I Knew You Were Trouble...

"Now I'm lyin' on the cold hard ground!" Oh!! Stuck in your head now. Thanks tay-tay, but sadly I'm not really referring to your song, but rather the circuit workout I just completed. What a sweat session!

Much like many others I've made a resolution to be more active on a regular basis this year. The winter months are especially challenging since ice, snow, and 20 degree weather isn't that inviting, but I can save you money! Yes! Instead of turning up your thermostat, turn up your activity! Even just 10 minutes of cardio like jumping jacks, jump rope, or even dancing will shake your cold winter blues. Trust me, I know from penny pinching experience.

I've been lucky enough to have half days at work all this week, leaving daylight to go for a run in the afternoon, and the South's weather has been much more accommodating for outdoor activities with the average temp this week being about 65. Perfect! But running every day just isn't for me, so I mix it up with strength training circuits in between days, and today was one of my own.

I call it my Trouble Zone Trifecta Circuit. It involves doing supersets of exercises to work my triceps/upper back (goodbye batwings and bra bulge!), glutes (dat's ya booty), and abs. What are supersets you ask? They are two different strength exercises that work that same body part without any rest in between. This helps maximize working these areas and getting faster results. I also completed 1 minute of cardio in between supersets for extra calorie burn. This leaves your muscles confused (like a deaf guy at a chess match) which in turn burns more fat and gains more muscle.

Here's the breakdown for you:

Trouble Zone Trifecta Circuit
complete 15 reps of each exercise, moving on to the next exercise with minimum rest. Complete entire circuit 3 times through, resting in between sets. ~30 minutes

Triceps:
Kneeling Plank Ups
Tricep Kickbacks*

1 minute Burpees

Upper Back:
Bent Over Rows*
Single Bent Over Rows

1 minute Jumping Jacks

Glutes:
Weighted Bridge*
Stork Stance with flyes** (switch legs with each circuit)

1 minute Butt Kicks

Abs:
1 minute rocking plank
1 minute figure 8's (without weights)

1 minute Jump Rope

*10 lb dumbbells used
* 5 lb dumbbells used 
Now crank up the heat without raising your bill!!!
And in honor of national static electricity day, watch this poor quality video: