“Do you realize we’ve been working out for the past two hours?”
This question was fielded to me via JVB, my training partner and co-coach at The Movement Minneapolis.
I checked the clock – she was correct. Our training session had taken on a rhythm of lift a little, chat a little. (Okay, a lot.) Lift some more, then take a break to refuel. I had to smile. In that moment, I truly relished the benefit of being self-employed and the boss of my own schedule.
This particular session was an indulgence, and one that doesn’t get to happen often, however, boss or not. Having the opportunity to be leisurely with any activity we enjoy – even when said activity involved quite a few grunts and sweat rivulets – and not have to rush from start to finish is a treat to be savored. I heartily believe that a true indulgence will leave you in a better place than you were before, and is something that adds to your quality of life rather than diminishes it. It’s the difference between meditating for ten minutes a couple times a week to calm your mind before work and grabbing a donut from the box a coworker brought in to celebrate a birthday simply because you’re frazzled and need a midday pick up.
Now, I know not everyone has time for such luxuriously long workouts, and that’s exactly why I’m such a big proponent of making your exercise routine work for your schedule and your life. For many of us, that means making it quick. Like…super quick. But listen, fast doesn’t mean ineffective – in this case we’re talking just the opposite. A 2007 study published in the ACSM journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that explosive muscle contractions, like those performed in a short, intense, conditioning circuit, up energy expenditure, compared to slower contractions done using the exact same load.
Hefting weights at a maximum velocity also has a hormonal impact, according to an October 2013 study published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. Circuit training increases testosterone and human growth hormone (HGH), to build muscle, boost energy, improve your immune system, and spike your metabolism. You burn more calories, both postexercise and on the whole, meaning you can eat more calories on a daily basis. (And that appeals, yes?)
In the time I’ve known Vanessa, I love the holistic approach she takes to health, from emphasizing daily movement to nourishing your body with quality foods. Keeping your energy bank in a positive balance is the route to consistent progress without hitting the proverbial wall. On that note, I invite you to enjoy the workout included below, and to savor it. (Although you don’t have to take two hours to do so.) You’ll see it’s broken into three mini-circuits, and I cannot emphasize enough to rest until you’re completely recovered before moving from one circuit to the next. The reason? I refer back to those explosive muscle contractions referenced above: Rest completely so that when you’re working, you’re really working.
Listen to your body in your training and you can have your cake — and eat it, too.
Dumbbell Dessert: A Lift Weights Faster Workout
Name: Dumbbell Dessert: A delightfully difficult three-tiered delicacy.
Suggested Equipment: Just your bod and a couple of dumbbells.
Instructions: Complete eight rounds of each circuit as quickly as possible before moving on to the next. Rest until completely recovered between circuits and as needed during each round.
Suggested Time: 30 Minutes
Dumbbell Double Hang Clean
- Standing with your feet hip-width apart, grasp two dumbbells so they hang straight down in front of you and rest against your thighs.
- Bend your knees slightly into a partial squat, then explosively extend your hips. Use the power generated by your hips, hamstrings, and glutes to “float” the dumbbells up. (You should pull up only slightly with your arms.)
- As the dumbbells become weightless in the air, quickly rotate the elbows underneath so you catch the dumbbells in the front rack position at shoulder height.
- Lower the dumbbells back down under control and repeat.
Dumbbell Double Front Squat
- Assume a racked position with the dumbbells at shoulder height, your forearms vertical under the dumbbells.
- Initiate the squat by pushing your butt backward and bending your knees, keeping your torso upright and supporting the weight with your arms.
- Keep your knees in line with your toes as you lower yourself as far as you are comfortably able. (If it’s not very far, play with foot position, and try turning your toes slightly outward, but don’t force anything.)
- Again, keeping your knees in line with your feet, return to stand in the starting position and repeat.
Dumbbell Pushup
- Assume a straight-armed plank position with your body elevated between your hands and toes, your hands grasping the handles of a pair of dumbbells. Make sure to line up your hands directly under your shoulders, just wider than your rib cage.
- With a stiff core and squeezed-together glutes, lower your body down as far as you can control, angling your elbows out to no more than 45 degrees and not letting your low back sag.
