"TRAIN LIKE A GYMNAST" - A Circuit Training Workout

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By Alexandra LaChance

WORKOUT

Photos by James Patrick, portoliopatrick.com

Alexandra's outft by BodyRockSport.com

W

e all want more bang or

our buck. Working out is no

exception. I you work yourtail o in the gym, you want

to see results. The more hours you log in,

the more you expect to get out o your gym

time, right? WRONG! Exercise is a prime

example o quality over quantity. Instead

o just ocusing on the number o calories

burned during your hamster session on

the treadmill, start thinking about the

number o calories you can burn ater you

throw in the towel and head home. This

is called EPOC, or excess post-exerciseoxygen consumption.

This extra oxygen consumption directly

correlates to the amount o energy

burned. In other words, the kind o

exercise you do will determine how many

extra calories you will be burning at rest,

ater your workout. High intensity exercise

raises stress hormones like adrenaline,

noradrenaline and cortisol, causing a

chain reaction that eventually leads to

lactic acid build up. This lactic acid build

up triggers testosterone and HGH (at

burning hormones). All o these hormones

work collectively to produce EPOC.

Elite level gymnasts are considered

to be some o the strongest and ttest

athletes, pound or pound. Why? Well,

every fip, leap and jump is engaging

multiple muscles at once, in maximum

exertion. The more muscles you contract

at once, the more energy is required,

and the more calories are burned. Thus,

greater EPOC results. >>

TRAINLIKE A

gymnastA CIRCUITTRAININGWORKOUT

Think you dont have enoughtime for a killer, calorie-blasting

workout? Think again!


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1. LUNGE JUMP SWITCHES Standing with your eet together, jump into a lunge

position, with your let leg to the ront, right leg to the back, and both knees bent to

90 degrees. Your ront knee (let leg) should be directly over your let heel. Then jump

as high as you can and switch legs, landing in a right leg lunge. Continue jumping and

switching legs, while swinging your arms comortably at your sides. Make sure you are

pushing o both the ront and back legs equally each time you jump.

2. NARROW-TO-WIDE ARM PUSH-UP Start in a straight-armed plank or push-up

position, with your shoulders over top o your wrists. Then bend your arms, and lower

down into a tricep push-up, keeping the elbows pointed backwards and tight by your

ribs. From there, explode up, jumping your hands out wide to either side o you, and

lower down into a wide armed push-up. This time, your elbows point out to the sides,

orming 90 degree angles. Continue to push o the ground with your arms, jumping

rom narrow to wide push-ups. Keep the legs straight, eet in place and spine straight.

3. V-UPS Lay on your

back with your legs

straight and together.

Simultaneously lit

your legs and upper

body o the ground

to orm a V position.

Then lower down to

the starting position.

Repeat. Hands can

be kept resting palms

down by your hips, or

outstretched overhead

or increased intensity.

4. BACK LUNGE LEG KICK WITH

BAND (one side at a time): Tie a loop

in a resistance band and slip the loop

around your right ankle. With your let oot,

stand on the untied end. Give yoursel the

appropriate amount o slack in the band.

Lunge backward with the right leg until

both knees orm 90-degree angles. Then

push o the back leg into a straight leg

kick backwards. Immediately lunge and

kick again with the same leg. Perorm30 seconds with just the right leg, then

switch. Make sure you keep your chest

up when you lunge and kick!

Below is a gymnastics-inspired conditioning circuit. All you need is a towel,

resistance band and stopwatch. Perform as many repetitions in 30 seconds of

each exercise as you can. Perform the circuit at least twice, resting as little as

possible! Remember to be as explosive and quick as possible!

REMEMBER! The more muscles you

contract at once, the more energy is

required, and the more calories are

burned. Thus, greater EPOC (excess

post-exercise oxygen consumption)

results.


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5. PIKE HANDSTAND PUSH-UPS (eet up on bench or stairs): Place your hands

on the foor shoulder-width apart, and step your eet up onto a bench. Keep your

legs straight and lit your hips in the air, so your body orms an upside down V. Your

shoulders should be directly over top o your wrists. Bending your arms, lower down

until the top o your head gently touches the foor. Keeping the fexion in your hips,

and straighten your arms to return to the starting position. Repeat. The more fexion

you keep in your hips, the higher the intensity.

6. SEATED L-LEG LIFTS Sitting with your legs straight and extended in ront o you,

press your palms on the foor on either side o your thighs. Without rocking your chest

backwards, lit and lower your legs o the ground. The arther orward your chest is

kept, the more challenging it will be.

7. FRONT JUMP SWITCHES Using

bench or stairs, stand on let leg, with

right oot placed on a bench. Shit your

weight to the elevated oot, press o o

the bottom leg, jump and switch eet, so

that your let oot is now on the bench.

Repeat. Keep the jump switch action inthe air above o the bench.

8. BICEP CURL 21S (7 bottom hal,

7 top hal, 7 ull range) Grab some

dumbbells (or the handles o a resistance

band and stand in the middle o the band).

Keeping the elbows tight against the sides

o your ribs, perorm 7 repetitions o the

bottom hal o a bicep curl, stopping when

the elbow hits 90 degrees. Then perorm

7 repetitions o the top hal o the curl,

starting at 90 degrees. Finish with 7 ull

range bicep curls. Increase diculty bywidening your stance.


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10. HOLLOW ROCK Lay on your back and lit your legs o o the ground. Bring your

arms overhead and lit your shoulders and upper back up o the ground. Keeping the

heels o the ground, curve your spine and rock back and orth. You can decrease the

intensity by bending your legs, or placing your hands on top o your thighs.

11. ARCH ROCK This is the reverse o the hollow rock. Lay on your stomach and

stretch your arms overhead. Keeping your legs straight, press your hips into the foor,

lit your legs and chest o the ground. Rock back and orth keeping the hands

and eet o the foor.

12. HAND-

STAND

SHRUGSWith a partner

or against the

wall, kick up to

a handstand

position. With

straight arms,

press through

your shoulders

until your ears

touch your

shoulders.

Release and

repeat.

9. SINGLE LEG DOWN DOG TO PLANKStart in an upside down V position with

the hands and heels fat on the foor. Lit

one leg to vertical, keeping arms and legs

straight. Rock the shoulders orward and

fatten out the hips until you hit a plank

position. Keeping the leg elevated, rock

the shoulders back and lit the hips up to

return to the starting position. Repeat and

perorm or 30 seconds. Then switch legs.

13. BURPEES

Stand with legs

shoulder-width

apart. Squat

down and place

the hands on

the foor, in

between the

eet. Keepthe hands on

the foor and

jump the eet

backwards

into a plank

position. Then

jump the eet

back to either

side o the

hands to a

squat position,

stand up and

jump. Repeat.

Documents

"TRAIN LIKE A GYMNAST" - A Circuit Training Workout