Just for the heck of it, I decided to change up my routine this week. I didn't just change a couple of exercises or play with the order though.... ooohh no. I'm talking completely different approach here.
Before: 5 day split, 2-3 body parts per day. Moderate weights. 8-12 reps. 30 sec - 1 min rest between sets.
Now: Full-body circuits. Bodyweight or light weights. 15-20 reps. No rest between exercises, 1 minute between circuits. Do this 3 times this week, alternating days. The other two workouts will be boxing and karate, where I'll practice drills, kata, and shadow boxing non-stop for 10 minutes, rest 3 mins, and repeat.
The circuit:
Step ups (quickly) x 60 secs
Burpees x 10 reps
High pull with resistance band x 10 reps
Mountain Climbers x 20 reps
Dips x 10-15 reps
Walking lunges with dumbbell curls x 20 reps with 12.5lb dumbbells
Single Hops x 20 per leg
Deadlift with dumbbell rows x 10-15 reps with 30 lbs dumbbells
Dynamic pushups
Jump squats x 20 reps
Cardio x 3 minutes on machine of choice
*After completing this 3 times, I finish up with some ab work.
I'll go back to my regular workouts next week, though more and more workouts will begin to look like this as I approach my competition date.
I feel it's important to do this every once in a while, not just for the sake of losing weight (circuits like these really tax your cardiovascular system, helping to burn fat very quickly!), but to work different muscles than you're used to. Usually I use alot of machines and free weights, and workouts are generally centered around isolation movements. And that's fine! It means I can focus on working every single muscle as much as I need to. But these circuits have me doing more functional and dynamic work. The exercises themselves are different, there's little to no equipment thus I'm using a greater range of motion, and there are alot of compound movements which really forces the body to work as a unit. So hopefully this'll give my system a nice little jolt!
The circuit today was brutal (it never fails: no matter how in-shape you think you are, Circuits.Will.Kill.You!!) but I felt so great and jelly-ish after lol. I'm looking forward to the karate training tomorrow :)
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