You’ve got your jumping jacks dialed, and you know how to do a plank . . . but have you tried plank jacks? This intermediate bodyweight move has likely cropped up in your workouts at some point – and whether you loved or hated it, it has some impressive benefits.
You get all the strength benefits of a plank (think: a strengthened core, shoulders, back, and legs) plus the benefits of cardio. All this, using just your bodyweight.
That said, plank jacks are not easy, and it’s important to do them right so you don’t increase your risk of injury. In some cases, that can mean modifying the move to a low-impact version. To help you do exactly that, keep reading for how to do plank jacks correctly, plank jack variations to try, and tips for incorporating them into your workout routine.
This core-plus-cardio move will get you sweating, raise your heart rate, work your arms and legs, and build strength in your core. Add a resistance band around your legs, and you’ll fire up your glutes as well. Yes, this simple bodyweight move can do all that.
Take it from F45 Training trainer Cristina Chan: “Plank jacks are a combined cardio and core-strengthening exercise that helps increase core strength and stability as well as cardiovascular strength.” Reminder: Core stability is hugely important whether you’re a pro athlete or just going about your daily life since it creates a stable base from which your limbs can move safely and effectively.
Because plank jacks offer a way to get your heart rate up without equipment or even standing up, they’re a great cardio option for those who are working out at home or want to stay off their feet due to injury or space.
How to Do Plank Jacks
No matter which type of plank jacks you try, be sure to keep your shoulders over your wrists, your hips down, your arms locked out, and your core engaged, Chan says. Because this is a pretty difficult move, it’s a great option to incorporate into HIIT workouts or when you want to do some cardio at home. You can try it for the indicated number of reps below, or try it for a set amount of time: for example, a 30-second interval of work followed by 30 seconds of rest.
Here’s how to do the classic version of plank jacks:
Start in plank position with your shoulders over your wrists, your body in one straight line, and your feet together.
Like the motion of a jumping jack, jump your feet out wide and then back together. Try to keep your pelvis steady and don’t let your hips rise toward the ceiling or dip toward the floor.
Do a total of 30 plank jacks. That’s one set. Do three sets total.
Plank-Jack Variation: Low-Impact Plank Jacks
Whether you’re a beginner, returning to workouts after a break, or dealing with an injury, this low-impact variation of plank jacks is a great place to start.
Start in plank position with your shoulders over your wrists, your body in one straight line, and your feet together.
Step your right foot out to the side, then step your left foot out to the side.
Then step your right foot back to center and your left foot back to center.
Try to keep your pelvis steady (don’t let it rock from side to side) and don’t let your hips rise toward the ceiling or dip toward the floor.
Alternate which foot you start with for each rep.
Do a total of 20 reps. That’s one set. Do three sets total.
Plank-Jack Variation: Resistance Band Plank Jacks
Add a mini resistance band or hip band around your thighs (easier) or ankles (harder) to recruit your glutes more during this move. If jumping your feet out is too difficult, try stepping your feet out like in the low-impact version explained above. (You’ll still feel it in your glutes and core, promise.)
Start in plank position with your shoulders over your wrists, your body in one straight line, and your feet together. Loop a small resistance band around both legs.
Jump your feet out wide, resisting the pull of the band, and then back together. Try to keep your pelvis steady and don’t let your hips rise toward the ceiling.
Do a total of 20 reps. That’s one set. Do three sets total.
Lauren Mazzo was the senior fitness editor at PS. She is a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist through the American Council on Exercise. Prior to joining PS, she worked for six years as a writer and editor for Shape Magazine covering health, fitness, nutrition, mental health, sex and relationships, beauty, and astrology.
Have you ever tried the lawn mower exercise? And no, I’m not referring to pushing a metal device across your front yard to trim the grass. The lawn mower exercise is a type of row that can help build scapular stabilization. And if you’ve never heard of it, that’s not entirely surprising, considering that most of us skip shoulder stabilizing moves altogether. But the benefits of the lawn mower exercise make it worth adding to your usual workout routine.
Here’s everything you need to know about this underutilized strength move, including how to do a lawn mower exercise with proper form and how to incorporate it into your own fitness routine.
