Circuit of the Weak, I mean Week

Coming back form a vacation can be brutal on many fronts. Getting back in the gym can be almost impossible. First off you're feeling fat from eating too damn much, and if you've been away a while you have probably lost some strength and are feeling pretty weak. The good news is the strength loss is only temporary. If you have only been gone a week or two the chances of real muscle loss are fairly slim. And the reality is that you probably didn't gain that much weight. It may feel like you did, but I doubt it.

I have had clients come back from a single weekend of overeating and say they gained ten pounds. The truth is you would have to eat and absorb 3500 calories OVER your current maintenance level to gain a single pound of fat. So the chances of someone over eating by 35000 calories over the course of a weekend is ridiculous. Most of any scale weight you may carry will be due to excess water. Within a few days of getting back on your normal routine those extra water pounds should fall right off.

I'm not saying you can't get fat, I'm just saying you won't get as fat as you'll feel. And let me say I put those theories to the test. Now on to the workout...

I returned really late on Thursday (like 1am) , so with the time change and dealing with kids and the time change getting back into the gym on Friday was not really in the cards for me. As I was feeling a bit bloated, I decided to hit some circuits at home before returning to the gym on Monday. I did the circuit below in my garage on Friday evening, and again on Sunday morning as a re-introduction. By Monday I felt pretty normal again and ready to get back to my weight program.

This is nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. I use similar circuits with my fat loss clients all the time. You can do this anywhere, you just need some dumbbells (and I used a ball for crunches, but the floor works too).

Perform the circuit 4-6 times, no rest between exercises. Rest 1-2 minutes and repeat.

A1: Squats w/ Shoulder Press x 12 reps
A2: Push-Ups w/ tuck x 12 reps
A3: Alternating Jumping Lunge x 8 reps each leg
A4: DB Row x 12-15 reps
A5: Ball Crunches x 10-15 reps

Simple and effective.

Joshua Carter
The Body Transformation Expert
Carter Fitness
http://carterfitness.com/
818-337-6175