The Quick & Dirty Circuit

Try the sample routine below. It will work your entire body. Remember, don’t rest in between exercises – once you’re done with one exercise, move right into the next exercise. Do as many reps as you can for each exericse.

1. Squats (without weight)
2. Pushups
3. Dumbbell shoulder press
4. Dumbbell bicep curls
5. Sit-ups

Once you’ve gone through the circuit, repeat it from the beginning. You can go through it three or four times to make the workout even longer.

To do pull-ups, you need to be at a pull-up station or bar at the gym, or have a pull-up bar at home. Your local park might have exercise stations that allow you to do pull-ups on them. Some enterprising and fearless individuals have even used the horizontal bars on construction scaffolding and the handrails in subway cars to do pull-ups.

Start by grabbing the bar with your palms facing away from you, and then use your arms to pull yourself up so that your chin is at least level with the bar. Now lower yourself back down. You can lower yourself all the way down so that your arms are fully extended, or if you’re a beginner and don’t have that much strength, lower yourself halfway down and then come back up.

You can do pull-ups by gripping the bar with your palms facing towards you, which will work your biceps more (and are technically called chin-ups). Many people find this easier than doing a true pull-up, but you should practice both grips.

Do as many as you can per set. Never swing your legs or kick when doing a pull-up – that’d be cheating. Focus on good form, even if it means doing only one or two pull-ups. You will eventually get stronger.

If you’re really struggling with pull-ups, try placing one foot on a chair while doing them. This will lessen your bodyweight, allowing you do to the full range of motion. When you get stronger, ditch the chair and start doing real pull-ups without the assist.

Don’t beat yourself up if you can only do one or two pull-ups. Most people struggle with doing pull-ups. Just keep practicing them, and you’ll get better.

To properly do a lunge, start off with your feet shoulder-width apart, then step forward, heel first. Bend your leg until your knee is at a 90-degree angle and your thigh is parallel to the floor. Your back leg can be bent while in the lunge position, but do not let your knee touch the floor.

Now lunge with the opposite leg by standing up, returning to the starting position and extending that leg outward and repeating the steps above. You can perform “walking lunges” this way, if you have enough room.

To make lunges more difficult, you can add weight to the exercise by holding a dumbbell in each hand, or holding a barbell across your shoulders.

Many people do bench presses with a barbell, but you can effectively do the exercise with a pair of dumbbells.

To do bench presses with dumbbells, lie down on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Hold the dumbbells at chest level and then push them upward. Don’t let your arms lock.

Pause for a moment at the height of the motion, then slowly lower the weights back down to your chest. If you have lower back problems, you can keep your knees bent during the exercise, which will help you keep your back flush on the bench, as shown in the photo.

Try doing three sets of 8 to 12 reps with a reasonably heavy pair of dumbbells. As you get stronger, increase the weight you use.

Squats must be done carefully and with correct form as to not hurt your knees and lower back. People with knee injuries or back problems might want to avoid doing squats, or seek the advice of a medical professional or trainer.

To do squats safely, start out standing up with your feet shoulder-width apart. Slowly bend down at the knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Don’t lower yourself any further than that.

Now raise yourself up and return to the starting position. If at any point during the exercise you feel discomfort in your knees, try adjusting your stance by either slightly widening it or making the distance in between your feet a little smaller.

When you first start out and are getting the basic motion that works for you, you should do squats without any weight. As you progress, you can add weight to the exercise by holding a dumbbell in each hand as pictured above.

Squats should be done in long sets to failure. Try doing 20 reps per set.

Bicep curls using dumbbells are the best way to build this muscle. You can do curls standing or seated. Proper curls are done by holding the weights with your arms down below your waist and your palms facing away from your body.

From this position, raise the weight up to your shoulders, keeping your elbows close to the sides of your body. Do not swing the weights to complete the movement – if you can’t get the weight up, then it’s too heavy. You want good form for this exercise, and you want to remain in control at all times so that you isolate the biceps.

To build the muscle quickly, you should do curls with weights that are on the heavier side, and do 8 to 10 reps per set. Try starting out with 3 sets of bicep curls. As you get stronger, move to a slightly heavier weight, but keep doing 8 to 10 repetitions per set.

You can do dumbbell presses either seated or standing up. To do them, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Bring them up to shoulder level with palms facing forward. Slowly push the dumbbells up over your head, then slowly lower them back down to shoulder level.

To build size in your deltoids, use a heavy weight and do 8 to 10 reps per set. If you’re looking to use this exercise to stay toned, use a lighter weight and do 12 to 15 reps per set.

To do calf raises, start with your feet flat on the floor, about shoulder-width apart with your hands at your sides. Your body should be perfectly straight.

Slowly lift your heels up off of the floor until you are on your tippy-toes. Once you’ve raised yourself as far as you can go, slowly lower the balls of your feet back to the floor. Repeat this in sets. Try doing 3 sets of 10 repetitions to start out. As you become more advanced, add more sets of calf raises, or try holding a dumbell in each hand to add more weight to this exercise.

To do a proper pushup, start with your chest on the floor and your hands directly beneath your shoulders. Keeping your entire body straight and in line, push yourself off of the floor all the way up until your elbows lock. Try to keep your elbows at your sides at all times – don’t let them flare out. Lower yourself back down to the starting position, keeping your back and body straight. Never arch your back, or curve your spine outward.

Pushups are best done in long sets to failure. Do as many pushups as you can during each set, resting for about two minutes in between sets. As you get stronger, add more sets, doing as many as you can in each set.