Get lean with strengths circuits
The key to burning body fat sustainably is to try and maintain the muscle and strength you have worked hard for in the gym. Strength circuits are an excellent protocol for achieving a better body composition because the setup allows you to train with heavier loads to maintain and even gain muscle tissue and strength while being on a slight calorie deficit.
With eight years of experience as a personal trainer in St. John Wood, I know clients struggle to balance busy work, family, and social life while being in shape. Strength circuits offer a good bang for your buck system of training, helping you get the most out of it.
Be lean and muscular all year round
Escape the cutting and bulking approach and achieve constant lean body composition and strength levels all year round. As a personal trainer in Marylebone, I know it is possible to stay lean and add muscle just like its potential through intelligent training and programming to maintain or gain strength and muscle while losing body fat. To do this, you have to train heavy with intensity. Every program should be designed to make you stronger and leaner, and strength circuits do just that.
Strength circuits
Strength circuits incorporate four exercises, which are arranged in a circuit. I know you're probably thinking, 'Circuit training is nothing new!' Hold on!! Strength circuits are slightly different, so continue reading! Like circuit training (which does have a proven record of being very successful for achieving fat loss), you perform strength circuits by carrying out one exercise after another in a circuit with minimal rest in between exercises and resting at the end of the four exercises before repeating. This is where it differs from traditional circuit training. Instead of completing a set number of sets, please focus on the number of reps and let the sets take care of themselves. In other words, you are completing an exercise when you have finished the desired number of reps.
How it works
Each workout will be made up of two circuits, with four exercises per circuit. Between these two circuits will be some high-intensity work to promote fat loss further. The exercise selection in the circuits has to include compound movements (exercises that hit big muscle groups or multi-joint movements) such as squats, push presses, and pull-ups. If you want to add one isolation exercise into the second circuit, you can. You should consider the type of movement when picking your exercises in each workout to ensure that you hit all muscle groups and planes of motion.
Hip/hamstring dominant leg exercise
Quad dominant exercise
Horizontal pushing movement
Horizontal pulling movement
Vertical pulling movement
Vertical pushing movement
Each circuit should include one lower body movement, at least one upper body pulling movement, and at least one upper body pushing movement. Once these are covered, you can be creative with your exercise selection. So, for example, your first circuit may look like this:
Front squat
Wide grip pull up
Sumo deadlift
Military press
You would perform as many reps as you could on the front squats, then move straight on to the pull-ups and perform as many reps as you can, then on to the sumo deadlift and perform as many reps as you can, and finally the same with the military press. Then, you rest and go through the exercises again until you have completed all the reps for each exercise, regardless of how many sets it takes you. So, it may take six sets to complete all the reps on the front squat and eight sets before you complete all the pull-ups. If you do complete all the reps on one exercise before another, that's perfectly alright. Just cycle through the remaining exercises until they are completed as well. Once you have finished all the reps for all the exercises, move on to the high-intensity work.
How to set the volume
Instead of focusing on the sets, concentrate on the reps to measure the volume of work within your session. For example, a good workout would have a range of 210 to 250 total reps. Any more than that, and you're picking a load that is too light with reps too high, or you're doing too many exercises. The number of reps selected may differ from exercise to exercise; as long as it's within the above parameter, it is okay. Some people prefer to go heavy with back squats. For example, they will set a lower number of reps to be completed, but then they may feel that their deltoids respond better to slightly higher rep ranges for the military press so that they would target a higher rep rate. Aim to make sure that each exercise has a rep range of 20-35 total reps. This is enough to produce neuromuscular adaptation. Any more than that, the load would be too light, and too few reps wouldn't be enough to stimulate muscle growth. Strength circuits must be performed with heavy loads, and so there is a need to have some guidelines for selecting weight and reps. Below are a few guidelines for selecting a weight based on how many total reps you have chosen to do per exercise.
Twenty reps - Select a weight you can lift 3-5 times. If you can lift it six times or more on the first set, the weight is too light, so go heavier. If you can get only two reps out on the first set, it’s too heavy for you, so take some of the load off.
Twenty-five reps - Select a weight you can lift 4-6 times. If you can get seven or more reps out on the first set, the weight is too light, so go heavier. If you can get only three reps out on the first set, it’s too heavy for you, so take some of the load off.
Thirty reps - Select a weight which you can lift 6-8 times. If you can get nine or more reps out on the first set, the weight is too light, so go heavier. If you can get only four reps out on the first set, it’s too heavy for you, so take some of the load off.
Thirty-five reps - Select a weight you can lift 7-9 times. If you can get ten or more reps out on the first set, the weight is too light, so go heavier. If you can only get eight reps out on the first set, it’s too heavy for you, so take some of the load off.
The high-intensity work
As mentioned earlier, at the end of the strength circuit workout, once you have finished the last rep of the previous exercise, perform 180 seconds of high-intensity work to increase fat loss further. This can include bodyweight exercises such as burpees, mountain climbers, and skipping or power-based exercises such as pushing or pulling a sled/prowler. By completing this high-intensity work after the heavy loads of the strength circuits, you will increase heart rate and strip body fat, in turn increasing the metabolic effect of the workout.
Strength circuit A: An example
This is the workout I have used of late to whittle down body fat and build on my strength and conditioning for the summer months.
Back squat (lower body quad dominate): Total reps x 35
Behind the neck shoulder press (upper body vertical push): Total reps x 35
Snatch grip deadlift (lower body hip/hamstring dominant exercise): Total reps x 35
Weighted chin-up (upper body vertical pulling exercise): Total reps x 25
Rest 15-30 seconds between exercises. Once you have cycled through the first circuit, rest for 45-60 seconds and repeat until all the reps for each exercise are complete. If you complete all 25 reps for the weighted chin-up before completing all 35 reps for the back squat, then drop the chin-ups and cycle through the rest of the exercises until the reps are completed. Once you have finished the final rep of the last remaining exercise, move straight on to the high-intensity workout as outlined below:
High-intensity workout: An example
Burpees (as many reps as you can in 45 seconds)
Sledge pulls (as many yards as you can in 70 seconds)
Complete as many burpees as possible in 45 seconds and as many yards as you can on the sled pulls in 70 seconds, then rest for 2 minutes and move on to your second strength circuit (circuit B).
Strength circuit B: An example
Narrow bench press (upper body horizontal push exercise): Total reps x 25
Walk lunge (lower body quad dominant exercise): Total reps x 30
Meadows row (upper body horizontal pull exercise): Total reps x 25
Hack squat (lower body quad dominate exercise): Total reps x 30
Rest for 15-30 seconds between exercises, and then once you have cycled through the first circuit, rest for 45-60 seconds and repeat until all the reps for each exercise are complete.
Strength circuits allow you to carry on lifting heavy weights even when you're cutting. This protocol produces significant energy expenditure, focusing on fat loss through the intensity. This program can be used once a week alongside a sound nutrition plan and a high-volume workout program to promote muscle gain and fat loss simultaneously. Contact me, your St John's Wood personal trainer, for other programs to help you achieve your health and fitness goals.
Tom Winterbottom personal trainer St. John’s Wood, personal trainer nw8, personal training in Marylebone, personal training gym w1, personal trainer maida vale.