The biggest draw of the lawn mower exercise is that it can help support and build shoulder strength. Now, it’s worth noting that the shoulder is a pretty complex area of the body. The shoulder girdle includes the clavicle and the scapula. And there’s a collection of joints – ternoclavicular (SC), acromioclavicular (AC), scapulothoracic, and glenohumeral. Plus, other scapular muscles, including the upper trapezius, lower trapezius, pectoralis minor and serratus anterior, work together to place the scapula in optimal position for shoulder function, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).
So, how does the lawn mower factor into all this? This exercise is a multi-joint movement that engages the lower trapezius (traps), serratus anterior, and other back muscles, all of which play a role in supporting and stabilizing the shoulder.
Why does this matter, exactly? Well, research in the journal Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy suggests that individuals with alterations in scapular position are at a higher risk of shoulder injury, and it can hurt fitness performance. But, on the flip side, prioritizing this part of the body can help set you up for strength-building success.
As the name of the exercise implies, this movement mimics starting a lawn mower. That means that while it’s a type of row, you’re going to be adding in some rotation, rather than moving your arm straight up and down.
Proper form includes keeping a wide split stance, hinging forward at your hips, and maintaining a strong, flat back. It’s also crucial to engage your core muscles as you move through this exercise – not only will this help strengthen that part of your body, but it will also protect your back and ensure you’re getting the most out of the exercise.
Now, it’s also important to note that the “lawn mower” refers to the movement itself, and it isn’t tied to a specific type of resistance – so you can perform a lawn mower with dumbbells, resistance bands, cable machines, or even your own body weight.
However, before you go reaching for some heavy weights, check in with your shoulder mobility. If it’s subpar, you could be setting yourself up for injury, or just an inefficient workout. How can you tell? Try this: stand with your back, shoulder blades, and wrists against a wall, with your hands overhead. If you can’t slide your arms down while keeping all those touchpoints against the wall, your mobility could likely use some attention. If that’s the case, start with a bodyweight lawn mower and other shoulder mobility exercises.
How to Do a Lawn Mower Exercise
Get into a split stance position, with your left foot forward and right leg back. Keep a slight bend in both knees.
Hinge at the hips to bend slightly forward, and keep your back flat. Engage your core. Extend your right arm towards your left foot.
Rotate your torso slightly, pull your elbow up and back while keeping your arm close to your body, and imagine bringing your hand towards your pants pocket. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and down.
Using control, bring your hand back down to the starting position.
Complete all reps, then repeat on the other side.
Lawn Mower Alternatives and Variations
As mentioned, there are a number of ways to do this exercise, using different types of resistance. You can opt for bodyweight only (which is best if you’re still honing shoulder mobility or recovering from a shoulder injury), resistance bands, cables, or dumbbells. To make this exercise more challenging, you can simply scale up the weight.
However, if you want to try an alternative to the lawn mower exercise that still targets similar muscles, consider one of these moves instead.
Plank Row
This type of row really targets your core and challenges your shoulder stability, as you work to maintain your plank form while rowing with alternating arms. It also hits your lats, rhomboids, and traps.
Start in a plank position with a dumbbell in each hand (or simply try bodyweight).
Row one dumbbell up to your chest while stabilizing with the other arm. Engage your core to keep your hips from rotating.
Lower the dumbbell back to the ground and alternate sides.
Deadlift Row
This exercise combines the classic row with a deadlift, which means it challenges your lower back, glutes, hamstrings, traps, and core in one move.
Stand with feet hip-width apart, hinge at the hips and knees to grasp a dumbbell in each hand.
Keeping your back flat, lift the weights up and back, squeezing your shoulder blades together and keeping your elbows close to your body.
Lower the dumbbells back down with control.
Superman
The superman is a nice bodyweight alternative to the lawn mower. It can similarly help strengthen your back and shoulders, without excessive strain.
Lie face down on the floor with arms extended in front of you.
Lift your arms, chest, and legs off the ground simultaneously, holding the position briefly before lowering back down.
Kristine Thomason is a lifestyle writer and editor based in Southern California. Previously, she was the health and fitness director at Mindbodygreen and the fitness and wellness editor at Women’s Health. Kristine’s work has also appeared in POPSUGAR, Travel + Leisure, Men’s Health, Health, and Refinery29, among others
The fire hydrant exercise has been around at least since the days of Jane Fonda workout tapes, but it’s not just your mama’s exercise – it’s something you should consider adding to your routine as well. Fire hydrants are a great exercise because they don’t require any equipment, but can still help you build some serious glute strength.
