By Mike Whitfield, CTT
Creator of Workout Finishers 2.0
You know the regular workout template. You go to the gym or your home workout downstairs and you warm up. Then you knock out your strength training. Perhaps you even add some conditioning, too.
After all, that part is fun, right? Well, at least it is for me.
Then the dreaded part comes for those looking to lose fat… the "cardio".
Now, I enjoy a nice jog outside or even a walk to clear my head, but to hop on a treadmill to walk for even as little as 20 minutes is really boring for me and I'm sure it's pretty boring for you, too.
Now you can do intervals, which are more intense, but even those get boring too. I've discovered that myself as I literally got burned out with interval training (and so did my clients).
So to fix that, I would have them run through some bodyweight gauntlets or some crazy rep and set scheme intense circuits for their workout grand finale (aka workout finisher). Now for me, the conditioning and physique benefits are pretty cool, but it's more than that.
It's the adrenaline rush you get when going through it and you're pumped to come back for more at the next workout. Sure, your conditioning improves as well as your performance, but the energy rush you feel all day - THAT'S what it's all about.
Now, I'm not a Mad Scientist like Nick is, but I do have a couple of unique exercises that you may or may not have heard of that I like to use when designing a finisher.
So, let's say I shut up and you knock any of these two Workout Finishers out after your next workout. Sound cool? Let's do this…
Workout Finisher # 1 - The Burpee Combo Gauntlet
Do the following circuit 4 times, resting only when needed.
- Burpee/Spiderman Pushup Combo (8)
- 1-Arm KB or DB Swings (Left Side) (15)
- Burpee/X-Body Mountain Climber Combo (8)
- 1-Arm KB or DB Swings (Right Side) (15)
What do those crazy Burpee combos look like?...
Burpee/Spiderman Pushup Combo
- Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.
- Squat down on your feet and hands
- Kick your feet out to form a pushup position
- Perform a Spiderman pushup by going down into a pushup, bringing one knee to the side.
- Repeat for the other side (do 1 rep on each side).
- Kick your feet back in and stand or jump back up
This is the Spiderman Push-Up.
Burpee/X-Body Mountain Climber Combo
- Start with your feet shoulder width apart
- Squat down and brings your hands to the floor
- Kick your feet out to form a pushup position
- Perform an X-Body Mountain Climber by bringing one knee towards the opposite elbow, keeping your abs braced. Repeat for the other side (do 1 rep per side)
- Kick your feet back in and then stand or jump back up.
(The sequence is the same as the previous combo, except for the X-Body Mountain Climber, so I'm just posting a pic of that different exercise here - you would do this in place of the Spiderman Push-Up in the sequence above)
Workout Finisher # 2 - Metabolic Ladder 4 X 4
Do the following circuit, resting only when needed. In the first circuit, you'll perform 4 reps of each exercise. In the next circuit, you'll perform 3 reps. Continue in this fashion until you complete 1 rep of each exercise. Then, work your way back up. Your next circuit will then be 2 reps, etc., etc. until you complete 4 reps of each exercise.
- Alternating DB Javelin Lunge (4/side....1/side...4/side)
- Skater Hops (4/side...1/side...4/side)?
- 1-Arm Extended Pushups (4/side...1/side...4/side)?
- Shuttle Sprint (Back forth 4 times...1 time... 4 times)
The first 3 exercises on this one might be new for you, so here you go:
Javelin Lunge
- Stand with your feet just outside shoulder width apart holding a pair of dumbbells.
- Take a big step forwards with one leg and lower your body until your thigh is parallel to the ground. Keep your torso upright.
- At the same time press the dumbbell up by extending the arm of the same side you step forward with.
- Return to the top by contracting the quadriceps, groin and hip extensors of the lead leg and bring the dumbbell back down under control.
Skater Hops
- Start with your feet shoulder width apart
- Jump to one side on one foot, shifting all your weight to the leg you jumped out with
- Now jump to the other side with the other leg and repeat.
Pushup with One Arm Extended (aka Superman Pushup)
- Maintain a straight line with your body and keep your abs braced
- Lower yourself into a pushup position
- Return to the starting position and extend arm out directly in front of you
- Repeat for the other side.
- Alternate sides until you complete prescribed reps.
Now THAT'S how you end a workout on a high metabolic frenzy note.
Enjoy!
Mike Whitfield, CTT
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Learn more about how Mike used his Workout Finishers to get results like THIS...
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