Five moves, four sets. That’s all it takes to rev up your fat-burning engine and sculpt every muscle.
Five moves, four sets. That’s all it takes to rev up your fat-burning engine and sculpt every muscle.
Shake up your go-to interval routine with this energising circuit, and you’ll not only burn tons of calories but also take your firming – and fitness – up a level.
Because your muscles get worked every way as you go low, jump high, run fast, lift weights and change directions – all in the same session – you reap incredible sculpting and afterburn benefits, say Kirk Dewaele and Brandon Cullen, the co-founders of Madabolic Inc., a studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, known for its HIIT workouts that emphasise variety. Their fresh approach rolls primal movements (squatting, jumping, crawling), power, strength, cardio and rotation into every class.
Incorporating strength in your HIIT session like this torches calories on the spot, and improves your muscle function enormously by stimulating muscle growth and development.
New research in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism found that the technique helped exercisers subsequently lift more weight (up to 39 per cent heavier) and do more reps (nearly triple the weighted squats), while those who stuck with standard cardio intervals didn’t experience any such gains.
Each interval in this Madabolic routine (a 30-minute taste of the class) is meant to bring you to the point where your muscles feel as if they’re just about out of juice.
Working at this intensity is worth it – for the spike in your metabolism that continues post-workout and for the boost it gives your exercise capacity, Kirk explains. “That means you’ll be able to sustain an increased pace or intensity for longer,” he says. Over time, that will translate to your getting stronger, faster and leaner.
“Focus on speed, power and hitting your max effort during every single working second,” he says. (You’ll have an equal amount of time to recover between moves, so don’t be afraid to go allout.) In other words, lace up and go mad!
Your Workout
INTENSITY: Hard (RPE*: Shoot for a 9 or 10 out of 10).
TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes.
YOU’LL NEED: One heavy dumbbell. Kirk recommends a 4kg to 7kg weight to start.
HOW IT WORKS: Start with the warm-up, then complete the five moves in order four times. You’ll do each move for 45 seconds, then rest for 45 seconds before moving on. Switch sides on sub sequent rounds as needed. Do this routine twice a week on alternate days.
CALORIES BURNT: 194 (this calorie burn is based on a 63.5kg woman) *Rate of perceived exertion; see www.shape.com.sg/rpe.
WARM-UP
Do jumping jacks for one minute, then do air squats for one minute, making sure your hip crease drops below parallel (legs form angles that are less than 90 degrees). Next, do push-ups for one minute, making sure your chest grazes the floor each time. Repeat.
THE MOVES
1 BROAD JUMP
Stand with feet hipwidth apart and arms by sides. Shift hips back, dip torso forward slightly and swing arms behind you. Forcefully swing arms forward, jumping forward with both legs as far as you can [shown]. Land softly with knees bent and weight in heels. Immediately repeat as quickly as you can for 45 seconds. Rest for 45 seconds.
2 WOODCHOPPER
Stand with feet wider than hip-width apart, holding ends of weight horizontally, with both hands and arms extended downwards. Squat, rotating torso to the left, bringing weight outside left knee to start.
Then stand, pivoting on left foot, rotating torso to right and powerfully driving weight above right shoulder [shown]. Return to start. Repeat as quickly as you can for 45 seconds. Rest for 45 seconds.
3 GOBLET SQUAT
Stand with feet wider than hip-width apart and toes turned slightly out. Hold weight vertically at one end with both hands in an underhand grip at chest, with elbows bent down to start.
Squat (until hip crease drops below knees), keeping chest upright [shown]. Return to start. Repeat as quickly as you can for 45 seconds. Rest for 45 seconds.
4 SINGLE-ARM PUSH PRESS
Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, holding weight in right hand, resting hand on right shoulder with palm facing inwards and elbow bent in front of you, left arm by side to start. Keeping chest upright, bend knees slightly, then stand and explosively drive weight overhead [shown]. Return to start. Repeat as quickly as you can for 45 seconds. Rest for 45 seconds.
5 SUICIDE SPRINT
Mark off a distance of around 9m. Sprint back and forth without stopping, making the first three to four strides of each sprint as quickly and powerfully as possible [shown on opposite page]. Repeat as quickly as you can for 45 seconds. Rest for 45 seconds.
