Train in 30

Only in the past year have I actually taken a considerable step towards living a healthier lifestyle. My gym time used to be inconsistent and with food, inconsistent nutrition was an understatement. I haven’t perfected healthy living yet but it’s been a slow progression. One of the most important things that helped me was my trainer. I’ve been training with a personal trainer since October of 2011, and the biggest thing I learned was that the simpler the exercise, the more compliance I had. There’s no point learning a workout if you’re going to forget how to do it the next time you try and exercise, after all. My trainer and I worked through a lot of different exercises simple enough to remember and apply outside of the gym. There were even moves that didn’t require any equipment at all. I put together a half-hour circuit workout similar to what we used to do that engages your entire body and leaves you exhausted. You have virtually no rest and you burn way more calories this way. For the time-crunched, this is for you.

All you need is a flight of stairs, a medicine ball and some heavy weights. You can substitute the weights with a heavy gym bag for going up and down the stairs. I’ve included descriptions of the moves below in case you don’t know the form!

Run up and down the stairs (about 20-30 steps) twice
10 wood-choppers
Walk up and down the stairs with a 25lb weight in each hand
Jump rope 50 times
Walk up and down the stairs with a 25lb weight held over your head
10 burpees
Run up and down the stairs twice
10 Hindu squats
Walk up and down the stairs with a 25lb weight in each hand
Jump rope 25 times
Walk up and down the stairs with a 25lb weight held over your head
10 single-leg crunches, each side
Run up and down the stairs twice
10 wide push ups
Walk up and down the stairs with a 25lb weight in each hand
Jump rope 10 times
Walk up and down the stairs with a 25lb weight held over your head
10 push-up rows, each side

Rest for no more than 25-30 seconds between each exercise for maximum results.

Wood-choppers: Hold a 5 or 10lb medicine ball over your head with arms outstretched. Squat and lean forward, while throwing your arms down to the ground in a “chopping” motion.
Burpees: Start in an upright position, jump down to a plank then quickly bring knees to your hands, then jump back up with arms raised overhead.
Hindu squats: Start upright with arms bent at your sides, with your hands in fists. Extend your forearms out while you tighten your abdominal muscles as you quickly bring your arms back in towards your side. Once your arms are at your side, squat down. In a fluid motion, stand upright as you move the arms out and up with palms facing down (like a stadium wave). Bring your arms back to starting position, bent at your sides in fists.
Single-leg crunches: On your back with one leg flat on the floor, raise one leg to a table-top position and crunch. Do these quickly.
Wide push-ups: Start in a regular push-up position and then spread arms farther than shoulder-width apart. Lower yourself then push-up. You can modify to a push-up on your knees.
Push-up rows: Using 10 or 15lb dumbbells, start in a plank position holding both weights in your hands. Lift the weight up towards your side. Do this quickly. You can modify to a plank position on your knees.

You can find me blogging about food and fitness at www.kateiseating.com. Send me an e-mail or follow me on Twitter. For more information on this routine, e-mail my trainer, James.