I’ve been working out with Joel for about 50 weeks. I’ve lost 50 pounds. I recently ran a half-marathon. I’d like to think I’m pretty damn strong at this point.
Then I walked into the gym yesterday for a workout with Joel. After a weekend of slacking, I was excited to be back in the gym. But nothing could have prepared me for the ass-kicking that awaited me. Technically, this ass-kicking is called compound circuit training, and it’s a high-intensity combination of cardio and strength training. In my case, Joel specifically planned this workout to mix things up so I could bust through the slight plateau I’ve been chilling at. The “compound” part refers to working multiple muscle groups.
We did this for 44 minutes — two sets of 22 minutes each (I think) with a 2-minute break in between (water has never before and will never again taste as good as it did in those two minutes). Each rotation was about six exercises, with each exercise done for 20 seconds with 10 seconds of rest between exercise, although most of that was used switching exercises. Below are the 7-8 core exercises that comprised this workout:
[I have no idea what the technical names for these exercises are, so if you do, please let me know!]
There’s one trainer at the gym that definitely has a Jillian Michaels stomach. Joel trains her, and that’s where we’re trying to get my stomach! Since my weight is in the healthy range (WOO! HOO!), it’s also harder to drop weight now since my body really wants to hold on to any remaining fat, but workouts like this and the tough cardio schedule that I’m getting back to today are meant to tell that fat “too damn bad!”
Any questions?
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