Fire hydrants target your gluteus medius (think the side of your butt). “This muscle can be overshadowed in training, since many people focus on their gluteus maximus, the main part of your butt”, says Domenic Angelino, a certified personal trainer with Trainer Academy. “The gluteus maximus still will experience a training effect here, but it won’t be as profound as the gluteus medius.” So, no – the fire hydrant is not a replacement for squats. But it can be a great alternative, since it works related but different muscles.
The benefit of having a strong gluteus medius is to be able to move the body in a lateral direction, or side to side. This is helpful not only for athletes who need lateral agility, but also for everyday life when you need to move out of the way quickly, like maneuvering your way through a busy airport.
Fire Hydrant Exercise Benefits
Again, the fire hydrant is an incredibly effective glute move. Here, three benefits of the lower-body exercise.
They Don’t Require Equipment
The fire hydrant is a great way to train your glutes without needing access to go to a gym. Lack of equipment can be a barrier when it comes to working out, but with the fire hydrant, all you need is your bodyweight. “This is huge, because a lot of people struggle to maintain motivation to workout consistently. Since motivation comes in waves and is transient, it’s important to have tools at your disposal to capitalize on those bursts of motivation. Having a way to workout on the spot is a great way to do this”, says Angelino. This also means you can keep up with your fitness routine anywhere.
(That said, you can up the intensity of the move by adding on an exercise band – more on that below.)
They’re Accessible
The fire hydrant is simplistic. “They’re structured in such a way that most people will be able to lift their leg up appropriately, even if only through a partial range of motion,” Angelino explains. Though you do want to use your maximum range of motion, it does not need to be a large range of motion to be effective.
They’re a Perfect Finisher
When you’ve reached the end of a workout where you’ve used heavy loads, and want to do a final burnout round to push your muscle endurance, the last thing you want to think about is lifting more heavy weight. Enter the fire hydrant. “Since they rely on a single joint, they can be tagged on to a workout after completing more challenging exercises that involve multiple joints”, Angelino tells PS.
How to Do a Fire Hydrant
Start on all fours with your wrists under your shoulders, and your knees under your hips.
Keeping the left knee on the ground, lift your right leg up, opening up the hip.
Bring your right leg up to 90 degrees, or as high as your range of motion allows while keeping your hips parallel to the floor.
Return your right leg back to the starting position.
Repeat for 10 reps.
Complete 10 reps on the left leg.
An important note is to make sure you keep your hips square to the floor and not let your torso twist. Twisting the body will start to recruit the abdominals and take away from the activation of the glutes.
Fire Hydrant Modifications and Variations
One reason trainers love fire hydrants is because they’re so adaptable. You can start with a smaller range of motion when you’re still newer to the move; or wear a resistance band to make it more challenging. Here, more info about how to modify the exercise.
Try a Clamshell
The clamshell exercise trains similar muscles to the fire hydrant, so it can be a good place to start if you’re struggling with the fire hydrant, Angelio says.
You can find the steps for performing a clamshell here. Basically, you’ll lay on your side with your hips, knees and ankles stacked. Lift your top knee, and open your hips as far as your range of motion allows, then return to the starting position.
Add a resistance band
When adding a resistance band to your fire hydrant, slip a closed band around your legs, placing it about two inches above your knee. Then perform a fire hydrant as normal.
Add a pulse
Another way to get more of a muscle burn is to add a pulse to the top of the fire hydrant movement. Raise your leg to the top of your range of motion. Then lower your leg an inch, then lift it an inch, and repeat for 10-20 reps. This creates more time under tension, which helps to build the muscle.
Brittany Hammond is a NASM-certified fitness instructor, a fitness writer, and an avid reader. In addition to POPSUGAR, she has contributed to Livestrong.com, Well+Good, Verywell Fit, and Health.com. She has worked as a group fitness coach for the past seven years.
If you need a simple bodyweight exercise that gets your heart rate up and also builds strength in your entire body, meet the mountain climber.
It’s a classic exercise you’ve probably done before, and fitness pros love it because it will strengthen your core while simultaneously working on your cardio and muscular endurance. This move is a great addition to any ab workout, especially if you’ve already mastered beginner ab moves like crunches and planks. And it’s a great addition to any HIIT workout because it’ll have you out of breath in no time. Mountain climbers also make a great warmup exercise, especially when paired with some other mobility drills.
