizontal, push exercise. If he were to do four exercises, he would need an hour. What is lacking is the intensity needed for fat loss and lean muscle.

A much more improved and efficient method is the alternating set routine. By ordering your exercises in a way where they are non-competing you can work one muscle group then give it a short rest while working another muscle group and so on. By putting together 2 to 4 non-competing exercises, you can build a complete total body routine in the fraction of the time it takes to do the old straight set routine and burn twice the calories and build lean muscle. Here are some examples on how to organize your sets:

1. Bi-plex: alternate between two non-competing exercises such as a push and a pull. Examples would include the push up and the squat.

2. Tri-plex: alternate between three exercises such as a push (bench press), pull (rows) and a lower body (lunge).

3. Quad-plex: alternate four different exercises such as a push (db overheads), pull (lat pull downs), lower body (Romanian Deadlift) and core (crunches).

4. Circuits: a complete body workout going through a series of exercises.

The bi-plex and the tri-plex are the most popular and very efficient. But, for overall fitness and to get more bang for your buck, go with the circuits. Below is an example of a circuit program using timed intervals.

The 45-15 eight Exercise Circuit: This is my favorite and it covers the whole body. Perform each exercise for 45 seconds and then take 15 seconds as a recovery period to get to the next exercise.

Exercise #1-Pushups

Exercise #2-Jumping Jacks

Exercise #3- Squats

Exercise #4-Mountain Climbers

Exercise #5-Rows

Exercise #6-Squat Thrusts

Exercise #7-Lunges

Exercise #8 Knees to Chin

Perform this routine up to three rounds with a 1 minute rest period in between and you have a 32 minute whole-body, fat burning workout. This routine even gives you cardio.

Basically, in the 15 minutes that it took to do the bench press you could get two rounds of a complete body workout with eight different exercises. Your intensity level will be just as high as in the straight set format because you are getting a full recovery on each muscle group before you use it again.

To summarize, the key to creating the optimal hormonal response for fat loss and gaining lean muscle is to use maximum intensity, use large muscle groups rather than isolation and allow brief rest periods to get a high volume of total body work done is as short of a time as possible. Circuits provide you with the best options.

My boot campers use circuits all the time and they get results. So follow my template for a killer workout and have fun! Now, let’s go after it!