“I just love spending hours running in place, surrounded by old men who are dripping with back-sweat.” – Said no one, ever.
Traditional cardio – boring and inefficient
Why would you spend half an hour on the treadmill or elliptical when you can burn twice as many calories in half the time, AND induce hypertrophy on two to three major muscle groups? My philosophy for the gym: work as hard as you can, as fast as you can, for the most results. Anything else is a waste of time. Here are eight cardio circuits that can be completed in fifteen minutes or less, broken down into beginner and advanced categories.
Efficient and FUN cardio circuits
Beginner
The “beginner” term just encompasses movements that are easier to perform and don’t require a foundation of strength or an advanced knowledge of form to perform correctly. It is not a statement on their effectiveness as circuit cardio. I do these movements every week.
- The Jay Wilson – To ward off the patented Jay Wilson triple-chin
- 10 Push-ups
- 20 Bodyweight Squats
- 20 Crunches
- Repeat the circuit for fifteen minutes with as little rest as possible between each exercise.
- Hits chest/tri/shoulders and legs really well in addition to the cardio.
- The Ironforge Circuit – Performed by the Dwarves of Ironforge for centuries
- 10 Burpees(click links to see the exercise performed)
- 1 Pullup
- Repeat for fifteen minutes with as little rest as possible between each exercise.
- Hits every major muscle group in the body ontop of the cardio performed.
- Super Mario Training
- 15 Jumping Squats
- 5 Jumping Pull-Ups(Use momentum from your jump to pull yourself up, should be easier than dead-hang pull-up, designed to force blood into your arms/back and not so much build back/bis)
- 15 Crunches
- Cycle for fifteen minutes. Intensity – just below the threshold of you wanting to throw up everywhere.
- This is fantastic cardio, the crunches are your recovery time.
- Gnome Mercy
- 50 Lunges(50 per leg)
- 20 STANDING Arnold Dumbbell Presses(with an appropriate weight)
- Cycle for fifteen minutes or death, whichever occurs first.
Advanced
- The Arrhhhhnoold – Grunting and screaming during sets is encouraged
- 21-15-9 Power Cleans
- 21-15-9 Push Press
- 21-15-9 Bent Over Rows
- 21-15-9 Hang Clean
- Do this with a barbell, weight should be something you can push press 20 times comfortably
- You’ll do 21 reps of each exercise for the first set, 15 reps each for the second, and nine reps each for the third set.
- Kettlebells – Yeah I’m all out of creative names
- 25 One-armed Kettlebell Clean(25 each arm)
- 15 Pushups
- 5 Pullups
- Do five circuits with minimal rest between sets.
- Modified Fran
- 21-15-9 Front Squats into Push Press
- 21-15-9 Pullups
- Run a mile
- Do the front squats and pullups back to back, then run the mile with a moderately high intensity(about 85% of your max effort).
- The Murph – Named after fallen Navy SEAL Michael Murphy
- Run one mile
- Do: 300 squats, 200 pushups, 100 pullups(I break them down into sets of 15 squats, 10 pushups, and 5 pullups for 20 sets)
- Run another mile
- This should take somewhere between 40 and 60 minutes and is not for the faint of heart.
Integrate these circuits into your workouts however you like. I will throw in one of the above after a weight lifting session three to four times a week. If I’m really feeling motivated I’ll do something like The Murph on an off-day. Nobody ever achieved greatness by being comfortable and safe.