It’s no secret that cardio is great for fat loss. Not only do cardio workouts train the heart and build endurance, but also help you burn off stubborn fat when done correctly. However, over the years, cardio has been given a bad rap.

Although it’s not absolutely necessary to perform cardio for fat loss, you should still incorporate it into your regular training regimen. And if you find running on a treadmill or cycling boring, then there are many alternatives out there for you.

What is Cardio?

First, we need to take a step back and really re-examine what cardio is exactly. When most people think of cardio, they think about distance running. That’s just one aspect of cardio.

Cardio in its true form is simply elevating your heart rate. So even when you lift weights in a superset or circuit format, you are still doing cardio, and hence still burning off fat. This is why supersets are so great for both burning fat and building lean muscle mass.

Cardio Workouts with Supersets

Supersets are where you perform two movements back to back with little to no rest in between each set. There are many different forms of supersets:

Antagonistic Supersetting

Perform two movements of opposing muscle groups back to back. For example, do a set of pushups for the chest, followed by a set of pullups for the back. This way, while you do pullups, your chest is recovering, and while you do pushups, your back is recovering.

But overall, you heart rate is still elevated.

Same Bodypart Supersetting

Pretty straight forward: perform two movements back to back that work the same muscle group. For example, you can do a set of dumbbell squats followed by dumbbell lunges. Same bodypart supersets are great for building muscle and to bring up lagging bodyparts.

Upper/Lower Supersetting

Perform a set of an upper body movement followed by lower body movement (or vice versa). An example includes performing a set of shoulder presses, followed by deadlifts. This allows your upper body to recovery while doing the lower body movement, and your lower body to recovery while performing the upper body movement.

Isolation/Compound Supersetting

This involves performing a set of an isolation movement, such as a bicep curl, followed by compound movement, such as a bent over row. What this does is make the bent over rows harder, since your biceps are already tired.

Rows also involve biceps into the movement. So when you do rows with tired biceps, you are forced to recruit more of your back muscles. This is another great technique to bring up lagging bodyparts and elevate your heart rate.

Essentially what I’m telling you to do is take your regular weight training workouts which involve lots of rest periods and to perform supersets, forcing your rest less and train harder.

The only trainer that has successfully used supersets to create fat burning and muscle building workouts is Craig Ballantyne. Click here to learn more about his Turbulence Training workouts.

Lets examine how circuit training can help make your workouts harder, and hence burn more fat, build more muscle, and boost your metabolic rate:

Cardio with Circuit Training

Circuit training is simply performing 3 or more movements back to back with little to no rest in between each set. There are many ways you can optimize your circuit training workouts for fat loss:

Cardio + Weights

Simply put, alternate between a cardio movement and weight bearing movement. For example, you can do a set of jumping jacks, followed by dumbbell lunges, then run around the block, and finish off with pushups.

That’s one circuit. Start off with 3 circuits, and build up to 10 circuits. Trust me, after a month of combining cardio with weights, you’ll be much leaner. And if you challenge yourself with the weights you’re using coupled with a high protein diet, you’ll also see an increase in lean muscle mass.

Bootcamp Circuits

Another increasingly popular form of training is bootcamps. Bootcamps are usually run by trainers, but you can create your own bootcamp style workout using all bodyweight movements.

Simply string 4-10 movements together in a circuit. Here’s a sample routine:

• Squat Thrusts
• Pushups
• Jumping Jacks
• Walking Lunge
• High Knees

Craig Ballantyne, creator of Turbulence Training, recently came out with a set of Bootcamp workouts. Click here for more information.

Traditional Circuit Training

A traditional circuit training workout involves performing 4-10 movements back to back with little to no rest in between each set. The difference between traditional circuit training and bootcamp workouts is that you’re using weights.

So, choose a challenging weight and choose 4-10 movements you’re really good at. Don’t choose anything complex or that you’ve haven’t done before, because it’s easy to hurt yourself with a new movement.

Here’s a sample circuit:

• Dumbbell Push Press
• Dumbbell Row
• Dumbbell Chest Press
• Barbell Deadlift
• Medicine Ball Squat Jumps
• Dumbbell Swings

There are so many different ways to organize your workouts, that it can make your head spin. It’s better off to just grab done-for-your workouts that you can follow. Craig Ballantyne clearly knows what he’s doing.

Choose from one of the following Turbulence Training programs and start burning fat today!

• Turbulence Training Members Section
• Turbulence Training Bootcamp
• Turbulence Training Abs
• Turbulence Training Bodyweight
• Turbulence Training Original
• Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution
• Turbulence Training Abs DVD
• Turulence Training for Women

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