# Circuits or supersets for fat loss??



## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

Hi all,

I've been doing a weighted circuit routine (15-20 reps of 8 exercises, repeated 5 times) for the last 6 weeks so and am looking to change my routine.

My main aim is fat loss so you do guys think doing a circuit routine is best or should I do try something else like supersets instead? Or does it not really matter as they are both as effective as each other?

Any opinions would be fab

xx


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## Smitch (Dec 29, 2008)

My biggest changes have come around since i sorted my diet out.

If the routine is working stick at it but just try tweaking you diet, you tried low carb/carb cycling?


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

Smitch said:


> My biggest changes have come around since i sorted my diet out.
> 
> If the routine is working stick at it but just try tweaking you diet, you tried low carb/carb cycling?


Thanks. I think I have my diet sorted... nice and clean with lowish carbs (under 100g a day) and I do go lower on the carbs on non workout days.

Its just i'm getting a little bored of my routine now so think I need to change it LOL. I was thinking of doing the same exercises but supersetting them in two's instead so it kinda looks like this:

15 overhead presses followed by 20 lunges, repeated 4 to 5 times

15 bent over rows followed by 20 squats, repeated 4 to 5 times

15 bicep curls followed by 20 romanian deadlifts, repeated 4 to 5 times

15 bench press followed by 20 lying leg raises for abs, repeated 4 to 5 times

What do you think?

xx


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## md49vd (Apr 28, 2011)

circuit training is your answer


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## bayman (Feb 27, 2010)

When fat loss is the goal resistance training should be hard and heavy to give your body the stimulus to hang onto your muscle whilst in a calorie deficit. 3-4 session per week max IMO covering all the big muscle groups. You should use diet and cardio to actually fuel you fat loss, a bit of HIIT / circuit style training is good, but I wouldn't base my whole routine around it.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

pickle21 said:


> Thanks. I think I have my diet sorted... nice and clean with lowish carbs (under 100g a day) and I do go lower on the carbs on non workout days.
> 
> Its just i'm getting a little bored of my routine now so think I need to change it LOL. I was thinking of doing the same exercises but supersetting them in two's instead so it kinda looks like this:
> 
> ...


imo this workout should be done tuesday and thursdays then m/w/f heavy compounds keeping rest very short 20 secs between sets


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

Thanks guys!

The only problem with lifting heavy is I dont have any heavy weights and can't afford to join a gym at the mo so am using 2x 4.5 kg dumbells.

I am going to up my cardio but i'm not sure whats best for my weight workouts as I only have light-ish weights.

Any thoughts? Circuits? Supersetting? Just lots of sets of the same exercise?

xx


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

lots of body weight exercises press ups with a clap squat jumps into over head press lunges hand stand presses , hmm kinda hard to suggest when your that limited , body pump you heard of that ?


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

uhan said:


> lots of body weight exercises press ups with a clap squat jumps into over head press lunges hand stand presses , hmm kinda hard to suggest when your that limited , body pump you heard of that ?


Yeah I know - you wouldnt believe the thousands of hints I gave at xmas saying I wanted some heavier weights LOL!

Fingers crossed I can afford some soon.

Yeah I have heard of body pump - i'll do some googling and see if I can find some routine or something.

Do you think its best to join two exercises together then... for example, squat and overhead press? Lunge and bi-cep curl? Deadlift and overhead press?

x


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## RACK (Aug 20, 2007)

Have a look at Crossfit circuits. These will defo cut fat off you.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

pickle21 said:


> Yeah I know - you wouldnt believe the thousands of hints I gave at xmas saying I wanted some heavier weights LOL!
> 
> Fingers crossed I can afford some soon.
> 
> ...


yea i think the circuit/routine you did above was pretty good you need to keep it intense maybe add in a run in the morning , thing is as your limited in weights you need to make the most of it , can you do bodyweight exercises squats press ups chin ups hand stand presses dips that kinda stuff ?


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## Andrew Jacks (Sep 29, 2010)

Scientific studies show there is very little difference between the two, find what works for you and keep workouts fresh with variety; to many people swear by doing the same thing all the time and wonder why it becomes boring and gins start to tail off


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

RACK said:


> Have a look at Crossfit circuits. These will defo cut fat off you.


Thanks! I'll do some googling!



uhan said:


> yea i think the circuit/routine you did above was pretty good you need to keep it intense maybe add in a run in the morning , thing is as your limited in weights you need to make the most of it , can you do bodyweight exercises squats press ups chin ups hand stand presses dips that kinda stuff ?


Yeah I think so. I use my stairs at home too so I do bodyweight dips and step ups. So, as long as I keep the rest periods short should I be okay whatever I do because it'll be quite intense??



Andrew Jacks said:


> Scientific studies show there is very little difference between the two, find what works for you and keep workouts fresh with variety; to many people swear by doing the same thing all the time and wonder why it becomes boring and gins start to tail off


Yeah, I have to say that after 6 weeks i'm a tad bored of the above circuit. I'm trying to think of different exercises I can do or a different way to do them so its a bit different and new...

xx


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

im gonna have a poke around see if i can help you abit on your routines but right now im starving so will do it in a while


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

Okay - how does this sound?? Still doing a circuit but doing to exercises at once....

Monday and Friday:

20 Lunges with bicep curl

20 squats with overhead press

20 bench presses with lying leg thrusts

Repeated 4 to 5 times (or as many times as I can in 30 minutes)

Or do you think the below superset exercises would be better?

