Super Supersets! (Part II)

Supersets never go out of style. If you have not yet read my first entry about supersets, in which I briefly explain what a superset is and why they're great, please go do that.

I've recently become an even greater fan of supersets because of how they abbreviate my workout. Since I work in a gym now, I have even less of a desire to spend extraneous time working out there. Therefore, my workouts are shorter, more intense, and just as (if not more) effective than the typical one-hour workout.

Here are some of my favorite supersets right now:

For Upper Body
1a.) Lat Pull-Down
1b.) Squat + Push-Press

For Lower Body
2a.) Step-ups
2b.) Bulgarian Split Squat

For Abs
3a.) Cable Woodchop
3b.) Bosu Tilts*

*For the bosu tilt, turn the bosu over so the flat side is facing up. Get in the up push-up position with your hands on the handles. Then, keeping your body in neutral alignment, tilt the bosu backwards and forwards.

So try running through those 3 supersets in a circuit and then repeat 2 or 3 times. It's simple, but certainly not easy.

Moving: An Argument for Functional Exercise

What is functional exercise? This fitness professional defines functional exercise as real exercise, for a real body that does real things. Let me ask you something, when (besides in the gym) do you find yourself doing this movement:


Or have you ever been in the grocery store and found yourself doing this:


Yeah, I didn't think so. Functional exercises work multiple muscle groups at once, burns more calories, and improves strength and balance. Here are, in my opinion, the top 5 most functional exercises:

1.) Deadlifts
2.) Squats
3.) Overhead Press
4.) Rows
5.) Basic torso stabilization, i.e. planks

I had one of the best workouts of my life moving into a new apartment last weekend. My new apartment is up 5 flights of stairs (no elevator) and I have a lot of crap. For 2 days, I carried heavy crap up and down stairs; easily better than any workout I've ever had in the gym. I was literally sore the monday after. During my moving weekend, being a fitness nerd, I noticed myself doing all of the 5 functional movements listed above: deadlifting my couch; squatting to fit my little self into the cavernous trunk space in the Suburban I borrowed for the occasion; overhead pressing my bed to pivot around the corners of the stairwell; rowing (more like tugging) my heavy dresser across the floor; and realizing every step of the way how much I was feeling these movements in my abs-- my core was engaged!

I'm not saying isolation exercises are "bad" necessarily, but they're just not realistic. See yourself as a creature, as part of a species, with this designated body, and ask yourself: what is this body designed to do? I doubt crunching and curling are at the top of that list. So, if you're just looking to be healthy and fit and improve your mobility, balance, and strength in every day living, here are some great exercises to try in your next workout.

Deadlift->Clean->Push-Press->Front Squat


Suitcase Deadlift


Bent-Over Row->Romanian Deadlift