Afterburn effect Workouts

What's this mean? More fat torched. And the best thing about EPOC is that your body will stay in fat-burning mode for up to 48 hours.

Take Advantage of EPOC

8 sets of 1 min, maximum effort

Skip the slow slog on the treadmill and use your favorite toy from elementary PE: the jump rope. 8 sets of 1 minute jumps at maximum effort will have your heart pounding. Light skipping reminiscent of your third grade days won't cut it, kid. You have to twirl the rope at full speed.

Jump It!

Mix in single bounds, knee-ups and double-unders. Make sure you're struggling for air after each set so you capture the EPOC effect and keep your recovery time to 1 minute.

The discomfort you'll experience signals an effective workout. Go to the track or octagon—you'll see people fighting for air. Suck it up and embrace it.

Like the mainstream, I did superset workouts after reading about them in muscle magazines. However, typical superset workouts combine two exercises for a single body part (sometimes called compound sets, but the jargon doesn't matter).

For example, a common combination is bench press and dumbbell flye. Don't get me wrong: this is a good superset combination for the sake of bodybuilding. It surely helped build and shape my chest.

However, supersetting single body parts offers little metabolic benefit. If you want to get crazy, then combine upper- and lower-body movements. With the right intensity, full-body supersets can spark a chemical reaction that helps spur the release of testosterone, IGF-1, and HGH.

Superset Video guide
Watch The Video - 00:25

To capitalize on these hormones, you have to forget about light weight and high reps. Instead, you've gotta lift heavy enough to stick with 6 reps (or less) per set.

Furthermore, switching between upper-body and lower-body movements will have a potent effect on your metabolism. You'll struggle for air after each pair, skyrocketing EPOC. The goal here is to prime your body for fat-burning AND muscle-building. The first couple times I supersetted an upper- and lower-body movement, I was drenched in sweat.

To get the most from this total-body attack, you won't be using any isolation exercises, but compound movements only, my friend. By using compounds, you ensure that your body will recruit as much muscle fiber as possible, especially fast-twitch, which has great capacity for growth.

Here are some of my favorite killer combos:

5 sets of 6 reps per superset. 3 superset combinations per workout.

Superset

Of course, these are just suggestions. Feel free to mix and match other combinations and exercises. Also, alternate your starting exercises: start one session with upper-body exercise, the next with lower body.

I suggest five sets for each superset combination with no more than three combinations per session. Trust me, two combinations will be more than enough for most people. Consider incorporating this combination session once per week with your regular bodybuilding split.

Don't use any machines in this workout. You want to recruit as many muscle groups as possible, including your core. You don't want machines giving you "free" stabilization and lessening your core involvement. You want a six-pack? Back-to back-compound movements, not infomercial gadgets, will help you build one.