Increase the metabolic demands of your training sessions by utilizing these 3 types of workouts. Each of these types of workouts involve the entire body and demand extended repetitive effort which make them ideal for building or maintaining muscle while enhancing fat loss. Most personal trainers or fitness coaches should be using these types of workouts in any fat loss workout they design. Does yours?
Circuits
Circuits are typically made up of two to five different exercises performed in succession without resting in between. You are quickly moving from one movement to the other, which keeps your heart rate elevated and increases metabolic demand.
Some examples of circuits include:
Complexes
Complexes are a group of exercises performed right after one another with the same weight that is never put down until the complex is complete. These are one of my personal favorites because there is typically one movement pattern that is your "weak link" and the limiting factor in how much you can lift. Finding the perfect weight to challenge stronger movement patterns while allowing you to complete weaker movement patterns can require trial and error, but you can get a quick workout in with just a single weight!
Some examples of complexes include:
Combinations
When you combine two or more exercises together into a single exercise, it is called a combination or "combo". Likely you are more familiar with these than you might think. Exercises such as a thruster, which includes a squat to overhead press, is a combination exercise. Compound exercises are movements that train multiple muscle groups at once- making them the most efficient exercises for building muscle. As a result, you get the biggest bang for your buck. You can train more muscle groups with fewer exercises.
Other combination exercises include:
By increasing metabolic demand, your body has to expend more energy. Regular exercise increases muscle mass and teaches the body to burn kilocalories at a faster rate, even when at rest. Substances like caffeine can increase the basal metabolic rate (BMR) while dietary deficiencies, for example, a diet low in iodine, reduces thyroid function and slows the metabolism.
Give these 3 techniques a try and see if it helps you overcome your fat loss plateau!
Need even more help? Get your baseline numbers with a BodPod or give my new Starting Fat Loss program a try!
Kelly Sherman, MS, NC, CGP, CPT, is a licensed nutritionist specializing in empowering women to reclaim their health by cutting through misinformation and ditching the diet culture. She has a master’s degree in nutrition and is degreed in exercise science as well as a certified personal trainer. With over 20 years of experience in the field, she combines the best of both nutrition and exercise sciences to best help her clients reach their potential. To nourish is to flourish!
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