Men's calf circuit

Calf circuit

This calf circuit is an excellent way to make to build strength in your left and right calfs. The calfs are the pectorals of the lower body, so that should help encourage the guys out there to not ignore them! The legs are very important because they are the bodies foundation, just like the foundation of a house. Without leg strength for support our balance, core, and upper body strength is negatively impacted. 

Women's calf circuit workout

Calf circuit

This calf circuit is an excellent way to make sure your calfs are equally strong on both legs. The legs are very important because they are the bodies foundation, just like the foundation of a house. Without leg strength for support our balance, core, and upper body strength is negatively impacted. 

Men's leg circuit

Leg circuit for Men

This circuit is an excellent way for guys to target their quadriceps, hamstrings, calfs, and gluteus maximus while burning fat. The reverse squats and dumbbell squats target the quads, hammies, and gluteus while the jumprope hits the calfs and helps burn fat. Very good way to build overall muscle tone. 

Women's leg circuit

Leg circuit for women

This circuit is an excellent way for women to target their quadriceps, hamstrings, calfs, and gluteus maximus while burning fat. The reverse squats and lunges target the quads, hammies, and gluteus while the jumprope hits the calfs and helps burn fat. Very good way to build overall muscle tone. 

Men's chest circuit

Chest Circuits 

This circuit is an excellent way for men to build lean muscle while burning fat. It targets the overall chest area and the suicide pushups encourage a great sweat. Very good way to build overall muscle tone. Another gym patron tried to take my super-set bench, an easy way to compromise this is to offer the person asking you to work in with you. This way you don't get known as a "circuit jerk" :).  

Unisex chest circuit

Chest Circuits

This circuit is excellent for both men and women. It targets the overall chest area and the body's core muscles. Very good way to build overall muscle tone. Apologies for the rotating camera angle! 

Workout songs

Need some new music to take your workout to the next level? 

These songs help me get through those tough sets. 

1. "Ambiguous Girl (remix)"- Clinton Sparks featuring Mike Posner
2. "Split Personalities Disc 2"- DJ Chachi, available for download at DJ Chachi Downloads
   
3. "Love at First Beat"- DJ Chachi, available for download at DJ Chachi Downloads
   
4. "Gifted (Steve Aoki remix)"- N.A.S.A. featuring Kanye West
5. "No Love"- Eminem featuring Lil Wayne
6. "Gucci Time"- Gucci Mane featuring Swizz Beatz
7. "H*A*M"- Kayne West & Jay-Z
8. "Beat Dat Beat (It's Time To)"- DJ Pauly D
9. "MC Hammer"- Rick Ross
10. "Traffic"- Tiesto
11. "Hold it Against Me"- Britney Spears
12. "6 foot 7 foot"- Lil Wayne featuring Cory Gunz
13. "Gladiator"- Steve Aoki and DJ AM mix
14. "Hell of a Life"- Kanye West
15. "Welcome to the World of"- T.I. featuring Kanye West
16. "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley"- Lloyd Banks featuring Juelz Santana
17. "Carpe Noctum"- Tiesto

Upper ab circuit

Lower ab circuits

Monday tips

Louisiana ranks 49th out of 50 states in health issues

Some quick diet tips to help replace high cholesteral/high fat foods in your daily diet

• One way to reduce fat and calorie intake is substituting Greek Yogurt for mayonnaise when making tuna. Greek Yogurt is high in protein, low in calories, and contains almost ZERO fat! And it tastes better :).
• An excellent pre-work out meal: one egg (dispose of yolk because it's high in cholesterol you'll only need the egg white), one piece of high fiber bread, one piece of cheese (or cottage cheese), one piece of turkey deli meat. Plenty of carbohydrates for energy and just enough protein to hold you until you get home for your post-work out meal.
• A cheap alternative to buying eggwhites is manually spooning the yolk out of the bowl after you crack it.
•  A glass of lowfat chocolate milk has roughly the same amount of protein as a protein shake but with much less calories. And it's tastier.
• 1LB of muscle burns 10-20 calories a day while 1LB of fat burns 2-5 calories a day. So don't ignore strength training when trying to lose weight!
• Life can be more fun naked, espicially in regards to chicken wings :). Save yourself tons of calories and fat by going naked on your wing order. 
• Making sandwiches with one piece of bread (high fiber, avoid white if possible) instead of two leaves more room for meat and protein instead of carbs.
• A study from the American College of Chest Physicians says Vitamin D deficiency associated with reduced lung function. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-02/acoc-vdd013111.php
• Here are some tips to help NATURALLY boost testosterone in men (the sun is another excellent source of Vitamin D, but BE CAREFUL and always apply sunscreen), http://www.livestrong.com/article/277376-foods-that-boost-testosterone-naturally/
• With 15 grams of protein & fiber per cup, black beans are the perfect addition to any salad.

Welcome to the circuit world!

How's it going Internet community?

Let me take this moment to thank and congratulate you on taking the first step towards weight loss and plateau busting.

This blog will serve a multitude of purposes. In conjunction with my Twitter account @thecircuitjerk, I will post workouts that will not only stimulate weight loss, but encourage lean muscle growth as well. These workouts will be promoted in written and visual form, allowing you to see the proper form that is required to start your very own circuit plan. There will also be diet recommendations and recipes that I use to fuel my daily routines (No protein shakes, creatine, supplements, etc.) <- There are plenty of food substitues that are way more delicious than these enhancers! They're also better for you to, because one can never be fully sure where the "protein" in these drinks comes from.

For the purpose of this blog circuit training refers to anywhere between 2-4 exercises done simultaneously for each set. Generally, on days when you're targeting one specific area (example:chest), you would only do 2 circuits during each set (example: bench press supersetted with push ups). On days when you are targeting two areas (example: shoulders and back), you would increase the amount of circuits to 3 or 4, depending on your fitness level. I will go into further detail when I explain some of the workouts in greater detail.

One of the biggest myths about circuit training is that you have to be an elite athlete in order to do it, this couldn't be further from the truth. In a little over a year I have gone from being 6'1" 190 lbs and 13% body fat to 6'1" 165 lbs and 4% body fat.

When I was 190 lbs I lifted weights seven days a week but noticed a couple of things: 

1. I wasn't developing that coveted 6-pack

                 2. I was feeling twinges in various joints from lifting very heavy weights

This led me to seek out the advice of a great friend of mine, Andrew Didomenico. We always trained together when we were home on our college breaks and would routinely bounce exercise ideas off one another. During one of our summers in South Florida he showed me a new method of training that would forever change my outlook on the term, "healthy." He super-setted everything he did, working out legs? superset with a jump rope, working out chest? superset with push ups.

A number of the exercises showcased in this blog were taught to me by Andrew. That is what exercise is all about, learning from others, adding your own twist, and passing it on to others in hopes that it helps them as much as it helps you. Please feel free to ask any health related questions you might have to my Twitter Account @thecircuitjerk. I will do my best to assist you and if you stump me I will certainly find the right person to answer your question.

Thank you all again for your time. If I can inspire just one person to take that step towards changing their lifestyle for the better then this blog will have been a success. Fight on and don't give up!

Sincerely,

Rai the circuit jerk