Curious how to do them, exactly? Keep reading to better understand the benefits of mountain climbers, which muscles are worked by mountain climbers, some variations on mountain climbers, and how to do mountain climbers with correct form so you can get the most out of this exercise.
Benefits of Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers are a great compound movement, Cristina Chan, certified trainer at F45 Training, says. Compound moves are ones that work multiple large muscle groups, which translates to strengthening more muscles at once, as well as increasing the demand you’re putting on your body.
Mountain climbers, specifically, “help with strengthening big muscle groups like your hamstrings, quads, back, shoulders, and glutes, as well as your core,” she says. Yep, with all those muscles worked by mountain climbers, they’re basically a full-body exercise.
Think about it this way: mountain climbers are essentially a plank variation, so you can expect to strengthen the same muscles as during that exercise (i.e., your shoulders, upper back, and core). Since you’re essentially running in place while in a stable plank position, this exercise also builds leg strength. And, as a cardio move, mountain climbers also get your heart rate up and increase your cardiovascular endurance – these things come with a laundry list of their own benefits, such as a boosted mood and better heart health, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
How to Do Mountain Climbers
Chan has plenty of tips to help you make sure you’re doing mountain climbers with proper form. First of all, “make sure you stay in a plank position, and keep your hips at shoulder height throughout the entire exercise set,” she says. Also, “keep distance between you and the ground by pushing up through your shoulder blades and engaging your core. As you bring one knee in, make sure your opposite leg is extended straight while you engage through your glute and leg muscles.” And finally, if it’s cardio you’re after, “keep a faster tempo if you want more of a cardio burn,” she says. Ready?
Here’s how to do mountain climbers, step by step.
Start in a plank with your shoulders directly over your wrists. Keep your back flat and your hips down, maintaining a neutral spine.
Engage your core, and lift your right leg, drawing your knee in toward your chest. Return the right foot to the starting position as you simultaneously drive your left knee toward your chest. Return to the starting position.
Continue alternating sides. To increase the intensity, pick up the pace until it feels like you’re “running” in place in a plank position.
If you are new to mountain climbers or exercise in general, are rebuilding your skills after a hiatus from the gym, or just want to make mountain climbers a little less intense, try slow-motion mountain climbers. By dialing down the pace, you’ll reduce the cardiovascular demands of the move but really hone in on the core work you’re doing. Here’s how.
Start in a plank with your shoulders directly over your wrists. Keep your back flat and your hips down, maintaining a neutral spine.
Engage your core, and lift your right leg, drawing your knee in toward your chest. Hold this position for one second, then return the right foot to the starting position.
Repeat with the left leg, driving your left knee toward your chest, holding for one second, and then returning to the starting position.
Continue alternating sides without speeding up the pace.
Add a literal twist to your mountain climbers with this variation (shown above). By rotating your hips slightly, you’ll place more of a demand on your obliques, the muscles that run along the sides of your core. These muscles are responsible for twisting your torso, bending it to the side, and also giving it stability.
Start in a plank with your shoulders directly over your wrists. Keep your back flat and your hips down, maintaining a neutral spine.
Engage your core, and lift your right leg, drawing your knee in toward your chest and over to your left elbow. Return the right foot to the starting position.
Repeat with the left leg, driving your left knee toward your chest and over to the right elbow, and then return to the starting position.
Continue alternating sides. Speed up the pace if you’d like, taking care to move with control.
Not to be confused with the Spider-Man push-up (a mountain climber/push-up hybrid), the spider mountain climber is a more intense mountain climber that also happens to be a great hip mobility exercise. Make sure you do a thorough warm up before tackling this one.
Start in a plank with your shoulders directly over your wrists. Keep your back flat and your hips down, maintaining a neutral spine. Step your right foot up and outside of your right hand so it’s planted on the ground. Keep your hips low and in plank position.
Jump to switch sides, hopping your right foot back to plank position and your left foot forward outside of your left hand.
Continue alternating sides. Speed up the pace if you’d like, taking care to move with control.
