TRX Conditioning Circuit Workout A

This time I did 4 rounds. Other than that, everything was the same as last time:

30 sec. single leg squats each side
30 sec. atomic pushups
30 sec. rows
30 sec. balance lunges each side
30 sec. side plank each side.

Because I didn't have to adjust the length of the straps or go back and forth from double to single-handle mode, I was able to get through the circuits with minimal breaks between exercises--10 or 15 seconds at most. I did , however, allow myself a little more recovery time between circuits though not the full 3 minutes suggested in the program. 90 seconds was more than enough even toward the end when I was starting to get fatigued.

Interestingly, these circuits conform almost perfectly to Craig Ballantyne's "Big 5" circuit template for fat loss: squat, push, pull, lunge, total-body core. BJ Gaddour of Workout Muse follows a similar template: 2-leg, push, pull, 1-leg, core. Or, if you wanted to put it totally in terms of functional movement: hip flexion/extension, push, pull, lunge, rotation/anti-rotation.

It's funny: I'm so into the functional thing now that it almost shocks me when I get clients asking me about programs like Sculpting Her Body Perfect. I actually had a client ask me about this very book last week. I'd heard of it, of course, but never really looked through it until she mentioned it. It's ... well, I'm not going to say it's bad, because the fact is, this bodybuilding stuff works if your goals are strictly cosmetic. The recommended progression--from three total-body conditioning workouts per week to a split routine with multiple exercises per "body part"--is totally safe and sensible. The information on cardio--the author refers to it as "aerobics," which tells you something right there!--is completely dated and the cardio prescription of 5 sessions a week, maintaining the heart rate at 50-80% of max, is just about worthless for fat loss though again it's not unsafe so I suppose it could be worse.

I mean, I'd rather have a deconditioned person puffing away on the treadmill at 55% MHR than doing kettlebell "swings" a la Jillian Michaels.

TRX Conditioning Circuit Workout B

Parameters are the same as for workout A: 30 seconds work, 40 seconds transition time between exercises, 3 rounds, 3 minutes rest between rounds.

The exercises were:

1. sprinter's start
2. deep chest press
3. 1-arm row
4. suspended lunge with touchdown
5. pendulum

Since 3 of the exercises are unilateral, you actually end up working 4 minutes per round. Again I found I didn't need a full 40 seconds to transition between exercises in most cases, so I only took the time I needed and managed to make it through the rounds in just under 6 minutes. I also felt the 3 minutes of rest between rounds was excessive so I only took what I needed before getting on with it.

(Workout Tip Of The Day: Don't be a slave to the program. If you can get 10 reps instead of the prescribed 8, go for it. If you're fully rested and ready to go after 60 seconds, get busy even if the program tells you to wait 90. Likewise, if you need to stop early or take more time between sets, it's far better to do that than risk an injury. Just make a note of what you did, and think about whether you need to adjust your weight selection next workout.)

TRX Metabolic Circuit

Thanks, Sandi, for forwarding this little gem to me!

Circuit 3x:
TRX 1-leg squats, 30 sec. each leg
TRX atomic pushups (feet suspended in cradles, arms in pushup position, bring the knees into the chest, then do a pushup. Even more fun than it sounds. Whee. Not.), 30 sec.
TRX body rows, 30 sec.
TRX balance lunges, 30 sec. each leg
TRX side planks, 30 sec. each side

As written, the workout allows 40 seconds transition time between exercises and a full 3 minutes recovery between circuits, but I found I didn't need nearly that long.

If you're curious to see a demo of the exercises, check out John Berardi's blog on the Precision Nutrition website (http://www.precisionnutrition.com/trx-workout-phase-1) Berardi collaborated with Alwyn Cosgrove and Fraser Quelch of FitnessAnywhere to come up with an 8 week experiment measuring weight loss and performance in three different groups, one doing strength training and steady state cardio, one doing strength training and interval cardio, and one doing strength training and TRX conditioning circuits. The above workout is one of the conditioning circuits from Phase 1 of the program. The results of the experiment haven't been published yet, but I think we can guess how the steady-state cardio group will fare :)