When it comes to strength training, I absolutely love a good circuit-training session! When performed properly, circuit training will help you tone and build lean muscle while improving both cardiovascular and muscular endurance.
For an intense (and unpredictable) circuit training workout, I recommend Crazy Jakes!
Items Needed:
- 1 Exercise Mat
- 1 Set of Dumbbells
- 1 Barbell with Free Weights
- 1 Pullup Bar or Assisted Pullup Machine
- 1 Standard Deck of Cards
Directions:
1) Separate the following cards from the standard deck (These are your playing cards and will represent the exercises and reps for your workout):
- Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 of Hearts
- Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 of Spades
- Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 of Diamonds
- Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 of Clubs
- 6 of Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, Clubs
- 2 Jokers
Exercises:
Hearts = Pushups
Spades = Pullups/Assisted Pullups
Diamonds = Walking Dumbbell Lunges
Clubs = Squat, Clean, and Press
6 (of any suite) = 60 Second Plank
Joker = 60 Second Running Mountain Climber
Reps:
Ace = 15 reps
King, Queen, Jack = 12 reps
10 = 10 reps
6 = 60 Second Plank
Joker = 60 Second Running Mountain Climber
2) Shuffle the Deck
3) Get After It! Flip the top card over and perform the associated exercise and repetitions. Work your way through the entire deck minimizing the amount of time between exercises. This entire strength training workout is 26 exercises and can be completed in 50 minutes or less. I'd recommend taking 5 minutes beforehand to warm-up and 5 minutes afterward to stretch. GOOD LUCK!