Mountain Climber Variation: Plank With Bunny Hop
This mountain climber variation is not for the faint of heart. You’ll engage your entire core, plus your arms, shoulders, back, quads, and glutes, helping to strengthen the muscles in virtually your entire body. And the jumping motion acts as a plyo workout, getting your heart rate up so you can enjoy some cardio benefits too. Give it a try, but if it’s too hard to complete a full set, pat yourself on the back for trying – this is an advanced move. Finish out the rest of the set with a regular plank or a body saw instead, and keep trying to work your way up to a full set instead.
Begin in a plank position with the feet together.
Pulling your abs in, jump your feet to the right, bringing your knees toward your right elbow. Your torso will twist to the right.
Jump your feet back to plank to complete one rep.
Repeat on the other side, and continue alternating sides for 20 reps total.
– Additional reporting by Jenny Sugar and Mirel Zaman
Lauren Mazzo was the senior fitness editor at POPSUGAR. She is a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist through the American Council on Exercise. Prior to joining POPSUGAR, she worked for six years as a writer and editor for Shape Magazine covering health, fitness, nutrition, mental health, sex and relationships, beauty, and astrology.
Jenny Sugar was a staff fitness writer at POPSUGAR. She loves eating plant-based, CrossFit, and yoga.
While we’ll always love a dumbbell, kettlebell, or resistance band workout, there’s something empowering about knowing that all we really need to challenge our muscles is ourselves. Yes, we’re talking about bodyweight workouts. Though they’re sometimes overlooked, the right combination of full-body, no-equipment exercises can help you achieve any goal, from building strength to working up a sweat.
“Bodyweight exercises refer to moves that use your own body weight to provide resistance against gravity,” says Tara Nicolas, a Nike Training Club trainer. And while you might think that bodyweight exercises are naturally easier than moves that require equipment, you’d be wrong.
“I personally learned that the hard way during the pandemic,” Nicolas says. With gyms closed and at-home weights on serious backorder, the trainer turned to full-body, no-equipment exercises to get her sweat on – and ended up more exhausted than she’d thought possible.
“Using equipment is fun, but you have ‘help’ in a way. With bodyweight exercises, you have to create all the force on your own, and when you get tired, you can’t flub it. It’s like, I have to pick my own ass up off this floor,” Nicolas says.
So while bodyweight workouts can leave you just as tired and sore as powerlifting, there are full-body, no equipment exercises for every level of fitness. And Nicolas notes that bodyweight workouts can be a “safe space” for people who are intimidated by heavier weights – or have used them before and gotten injured.
They can be super functional too. “Bodyweight exercises mimic what you’re going to do in the real world, and encourage you to have more body awareness,” Nicolas says.
No-equipment exercises can also be surprisingly fun, because they encourage you to get out of the gym and find new ways to move your body – whether you’re incorporating bodyweight moves into a dance cardio class, or getting outdoors and using a park bench to support your workout.
The following eight full-body, no-equipment exercises aren’t a full workout, but represent a selection of moves you can plug into your routine to strengthen your muscles and get your heart rate up.
Listen to your body and modify as needed; bear crawls or inchworms might not be the right moves for people with wrist pain, for instance, and some people may need to work their way up to a full squat jump.
And one last piece of advice? Grab a sweat towel – you’ll probably need it.
– Additional reporting by Abbey Stone and Mirel Zaman
As Coach Lauren mentions above, the “circuit” in circuit training comes from the fact that you do a sequence of exercises back to back to back, and then you repeat the sequence.
And then again.
You cycle through the planned sequence of exercises, or circuit, multiple times.
That’s circuit training.
Generally, you hit each major muscle group during one full circuit. You may do a lower body for one exercise. Then the upper body the next.
You’ll find all sorts of different circuit training sequences. Here are some things most will have in common:
Several different exercises. A normal circuit will have five to ten different movements per circuit. You’ll often hear these referred to as “stations.” Overhead press station, squat station, etc.
Little to no rest in between.The goal of circuit training is to keep your heart rate up. Ideally, if you’re physically able, you go from one exercise to another without stopping. Maybe you rest after the whole circuit. Maybe.
Rinse and repeat.Generally, you’ll run through your circuit a few times. Three rounds are common.
Make sense?
The point here is to work different parts of your body with different exercises, and then while those parts are recovering, you’re working on your other movements! This helps build cardiovascular health, while also improving muscular endurance and strength.
