This total-body circuit workout is, quite frankly, a monster...and very purposefully so.
You're going to be engaging every major big muscle group in your entire body repeatedly...non-stop...with relatively heavy weight...for an extended period of time.
To accomplish this without dying out immediately, you're going to be cycling through exercises that work different areas of your body strategically and incorporate a brief rest WHILE you're doing the sets, so that continuous loading isn't necessarily going to be a factor that stops you from getting all your target reps.
How To Do It
You'll be doing 5 total rounds (non-stop) of 4 exercises, starting with 5 reps on the first round. Then, on every round after that, you'll decrease the target reps by one, until you get to one rep sets on the last round.
This results in what's called "front loading" the workout, meaning that you do more work towards the front of the training, then as you fatigue, you do less and less volume.
Mentally, you'll know that even though you have to keep going through more and more rounds, you don't have to do as many reps on each round. This allows you to keep grinding through and getting the reps.
This circuit is a way to squeeze as much work out of you as possible in a very short period of time...and it will CRANK up your metabolism.
I would recommend performing (or attempting to perform) two rounds of this training. After the first round, take AT LEAST 5 minutes rest before you go again.
In terms of weight selection, use a weight you could normally get at least 10 to 12 reps on a regular "stand-alone" set. Over the course of the circuit, this weight is going to get VERY heavy...
Exercise #1 - Deadlifts
For this one, you can use trap bar or straight bar deadlifts...either one is just fine. I'm using trap bar deadlifts with 405 lbs. The trap bar will allow you to use more weight and perform at a higher level because it's a relatively "easier" exercise than the straight bar deadlift.
This exercise is the "biggest" exercise and will hit you the hardest in terms of heavy loading.
Once you've finished 5 reps, go immediately to the next exercise...
Exercise #2 - Dumbbell Floor Presses
For this one, if you don't wish to do floor presses (or aren't comfortable doing them), you can also do normal dumbbell bench press.
I like floor presses for this circuit due to the brief rest you get at the bottom of the exercise with your upper arms flat on the floor. Not only is this a great way to develop pressing power out of the bottom, it comes in VERY handy towards the end of the circuit when you can allow yourself that brief rest on each rep at the bottom without continuous loading.
I'll show you the easiest way I've found to get dumbbells into position for this when you're training on your own and using heavy weight. I'm using a pair of 95 dumbbells here and this is the very best way I've found to do it.
Set one dumbbell on the outside of your left leg and the other dumbbell directly IN BETWEEN your legs (NOT outside...you'll see why in a second).
Reach over and grip the left dumbbell with both hands.
Pick it up and set it on end on your thigh.
Now reach down with your right hand and grip the other dumbbell. The end of the dumbbell should be resting on your inner thigh.
And here's where you find out why you positioned it in between your legs.
Instead of lifting it up completely off the ground, like you did with the first dumbbell, brace the end against your inner thigh and PULL the other end up, leveraging the dumbbell up and onto your thigh.
Pull it all the way up until it's also resting on end on your thigh.
Then lie back and get into the bottom position for the floor press.
At the bottom, release the tension in your chest and rest your upper arms fully on the floor. To accentuate this, a good tip is to purposefully push your elbows into the floor...this activates the upper back muscles (which are directly antagonistic to the pecs).
THEN press up to the top.
Repeat the full-stop pause on each rep.
On the final rep, once the dumbbells are at the top, instead of bringing your arms back down, lower the dumbbells back onto your thighs (on end) and use their weight to bring your body back up to the seated position. THEN set the dumbbells back down on the floor under control.
Exercise #3 - Pull-Ups, Chin-Ups or Inverted Rows
For this one, we're looking for a pull exercise that you could do for about 8-10 reps normally. For me, it was wide-grip pull-ups. For you, it could be chin-ups or inverted rows. Any of these variations are fine. If you're quite strong and want to use extra resistance, that's totally fine, too.
Make sure you use good form and do the reps under control. I like to do a pause at the bottom to dissipate the elastic tension in the muscles and force them to do all the work.
Exercise #4 - Bottom-Start Front Squats
I HIGHLY recommend doing the Front Squats in the rack with a bottom-start style like this. If you do a "normal" rep where you stay loaded the whole time, it will force you to use a LOT less weight in order to get through the whole circuit.
I'm using 185 lbs on the bar for this exercise...if I were to do continuous, I'd probably have used 135 lbs.
This bottom-start style allows you to release the load on every rep, reset your body position, take a BRIEF rest and power it up again out of the bottom (which helps build power out of the bottom).
If you don't have a rack to do this with, you can sub in Goblet Squats with a dumbbell as well. At the bottom of every rep, rotate very slightly to one side and rest the dumbbell on end on your knee to get that same release of loading.
You can use either the crossed-arm style or clean grip for these.
Now the fun begins...with NO rest...do all of those exercises AGAIN.
This time, however, do sets of 4 reps.
Then repeat with sets of 3 reps...then 2 reps...then 1 rep.
THEN you're done.
All told, this will be about 10-12 minutes of continuous heavy lifting, covering all your major muscle groups.
If you decide to do another round of this, take at least 5 minutes rest. This circuit will trash EVERYTHING and you will need the recovery.
Also, you may need to reduce the weight on some of the exercises as well, due to fatigue. This circuit is truly a monster. I went for a second round with the same weight and my reps really suffered a lot. I felt it on the very first rep with trap bar deadlifts and immediately cut my reps to sets of 3 reps, then 2, then 1.
If you only do one round, you can move on to a different, less demanding circuit after this (a bodyweight circuit would be a good option).
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