100 Days of Fitness: Week 10 – Sample Circuits

How long does it take to change your life? Follow author Robert Fure as he begins a 100 day trek to a fitter, healthier life by following this simple program. Today, we talk about whipping your ass into shape with some sample circuits on the 100 Days of Fitness program.
22 January,2012By
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When it comes to working out, thus far I've been a big proponent of working out at home and performing circuit routines to keep the body moving.  I've laid down the basics for what a circuit is – pick a few exercises, do them, then do them again – but now its time to go into a little bit more depth.

Circuit training is beneficial because it combines cardiovascular exercise with resistance training.  Depending on which exercises you pick for your circuit, you can build muscle and burn fat.  That said, doing a wimpy circuit full of straight up cardio exercises, your benefits will be less.  My circuits, and hopefully yours, revolve around quickly transitioning between relatively challenging, strength building exercises and mixing in just a touch of cardio.

Recently I incorporated a jump rope into my training and this is my main source of cardiovacsular exercise.  Jumping rope is a pretty intense exercise — burning up to 11 calories per minute, which is about on par with running an 8 minute mile.  Just a few minutes of jumping spread through your workout will kick your ass in a good way.

These circuits are ones that I do and are based around the equipment I have.  If I use a kettlebell and you don't have one, substitute in a workout that you can do with what you have at your disposal.  Or, make up you're own – it's not that difficult.

Circuit 1 – Perform 3 times

  • 2 Minutes of Jump Rope
  • Kettlebell Squat to High Pull x 10 (each arm)
  • 20 Pushups
  • Kettlebell Two Handed Swing x 10
  • Elastic Band Bicep Curls x 10
  • Elastic Band Triceps  Extension x 10

Circuit 2 – Perform 3 times

Circuit 3 – Perform 3 times

So these are examples of my circuits – but nothing is set in stone, you can randomly exchange almost any of these exercises into any other circuit.  I make use of all the stuff I have at my disposal, but if you don't have any of these things – you should get some – but that doesn't mean you can't do a circuit.

$0 Circuit

  • 12 Push Ups
  • 20 Body Weight Squats
  • 12 Deep Range of Motion Push Ups
  • 15 High Jumps
  • 12 Push Ups
  • Cardio – Either HIIT Sprinting/Walking or Jumping in Place for 3 minutes

Odds are you probably have some sort of equipment, whether it's a dumbbell or some other heavy weight which you can bring into play with curls, weighted squats, tricep extensions and the like.  The key is to keep moving on the circuit.  You take a water break and rest only after the entire circuit has been completed.  This keeps your heart rate up and the blood flowing.

My Results

After no loss last week I'm down one pound to 236lbs for a total weight loss thus far of 15.5lbs.  While my loss is slowing somewhat, this is no reason to become discouraged.  The only thing that will really stop your progress is if you stop the program.  Hiccups are okay.  While we want to lose closer to two pounds a week, if you lose 1lb a week over the course of the whole program you'd lose at least 15 lbs, and if you kept up your healthy habits for a year, you could lose more than 50lbs.  That said, one pound isn't great, so we're going to try for two.  Personally I know my problem is with my diet, where I've had some stumbles and some bad days lately.  Finding the problem is the key to fixing it – so here's to better weeks on the way.

Robert Fure

Robert Fure is a fitness, lifestyle, and entertainment writer living in Los Angeles. He is also a certified Personal Trainer and the Creator/Editor of Fit and Furious, an online outlet dedicated to the pursuit of a fit lifestyle. His entertainment work can be viewed at Film School Rejects.