More importantly, for somebody with limited time, doing a strength training circuit is more effective at building strength and burning fat than an equivalent amount of cardio.
In other words, if you are trying to lose weight, you should be doing circuit training.
Our Beginner Bodyweight Circuitwould be a great place to begin, and you can download a worksheet to help you get started right here:
Grab Your Beginner Bodyweight Routine Worksheet. No Gym Required!
Complete this workout at home, no equipment required
Avoid the common mistakes everybody makes when doing bodyweight exercises
Learn how to finally get your first pull-up
Why Should I do circuit training?
Generally, you’ll hear exercise divided into strength training or aerobic exercise (cardio).
What’s the difference, you wonder?
Strength training. Strength training is also referred to as anaerobic exercise, which would be a short burst of energy for movement. Think of a push-up or pull-up. These exercises help build and tone muscle.
Aerobic Exercise.“Aerobic” means “needs oxygen.” Your heart rate increases to get oxygen where your body needs it, thus the word “cardio.” Running, biking, or jumping jacks would be examples of aerobic exercise.
The thing about a circuit is, you actually do both categories. Presses and lunges fall into strength training. Jumping jacks are cardio.
And since you aren’t stopping much in between stations, you’ll need more oxygen, and voila. Even more cardio.
With circuit training, you build muscle and burn fat WHILE building stamina.
As Michael Scott would say, “that’s a win, win, win.”
There’s some debate on what kind of exercise is better for weight loss: aerobic or anaerobic.
My thoughts?
If you’re limited on time and only can pick one, I would pick strength training: when you strength train, you break your muscles down, and your body needs to work extra hard over the next 24-48 hours to rebuild those muscles (with increased calories burned).
We work with our 1-on-1 Coaching Clients to create programs that combine both strength and cardio in a fun way – it really comes down to a program that you actually WANT to do.
Before and after your circuit training: Warm up and stretch
No matter which circuit you pick, I want you to start with one important thing:
Warm-up!
I cover why you should always warm up in an article found right here. It doesn’t have to be much though, give it about five minutes to get your muscles active and your heart rate up.
This will help you do exercises properly and help prevent injury. You can run in place, do air punches and kicks, or some jumping jacks.
Here is NF Senior Coach Staci (you might know her incredible story) showing you many beginner options you can use to warm up as well:
Did I just tell you to prepare for circuit training, with a circuit?!
If you’re curious, here’s my personal (advanced) warm-up:
THE NERD FITNESS ADVANCED WARM-UP:
Jump rope: 2-3 minutes
Jumping jacks: 25 reps
Bodyweight squats: 20 reps
Lunges: 5 reps each leg.
Hip extensions: 10 reps each side
Hip rotations: 5 each leg
Forward leg swings: 10 each leg
Side leg swings: 10 each leg
Push-ups: 10-20 reps
Spider-man steps: 10 reps
Our goal isn’t to tire you out. Instead, we want to warm you up.
That’s step one.
Completing your chosen circuit training routine would be step two.
Below, you’ll find 15 workouts you can follow along with! And if you like our style of workouts, you might like our new app, Nerd Fitness Journey!
Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Right now, you can try it for free for a full week (no credit card required). Jump in below:
Once you’ve done the above three times, go ahead and put your kettlebell away for your final step: stretches.
If you want a kettlebell worksheet for this workout, grab one by signing up in the box below:
Grab Your Beginner Kettlebell Routine Worksheet!
Complete this workout at home or gym with 1 kettlebell.
Avoid the common mistakes everybody makes when doing kettlebell exercises.
Build strength, burn fat, level up your life!
We also have a fun new adventure in our app that will allow you to train with your kettlebell right alongside Hack Morris (this will make sense more sense when start).
Jump in right now for your free trial:
Beginner Gym Circuit Training
If you have access to a gym, you have a lot of circuit options.
If it’s your first time stepping foot in a fitness facility, check out our Beginner’s Guide to the Gym. The gym can be a scary place, but we’ll give you a strategy to get comfy.
We’ll also walk you through each movement for both Days A and B below. I would recommend picking one of our 5 Beginner Gym Workouts, going through the leveled progressions, and working your way up to the circuits below:
Alternate your circuits on different days. Rest in between. “Day A” could be Monday. Rest Tuesday. Wednesday could be “Day B.”
