The Square Life

You may be accustomed to going to the gym and doing the same routine or program with your free weights or machines. One way to increase the amount of calories burned during a weight training workout is to incorporate circuit training into your program. Instead of resting between sets, plan opposing exercises back-to-back, such as an upper-body pushing motion with an upper-body pulling (e.g., bench press, then the row). Increasing the number of exercises you are able to do in a short period of time increases your workload, and as a result, the number of calories you burn. Along with weight training, you can incorporate interval training on the treadmill in order to burn more calories. Here are some cardio options for the treadmill or elliptical machine, but please understand that these inclines and speeds are very challenging and you may need to start with lower intensities.

1. TREADMILL OR ELLIPTICAL INCLINE (Incline level: 3 to 10. Increase weekly for challenge.)
Sprint 15 to 30 seconds at 6 to 15 mph. Take a 45 to 90-second recovery by lowering speed to 4.5 mph, while jogging (put incline at levels 1 to 3 for recovery). Repeat routine
for 16 to 20 Minutes.

2. 200-METER SPRINT
Sprint on the treadmill between 8 mph to 12 mph for 20 seconds, then walk at 2.5 mph for 90 seconds. Repeat 4 to 6 times. (For difficulty raise treadmill incline to levels 6 to 8.)

3. 100-METER SPRINT
On the treadmill, sprint between 10 to 15 mph for 12 seconds, then walk for 2 minutes. Repeat 4 to 6 times. (For extra difficulty, raise treadmill incline to levels 6 to 8.)

4. INTERVALS
Sprint for 1 minute at 6 incline, 6 mph on the treadmill, and then walk for 1 minute at 2.5 mph. Repeat for time or reps. To add difficulty, increase both incline and speed (For example, 7 mph, 7 incline, 8 mph, 8 incline). Continue for 10 to 20 minutes.

5. PLAYMAKERS
Set treadmill speed at 6 mph for 30 seconds, then set speed at 5 mph for 15 seconds. For recovery, set speed at 4 mph for 45 seconds, then down to 3 mph for 20 seconds. Bring speed up to 7 mph for 12 seconds and work your way back down to 3 mph. Create any combination of speeds and intervals you want. Repeat for 10 to 20 minutes.

THE BONUS CHALLENGE:
At a 10 incline on the treadmill, run 10 mph for as long as you can. The goal: Last more than 1 minute. Repeat 2 to 3 times