The main goal of this workout is to condition the body to burn more fat. To do this you need to train for muscle endurance. Training for muscle endurance means working with lighter weights, but at a high repetition range to increase your heart rate. Endurance muscle fibres use oxygen, glucose and fat for fuel, hence the link with reducing body fat levels. Coupled with an appropriate CV workout, your metabolism will become much more efficient and that means you will burn fat all day even whilst you sleep.

Most of the exercises in this workout can be performed by Team Player level exercisers, but there are one or two that require a certain level of fitness. That’s why this workout has been aimed at the ‘Tough Guy’ level. However the workout can be tweaked to make it more or less challenging by swapping some of the exercises or changing some of the variables such as rest, number of sets, reps etc. The CV session is quite intense, but again can be modified to suit less experienced levels.

The thing to remember is, if you have difficulties performing a particular exercise then don’t be afraid to make it easier or change it for a different one that works the same muscle groups. The same goes for an exercise that’s too easy. Any exercise can be made more or less challenging by making slight changes to the way it’s performed.

1 - Why only 2 sets on some exercises and 3 on the others?

You’ll see that most of the exercises with only 2 sets are for the smaller muscle groups such as the arms or abdominals. When you do a workout that includes multiple joint exercises, the arms and abs are already getting a workout. Exercises like the bench press and cable rows are also working the triceps and biceps. The abdominals are used to help stabilise your core trunk muscles whilst doing these other exercises, so it’s not necessary to work them as hard as the bigger muscles, when it comes working them individually. With lunges, the buttocks and thigh muscles are some of the largest in the body, so working them for 4 sets, is ok and will help to exhaust these very powerful muscles.

2 - Why do legs first?

The legs have some of the largest and strongest muscles in the body. The larger muscles require the most energy to train them effectively, so by working them first when you are fresh you can make greater gains. You have more energy available at the start of the session, which means you have more energy to work the larger muscles much harder. The same goes for the chest and back muscles, although these aren’t as large as the leg muscles, so should be worked after the legs during a total body routine.

3 - In fact why work the legs at all? I don’t like working the legs and my legs aren’t fat!

A lot of people think, it’s not important to work the legs. Your legs support your whole body. So your legs should be strong, toned and in proportion with the rest of your physique. They may not be fat, but active muscle will support fat loss for the rest of the body. If you use a muscle, it requires energy to nourish it. So by working the large muscles in your legs you are increasing your energy demand which raises your metabolism hence burning more body fat for energy. So if you seriously want to burn body fat and lose weight, then work your legs.

4 - Why is the workout intensity only rated at 7, moderate? Shouldn’t I be working harder to burn body fat?

To burn fat effectively, you need to keep mobile so your heart rate is elevated. The structure of a muscle endurance workout allows you to do this. It works your body within the aerobic training zone where you are using endurance type muscle fibres. Your body utilizes glucose, oxygen and fat for energy when training at this level and intensity.

Just because you are training with light weights does not mean the workout will be easy, completely the opposite. If an exercise is easy for you to complete 15 reps. at a slow speed with good technique and posture, then you need to increase the weight. The last couple of reps should be very hard to complete, almost impossible. Minimising the rest period and moving on to the next set keeps your heart rate up and has you burning fat more efficiently.

1 - Why is the CV workout only just over 30 minutes? I thought to burn fat you need to work for longer.

The CV workout includes intervals that are at a high intensity coupled with intervals at a moderate intensity. It also includes a vital warm up and cool down. Training in this way means that you will burn more calories per pound of body weight than doing a CV workout at a moderate intensity for longer. The advantages are that your CV session is shorter and you burn more fat. It also means that your metabolism is elevated throughout the entire day.

2 - I don’t like gyms and prefer to work outside. Can I do this?

Absolutely, you can choose any piece of gym CV equipment. You can use a gym bike, cross trainer, rower, and stepper, whatever you prefer. Of course if you don’t have access to a gym or prefer alfresco (outside) then hit the road on your bike, walking or jogging or your local park to get your CV hit. Swimming is also a great CV exercise. You can apply interval training to all CV types of exercises.

The treadmill is not the best piece of CV equipment to do interval training on as the transition between interval speeds can be too slow. So if in a gym, it’s best to use a cross trainer, stepper or bike where you have full control of the speed. Or do your interval running outside in the fresh air.

Perform each weights session within this workout 1 day per week. That’s 3 sessions per week. Allow at least 1 full days rest between each session for adequate recovery.

Doing your CV workout on the days between your weights routines will help to keep your metabolism elevated. Research suggests that overall calorie expenditure is greater if weight training and CV are done on separate days. If you can only manage to do the routines in a single session, then perform the weights routine first whilst your energy stores are high.

It is suggested to continue with this workout program for a period of 6 to 8 weeks. Combined with an appropriate diet the exerciser should see a significant reduction in body fat by the end of this initial period.