Now that summer is over Life Time Fitness clubs all over are starting to fill up again.  Many of the members are coming to the gym to try to burn off the fat they gained during the weekends at the lakes, and/or capping the summer off with the State Fair, and other such calorie-laden outings.

Many will try to burn the fat by doing more cardio.  While this can be effective, one of the most efficient fat-burning programs I have used with clients requires no cardio machines, and only resistance training equipment.  The program is called German Body Comp, and was popularized by Canadian strength coaching legend Charles Poliquin.  How this program works is that you combine an upper body exercise with a lower body exercise and perform them back to back during the workout.

Here is a three-week example of how it works with one pair of exercises (Keep in mind you would do 3-5 pairs of exercises/workout):

Week 1:  Barbell Squat/Cable Low Row.  2 Sets X 10-12 reps with 60 seconds rest between each exercise

Week 2:  Barbell Squat/Cable Low Row.  3 Sets X 10-12 reps with 45 seconds rest between each exercise

Week 3:  Barbell Squat/Cable Low Row.  4 Sets X 10-12 reps with 30 seconds rest between each exercise

Week 4:  Repeat Week 1, but switch the exercises (i.e. Barbell Front Squat/Chin-Ups)

Although the above looks easy, it is extremely difficult. My clients often rev their heart rates into Zones 4-5 while doing these workouts. Give it a try!

Corey Grenz ia  Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor at Life Time Fitness in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.