It’s that time at Get-Fit Guy headquarters once more—the special occasion when I dish out some of the best new workouts I’ve made up, discovered, or been incorporating into my busy, hectic, travel-infused lifestyle not too conducive to the same ol’, same ol’ routine at a health club.
As you learned in Why the Best Workout Is the One You’re Not Doing about why, especially if your goal is simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain, you need to do three things: load your muscle fibers with different loads from different angles, constantly switch up the workouts you’re doing (including exercises, sets and reps), and challenge your lungs and heart with different intensities and different rest periods.
That, my friends, is how you constantly get fit, all year long.
So without further ado, here are my top five killer new muscle gain and fat loss workouts you’ve probably never tried.
1. The TV Workout
Two days ago, a friend sent me a “must-see” documentary. I’m not really into watching TV, but figured I’d stream it onto my computer and try to throw down a workout that enabled me to simultaneously soak up the knowledge in the documentary and also workout.
So yesterday morning, in my hotel room, I set the laptop on the desk, flipped it open, played the documentary, and did the following workout, which allows you to “face a screen” the whole time you’re exercising so you don’t miss the action.
Do the following as a circuit the whole time your show is playing (I cycled through the following for 43 minutes!):
-50 jumping jacks
-50 high knees running-in-place
-50 body weight squats or Hindu squats
-60 second isometric squat hold or wall sit
-50 repetitions of “sit-to-stand” (sit down, stick both legs out in front of you, slide both legs back in towards your body, stand up, jump – harder than it sounds).
-Stand and go back to jumping jacks
Want more TV workouts? Check out “How To Get Fit While Watching TV.”
2. The Kettlebell Walk
This is a new invention of mine, sparked by an evening on which I was stressed from a long day of work, hadn’t yet done a workout and, wanting a dose of fresh air, didn’t really feel like an indoor workout at a gym.
I shouted to my wife that I was going to head out for a walk, and on my way out the door, I noticed the kettlebell sitting by the garage door.
Then I thought, “What the heck?”, and I grabbed the 1 pood (~36 pound) kettlebell, with a plan to warm-up for my walk with a few kettlebell swings, carry the kettlebell for the first few minutes of my walk, and then set it down at the end of the driveway.
An hour later, I found myself dripping in sweat with very activated glutes, an exhausted core, and bulging veins on both arms from an intensive grip workout. So what exactly did I do on my “kettlebell walk”?
-Walk 100 steps with the kettlebell in the right hand.
-Walk 100 steps with the kettlebell in the left hand.
–Stop and do 30 kettlebell swings.
-Walk 100 steps with the kettlebell held to your chest.
-Stop and do 30 kettlebell rows for each arm.
-Walk 100 steps with the kettlebell held overhead.
-Stop and do 30 kettlebell squats.
-Repeat this sequence for entire length of walk (I recommend shooting for 60 minutes).
Finally, follow this simple rule: never, never, ever set the kettlebell down. No matter what.
3. Gym Circuit
When I’m at even the “crappiest” of hotel gyms, I have a stand-by workout that, as I highlight in my episode, “What Is The Best Workout For Fat Loss?” was proven in a 2009 University of California Study to (compared to a traditional cardio-only workout or resistance-training-only workout) give the following:
- a 35% greater improvement in lower body strength,
- a 53% greater improvement in lower body endurance,
- a 28% greater improvement in lower body flexibility,
- a 144 % greater improvement in upper body flexibility,
- an 82% greater improvement in muscle gains, and
- a 991 % greater loss in fat mass!
The basic idea behind the workout is this: choose one exercise for one muscle group, one exercise for the opposing muscle group, do back-to-back sets for those two muscle groups, and then do a burst of 30-60 seconds of cardio.
For example, a typical workout would go like this:
-Pushup to dumbbell row to 60 seconds bike, three to four times through.
-Overhead press to pulldown to 60 seconds run, three to four times through.
-Deadlift to leg extension machine to 60 seconds jumping jacks, three to four times through.
-Squat to stiff-legged-deadlift to 60 seconds burpees, three to four times through.
You get the idea. Even with limited equipment, it’s super simple to piece together a workout that blasts away an enormous number of calories, boosts fat burning, and still gives you a strength training effect.
4. The Nasal Breathing Only Run
In my article “7 Of The Best Ways To Stop Stress,” I teach you a way to transform extreme exercise into a relaxing release. One of the techniques I describe is the strategy of only breathing through your nose during a run. This deep nasal breathing downregulates the baroreceptors in your chest that can cause a cortisol release from shallow chest breathing through the mouth, and also “puts the brakes” on your body and keeps you from pushing too hard. It instead keeps you aerobic, focused, and running in a more meditative state.
When I travel, I find that if I can do nasal breathing the whole time, I will enjoy the scenery and the run far more, rather than allow myself to huff-and-puff like a race horse.
I will enjoy the scenery and the run far more, rather than allow myself to huff-and-puff like a race horse.
This method is just as simple as it sounds. Go for a brisk walk or a run and only breathe through your nose. Period. You’ll find you need to relax your body, increase your cadence, lean forward, and do all the tiny biomechanical adjustments that make you a more efficient walker or runner.
And if you’re up for a real challenge, try the old Spartan training technique of filling your mouth with water, then attempt to return from your entire run with a mouth still full of water. It’s harder than it sounds, but a great way to train yourself to breathe through your nose and relax during a brisk walk or run.
Finally, if you want a burst of intensity, turn up the speed (and spit out that water if necessary) for the final two minutes and shift to mouth breathing and working as hard as possible so you get a shift into lactic acid production, glycolysis, lung burn and all the other metabolism boosting effects of going hard. Just save it for the end.
5. The Busy Day Exercise Sandwich
Finally, there’s what I all my busy day exercise “sandwich”. I use this tactic when I know it will be impossible for me to even find 10 minutes during the day to exercise, which often happens if I’m at a conference, or have an extremely busy days of phone calls, consults, writing and family or social activities, or I’m traveling.
So how does this sandwich go?
Quite simple, really:
Step 1. Start the day with a cold shower. That’s the top of the sandwich.
Step 2. Every hour, at some point, do 30 burpees. That’s the middle of the sandwich.
Step 3. Finish the day with a 5 minute cold shower. That’s the bottom of the sandwich.
By the end of the day, you will have gotten all the benefits of ten full minutes of cold thermogenesis and will have amassed literally hundreds of burpees – without ever stepping foot into the gym, or changing into your special workout clothes and shoes. And trust me: this tactic is much better for fat loss and muscle gain compared to most sandwiches.
Remember: the best workout for fat loss and muscle gain is most often the workout that you’re not doing. Don’t let your body adapt. Tuck these workouts away for later and give them a try!
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about five killer new muscle gain and fat loss workouts you’ve probably never done? Join the conversation at http://ift.tt/1PKzcip.
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