15 overhead presses followed by 20 lunges, repeated 4 to 5 times

15 bent over rows followed by 20 squats, repeated 4 to 5 times

15 bicep curls followed by 20 romanian deadlifts, repeated 4 to 5 times

15 bench press followed by 20 lying leg raises for abs, repeated 4 to 5 times

Maybe I could alternate the two so Mon and Fri I do the circuit and Weds I do the supersetting??

xx


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

uhan said:


> im gonna have a poke around see if i can help you abit on your routines but right now im starving so will do it in a while


Thank you - that is very kind! xx


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Monday

20 Lunges with bicep curl

20 squats with overhead press

20 bench presses with lying leg thrusts

Repeated 4 to 5 times (or as many times as I can in 30 minutes)

friday

15 overhead presses followed by 20 lunges, repeated 4 to 5 times

15 bent over rows followed by 20 squats, repeated 4 to 5 times

15 bicep curls followed by 20 romanian deadlifts, repeated 4 to 5 times

15 bench press followed by 20 lying leg raises for abs, repeated 4 to 5 times

you need one more for weds


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

do you have a barbell ?


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

My personal preference would be circuits for fat loss - is easier to be progressive over time with them by adding exercises and reducing between circuit rest times - more options to play with I think.


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

No barbell i'm afraid.

I do have a 5kg kettlebell (just the one though!) so maybe Weds could be kettlebell swings with bodyweight push ups/dips or something? Or maybe I could just do loads of deadlifts and presses?? I did that once and I really felt it the next day LOL.

xx


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

pickle21 said:


> No barbell i'm afraid.
> 
> I do have a 5kg kettlebell (just the one though!) so maybe Weds could be kettlebell swings with bodyweight push ups/dips or something? Or maybe I could just do loads of deadlifts and presses?? I did that once and I really felt it the next day LOL.
> 
> xx


yeah that sounds along the right lines try think of things like that you could do post it up and we can go over it kinda hard if i dont know what you got but yes nice thinking


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## stubbojcs (Jun 3, 2010)

pickle21 said:


> Okay - how does this sound?? Still doing a circuit but doing to exercises at once....
> 
> Monday and Friday:
> 
> ...


I would recommend doing press ups rather than bench press with those dumbells as I presume you weigh more than 9kg  The heavier workload you use at the same rep range the more fat you will burn in the following hours after your workout.

Also, if your looking to get some heavier weights, take a look at the 'PowerBlock' dumbells. Although they may be quite expensive, that is all you will need for as far as weights go.


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## WelshMan83 (Aug 23, 2010)

Hey just thought i'd throw my 2 pence in.

If your the lady in the photo, id switch to a keto diet. Do early morning power walks with the diet and you will see some big drop offs in weight in just a week or 2. I lost over a stone and a half in 6-8 weeks. Was quite pleased! And retained all muscle (what I had)

And if your the lady in the photo you are always welcome to come and use my weights of course :thumbup1:


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

WelshMan83 said:


> Hey just thought i'd throw my 2 pence in.
> 
> If your the lady in the photo, id switch to a keto diet. Do early morning power walks with the diet and you will see some big drop offs in weight in just a week or 2. I lost over a stone and a half in 6-8 weeks. Was quite pleased! And retained all muscle (what I had)
> 
> And if your the lady in the photo you are always welcome to come and use my weights of course :thumbup1:


Lol! Yes that is me in the photo!

Actually I was thinking of trying a keto diet but i'm a bit worried that 1) I'll go a tad loopy without any carbs and 2) that i'll balloon up on holiday when i go to Ibiza and binge on carbs LOL.

xx


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

stubbojcs said:


> I would recommend doing press ups rather than bench press with those dumbells as I presume you weigh more than 9kg  The heavier workload you use at the same rep range the more fat you will burn in the following hours after your workout.
> 
> Also, if your looking to get some heavier weights, take a look at the 'PowerBlock' dumbells. Although they may be quite expensive, that is all you will need for as far as weights go.


Thank you! That is great advice. I have added press ups to my routine!!

xx


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## Spratty (Jul 21, 2010)

Dude look up LACTIC ACID training


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## Spratty (Jul 21, 2010)

It works 6 weeks i got proper toned 1st 3-6 sessio s u might puke but afterwards ur ok hehe


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

Spratty said:


> It works 6 weeks i got proper toned 1st 3-6 sessio s u might puke but afterwards ur ok hehe


I shall google it now LOL!

xx


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## helicopter (Jun 21, 2007)

circuits all the way. google some mma circuits thay are pretty good but not for the feint hearted. id say ad in some plyos or some kind of sprint for 20 30 secs with your 15 20 reps for you rest time do a few rounds then rest min at the end of the set. every set will get harder an harder an your heartrate will go through the roof but the fat will fall off


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## TommyFire (Jul 18, 2010)

Hold on a minute.... you say you've got a kettlebell- definately use that!! My currrent routine is:

10 single handed swings (10 each arm)

10 snatches (10 on each arm)

10 clean and press (each side)

10 squats

10 double handed swings

Rest..die...puke... for a couple of minutes then do 9 of the above. Rest again. 8. rest. Keep going like this till you get to 1 of each.

Alternatively do a minute of one kettlebell exercise followed by a minute of skipping followed by another minute kettlebell exercise etc etc..


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## Rekless (May 5, 2009)

This is a great circut:


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## Rekless (May 5, 2009)

Any one else got any circuits they do?


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