The key to burning fat? Not with maximum weight or intensity, but minimal rest. This workout keeps you moving nonstop. Get the sweat pouring and the fat melting.

DIRECTIONS: After a 5-minute general warmup, set a timer for 12 minutes. Perform all exercises in Circuit 1, resting only in the time it takes you to move from station to station, in continuous rounds until time is up. Reset the timer for 12 minutes and do the same with Circuit 2. Cool down for 5-10 minutes.

CIRCUIT 1
EXERCISE X REPS
Bodyweight Squat X 15
Overhead Press X 12
Dumbbell Row X 10 each side
Hammer Curl X 15
Rope Pressdown X 15
Plank X 30 seconds

CIRCUIT 2
EXERCISE X REPS
Walking Lunge X 10
Lateral Raise X 10
Lat Pulldown X 15
Rope Curl X 15
French Curl X 15
Spread Eagle Situp X 10

FINISHER X REPS
Run/Jog X 10 mins.

THE EXERCISES

BODYWEIGHT SQUAT: Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and both hands in front of you or behind your head. Squat low to the ground, making sure your thighs get at least parallel to the floor. Engage your glutes as you stand back up.

OVERHEAD PRESS: Load a barbell at about shoulder height in a squat rack or power rack. Grab the bar with a shoulder-width grip and step back to hold the bar in the “rack” position, with the bar crossing just on top of your clavicles. Without flaring your elbows, drive the bar upward using your triceps. Lock the bar out to full extension overhead, pushing your head forward slightly when the bar is in the topmost position. Lower the bar slowly and under control to return to the rack position.

DUMBBELL ROW: Set your right knee on a bench with your left foot kicked out wide to create a stable base. Set your right hand on the bench to create a flat table with your back, and hold the dumbbell in your left hand. Row the weight to your shoulder, pulling with your back and biceps. The move is finished when you’ve rowed it to your shoulder. Pinch it there for one second, then slowly return your arm to a fully extended position. Repeat for the prescribed number of reps on your left arm, then switch and immediately do the same number of reps with your right arm.

HAMMER CURL: Hold a dumbbell in each hand and, without using any momentum, curl the weight up to chest level, stopping just shy of your shoulder. Squeeze your biceps at the peak of the movement, then slowly return to the start position. A typical hammer curl would cover a full range of motion, all the way up to the shoulder—stopping just short of that keeps tension on your biceps, giving you a better workout.

ROPE PRESSDOWN: Clip a rope attachment to a high pulley at a cable station and grip it with both hands at either end. Keeping your elbows at your sides (imagine they’re bolted to your ribs) press down, extending and contracting your triceps hard. Flare your hands out at the bottom of the movement, hold for a second, then slowly return to the start.

PLANK: Lie face-down on the floor and prop yourself up on your forearms, elbows, and toes. Brace your core and keep your body in a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders, holding for time.

WALKING LUNGE: Hold a pair of dumbbells in your hands and step forward with one foot, taking a long stride, then slowly drop your back knee to the floor. Stand back up while taking another step forward, driving through the heel of the forward foot. Continue for an equal number of reps on each leg.

LATERAL RAISE: Hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides. Keeping your elbows fully extended, lift the weights straight out to your sides, forming a T with your arms and torso. Hold the top position for one second, then slowly return to the start position.

LAT PULLDOWN: Sit facing the weight stack at a lat pulldown station, with your knees secured comfortably underneath the knee pads. Grab the bar with a wide grip, and pull the bar down with your lats, initiating the pull with your shoulder blades.

ROPE CURL: Clip a rope attachment to a cable pulley, and set the pulley on the lowest setting near the floor. Stand close to the pulley, hold both ends of the rope attachment and curl it up to your shoulders, squeezing your biceps in the top position, then slowly lowering the weight.

FRENCH CURL: Hold a single dumbbell overhead with your hands in a diamond shape supporting the underside of the top bell (the dumbbell should be vertical, perpendicular to the floor). Bend your elbows to lower the weight behind your head. Engage your triceps to press the weight back overhead.

SPREAD EAGLE SITUP: Sit on the floor and spread your legs as far as you can. Keeping your back flat, lower your torso to the floor under control. Sit all the way up, again making sure to keep your back flat. Keep your abs contracted in the top position.