- Press through the dumbbells to straighten your arms and return to the starting position.
Split Squat with Pulse
- From a standing position and while holding two dumbbells at your sides, take a large step forward, keeping your feet no wider than hip-width’s distance apart.
- Lower your hips down until the rear knee touches or hovers just above the floor. In this bottom position, both knees should make 90-degree angles.
- From the bottom position, rise one-third to halfway up.
- Lower back down so that your rear knee is again close to the floor.
- From the bottom position rise back to the starting position. Repeat.
- Your hips will essentially make a “W” pattern through the set, only coming up partially between each repetition.
Dumbbell Renegade Row
- Assume a straight-armed plank position with your body elevated between your hands and toes, your hands grasping the handles of a pair of dumbbells. Make sure to line up your hands directly under your shoulders, just wider than your rib cage.
- Without shifting your hips or body position, row one of the dumbbells up toward your rib cage, keeping your elbow no more than 30 degrees away from your body. Your weight will balance on the opposite dumbbell on the floor.
- Lower the weight back to the ground, then repeat with the opposite arm. Alternate back and forth between sides, keeping your midsection braced and glutes squeezed so your body position changes minimally, if at all. Do not rock back and forth. If you need more stability, widen the distance between your feet.
Dumbbell Bent Press
- Clean a dumbbell to your shoulder and start with the dumbbell in the racked position. Next, rotate at the chest and reach your weighted elbow back to your sacrum. This is the starting position.
- From here, you will start by pushing your butt back and “corkscrewing down” while pressing your body away from the dumbbell and keeping your forearm perpendicular to the ground.
- To keep the weight stable and to utilize your leverage correctly, it helps to think of “pressing away” from the dumbbell, rather than simply pressing the weight “up.” Keep your eyes on the dumbbell the entire time!
- Continue to press yourself under the weight until you are able to fully lock out the elbow.
- Return to an upright, standing position, with the weight above your head. Return the dumbbell to the shoulder (and then sacrum) and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Dumbbell Double Push Press
- Assume a racked position with the dumbbells at shoulder height and forearms under the dumbbells.
- Keeping your chest upright, bend slightly at the knees, then immediately reverse the movement and straighten your legs quickly and explosively, using the momentum you gain to move the dumbbells quickly overhead.
- Use the strength of your arms to finish the movement, completely locking the dumbbells out overhead.
- Carefully return the weights to the racked position by keeping your elbows close to the body and repeat.
Dumbbell Double Bent-Over Row
- Holding two dumbbells at your sides, hinge forward from the hips approximately 45 degrees while staying wide across the chest.
- Row the dumbbells up toward your rib cage, keeping your elbows no more than 30 degrees out from your body.
- Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears.
- Lower the dumbbells to the start position with control, and repeat.
Dumbbell Double Romanian Deadlift
- Stand tall and grasp two dumbbells so they hang down in front of you against your thighs.
- Keeping your chest up, hinge at the hips and allow the dumbbells to trail down the front of your legs, keeping them as close to your body as possible.
- When you reach the end of the range of motion — typically felt as a stretch in the hamstrings or a change in back position — reverse the movement and stand up.
Ready for seconds?
If you’re looking to amp up your conditioning in creative and productive ways, I’ve put together a mammoth 180-workout pick-and-choose library called Lift Weights Faster 2.
Complete with a full exercise glossary that includes written descriptions and photographic demonstrations of nearly 270 exercises (from classic moves to more unusual ones — the Jefferson deadlift, anyone?), a video library that includes coaching on 30 of the more technical lifts, 10 challenge-workout videos, plus a dynamic warm-up routine, I’ve combined my training and athletic experience with my long background in magazine publishing to create a clear-cut, easy-to-use resource that you’ll want to turn to all the time.
Every workout is organized by the equipment you have available and how much time you’ve got, with options that last anywhere from five up to 30 minutes.
Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention I teamed up with my husband, David Dellanave, to create a strength program companion resource called Get Stronger Faster 2 to help you take your strength level to the next level. This completes the total workout package and helps you get results, faster.
For more info, click HERE.