We LOVE helping people get started in the gym, as we’re huge fans of barbell training and helping beginners build confidence with weight training! If that sounds like you…
And you can download our full Strength 101 guide too, which has this routine along with other circuits to help you start building strength today:
Download our comprehensive guide
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
The Hotel Workout Circuit: For Travelers that Train
Sometimes, you just plain find yourself stuck in a hotel room. Maybe you can find the hotel gym, but I bet it’s terrible! It probably has 2 machines, a broken treadmill, and no free weights.
Ugh.
Instead, how about a workout circuit you can do in the room itself! Utilize the furniture to its full potential.
Level 1
Level 2
Set the alarm clock to 15 minutes from now and see how many circuits you can do!
Check out our full post on hotel circuits if you want Level 3!
We have a LOT of business travelers in our 1-on-1 coaching program, which is why we create workouts for both their home gym and while traveling!
If you need worldwide accountability, workouts for home and the road, and want expert guidance…
Nerdy Circuit Training Exercises
If those workouts above don’t tickle your fancy, we have these other nerdy circuits you can do too!
Gimli “Shall I get you a box?” jumps: 7 box jumps – REALLY explode
Helm’s Deep-Squats: 9 bodyweight squats – get your ass to the ground
Tower of Orthanc Holds: 1 minute (Kick up against a wall and hold a handstand for as long as you can until 1 minute is complete, in as few as sets as possible. Check out our Guide to Handstands.)
Superset 3: The Return of the King
If you can get through a superset three times, consider yourself an honorary Ranger. Nothing found in Mordor can faze you.
Barbell Deadlift / Dumbbell RDL / Banded Good Morning / Regular Good Morning: 10 reps
Medicine Ball Slam / Quick Downwards Bodyweight Squat: 10 reps
Push-up to Renegade row (push-up, row left, push-up, row right, repeat): 5 Rows per side
Transverse Lunge and Chop: 5 reps each side
How many times do you do this circuit? AMRAP, or, As Many Rounds As Possible. I suggest setting a 12-minute timer and getting to work. Be careful though, because only Wolverine can heal automatically.
You’ll need actual rest.
Boom!
There are your nerdy circuits. Feel free to rock the soundtrack of the referenced movies during your workout. If you own a cape, now’s the time.
Complete List of Circuit Training Exercises
You can do any of the workouts in this article and get a great workout, but if you want to build your own workout, you can totally do that too!
Here is a list of exercises you can use to create your workout.
Simply pick a few, and do one after the other in as many circuits as you want!
Do 3 circuits with 10 reps of each exercise, one after the other!
Have fun and keep things interesting. And if you don’t want to build your own workout, that’s cool too! We have 15 free workouts in this article, and we can also do all the heavy lifting for you.
(Well, not literally DO the heavy lifting, but you know what I mean.)
We create custom workout solutions for busy people just like you in our 1-on-1 Coaching Program. Let us create a workout and help you make better food choices.
It’s like having a Yoda in your pocket (again, not literally).
How to Stretch After Circuit Training
Once you finish your workout, the final step (three) would be stretching and cooling down. No matter what circuit you go through, stretch after a workout. It can help a lot with muscle recovery.
Scope this video for an awesome stretching sequence to follow:
You could also do some yoga poses. For stretching, find what feels good and take your time. Let your heart rate come down while you stretch.
You could even do some foam rolling too if you’re a glutton for punishment!
There are all sorts of different ways to do circuit training. We just showed you fifteen.
YOUR MISSION: Complete one of the above circuit training workouts! If you don’t know which one to pick, start with the Beginner Bodyweight Circuit. It’ll get you used to the idea of hustling from one exercise to the next.
And you can do it in your living room!
If you’re looking for more hands-on instruction and customized guidance, check out our 1-on-1 Coaching program. You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who get to know you better than you know yourself, and then build a workout program that is specific to your exact goals.
Simply put, we tell you exactly what to do every day, and how to eat. And then, we check in with you regularly to make sure you’re doing it!
If you got this far in the article, I really want you to try one of these workouts. Right NOW. I always mention the most important step in a fitness journey is starting it. Today, start circuit training.
Once completed, I’d love for you to share your story with the community in the comments:
How’d it go?
Did you get through three full circuits?
Which routine did you pick?
Find a circuit you’re comfortable with, and do it.
