In the past, the cornerstone of most resistance training workouts has been performing exercises in a straight set format. Basically, this means you perform a certain number of reps for a certain number of sets or you perform as many reps as possible for a given exercise and then you rest anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes based on your training goals before repeating this set a certain number of times based on your goals. If you want to gain muscle and burn fat, shorter rest periods are suggested. If strength and power development is your goal, longer rest periods are prescribed.

So, what's the problem with this format? Well, though straight sets are extremely easy to comprehend for people new to fitness, they are also an extremely inefficient and time consuming way to exercise. In most commercial gyms you'll typically see someone perform three sets of 15 reps of the leg extension.. They pump out 15 reps, go to the water fountain, talk with some buddies, watch a couple of highlights on ESPN, and then gingerly walk back to the machine area to hit up their second set. In general, most people, guys in particular, tend to take about 3-5 minutes between sets. In the case of three sets of 15 on the leg extension that means it would take up to 15 minutes to complete only one movement pattern (a knee dominant exercise). That means you'd need at least in hour to perform four different exercises! What a way to waste an hour!

A much more effective and time-efficient approach to ordering your exercises is utilizing the alternating set format. Here you'll perform one exercise, rest for a short period of time, then perform another non-competing exercise, rest for a short period of time, and so forth. Alternating sets allow you to work different areas of your body when you would otherwise be resting with the straight set format. Plus, by working another area of your body with a non-competing exercise you allow your body to recover from the previous exercise(s). The result is improved training economy and density: more work accomplished in less time, the cornerstone of any sound fat loss program. There are several ways to perform alternating sets outlined below:

1.) Supersets: Alternate between two different non-competing exercises (e.g. upper body and lower body such as push-ups and lunges)

2.) Trisets: Alternate between three different exercises (e.g. push, pull, and lower body such as push-ups, rows, and lunges)

3.) Circuits: Alternate between four or more different exercises

Though supersets and trisets are excellent alternating set options, I believe that circuit training is the best bang for your buck. By combining 4-5 non-competing exercises in a row, a workout can take ¼ the time, but produce 9 times the fat loss. Check out the following circuit to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

The 50-10 Five Exercise Circuit: You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for all five exercises in the following 5-minute circuit:

Exercise#1- Deadlifts

Exercise#2- Push ups

Exercise#3- Single-Leg Hip Extensions

Exercise#4- Pull-ups

Exercise#5- Stability Ball Knee Tucks

Perform this circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.

Basically, in the same 15 minutes that it took to get in three sets on the leg extension, you could have gotten in three sets of five different exercise for a staggering total of 15 work sets! Plus, the intensity on each exercise will be just as high as in the straight set format because in this five exercise circuit you will have full recovery with over four minutes before you return to any given exercise (just as you did with the straight set format described earlier).

To recap, the key to creating the optimal hormonal environment for fat loss in less then 30 minutes a day is to perform each exercise with maximal intensity while separated by brief rest periods in order to accumulate a high volume of total body work in the shortest amount of time possible. Circuit training provides for the best of both worlds and is thus simply unmatched for simultaneously maximizing fat loss and lean muscle gain. Use the following template I use with my clients for some killer, yet simple fat loss circuits:

Exercise#1- Double-Leg

Exercise#2- Push

Exercise#3- Single-Leg

Exercise#4- Pull

Exercise#5- Core

Try out this format with different work:rest ratios and get ready for the workout of your life.

Copyright (c) 2008 Kirk Ream