JM pull circuit
So some people have asked what I do on a JM circuit. I just finished doing my "pull" circuit (I'm still sweating and my heart is pumping) so I thought I would post about it. Here's today's circuit and how I did:
The JM circuits are intended to be mainly strength training with bursts of cardio thrown in. You are supposed to continue without rest so your heart rate will increase and you can 'fool' your body into believing you are doing cardio. These workouts are pretty intense. You are supposed to go through all reps of each move then repeat for 3 sets.
5 minute warm-up
(I did a bit of stretching and walking around to warm the muscles but I probably didn't do the full 5 minutes)
Circuit 1:
Wide Grip Pulldown: 3 sets of 15
(I don't have access to a pulldown bar or machine so I substituted 3 sets of 15 Superman moves, which I hate!)
Lying Leg Raises: 3 sets of 15
Jumping Jacks: 3 sets of 1, 1 minute each set
(I do about a jumping jack each second so instead of watching the time I will do 60 jumping jacks in a row for 3 sets)
Circuit 2:
Seated Row: 3 sets of 15
(Again, I didn't have access to this machine so I substituted dumbbell rows. I did these with 10# dumbbells)
Crossover Lunge: 3 sets of 15 (each leg)
Straight Leg Squat Thrust: 3 sets of 1, 1 minute each set
(First set I did 25, second set I did 20, third set I did 25)
Circuit 3:
Backward Lunge: 3 sets of 15 (each leg)
Jumping Squat: 3 sets of 15
(This was the most difficult set for me and I needed to rest in between each set)
Circuit 4:
Reverse Grip Curls: 3 sets of 15
(I did 2 sets with 10# dumbbells but that was a bit too hard so I switched to 5# dumbbells for the last set. These were a bit too easy so I've realized I need 8# dumbbells)
Scissors: 3 sets of 15
Jumping Jacks: 3 sets of 1, 2 minutes each set
(After about 10 jumping jacks I kept getting this nasty cramp in my left lower abdominal so I only ended up doing 1 minute each set instead of the 2 minutes)
Circuit 5:
Hammer Curls: 3 sets of 15
(Done with the sad little 5# weights)
Reverse Crunch: 3 sets of 15
Jumping Rope: 3 sets of 1, 1 minute each set
5 minute cool down
(By this point Lily came in and wanted to do jumping jacks. We did a few more together then her and I stretched out my warm yet aching muscles)
All in all I would say it was a pretty decent workout. I'm trying not to beat myself up too much, especially considering I basically took the month of February off and need to get back into the circuit swing of things. I used to be able to knock out 100 jumping jacks at a time and that was like a yawn, but I've lost it. However, when I first started doing the circuits I could barely do 15 jumping jacks in a row...so at least I know I'm not as bad as when I started.
So there you have it...that's my Jillian Michaels circuit (at least for today, they do change).
The JM circuits are intended to be mainly strength training with bursts of cardio thrown in. You are supposed to continue without rest so your heart rate will increase and you can 'fool' your body into believing you are doing cardio. These workouts are pretty intense. You are supposed to go through all reps of each move then repeat for 3 sets.
5 minute warm-up
(I did a bit of stretching and walking around to warm the muscles but I probably didn't do the full 5 minutes)
Circuit 1:
Wide Grip Pulldown: 3 sets of 15
(I don't have access to a pulldown bar or machine so I substituted 3 sets of 15 Superman moves, which I hate!)
Lying Leg Raises: 3 sets of 15
Jumping Jacks: 3 sets of 1, 1 minute each set
(I do about a jumping jack each second so instead of watching the time I will do 60 jumping jacks in a row for 3 sets)
Circuit 2:
Seated Row: 3 sets of 15
(Again, I didn't have access to this machine so I substituted dumbbell rows. I did these with 10# dumbbells)
Crossover Lunge: 3 sets of 15 (each leg)
Straight Leg Squat Thrust: 3 sets of 1, 1 minute each set
(First set I did 25, second set I did 20, third set I did 25)
Circuit 3:
Backward Lunge: 3 sets of 15 (each leg)
Jumping Squat: 3 sets of 15
(This was the most difficult set for me and I needed to rest in between each set)
Circuit 4:
Reverse Grip Curls: 3 sets of 15
(I did 2 sets with 10# dumbbells but that was a bit too hard so I switched to 5# dumbbells for the last set. These were a bit too easy so I've realized I need 8# dumbbells)
Scissors: 3 sets of 15
Jumping Jacks: 3 sets of 1, 2 minutes each set
(After about 10 jumping jacks I kept getting this nasty cramp in my left lower abdominal so I only ended up doing 1 minute each set instead of the 2 minutes)
Circuit 5:
Hammer Curls: 3 sets of 15
(Done with the sad little 5# weights)
Reverse Crunch: 3 sets of 15
Jumping Rope: 3 sets of 1, 1 minute each set
5 minute cool down
(By this point Lily came in and wanted to do jumping jacks. We did a few more together then her and I stretched out my warm yet aching muscles)
All in all I would say it was a pretty decent workout. I'm trying not to beat myself up too much, especially considering I basically took the month of February off and need to get back into the circuit swing of things. I used to be able to knock out 100 jumping jacks at a time and that was like a yawn, but I've lost it. However, when I first started doing the circuits I could barely do 15 jumping jacks in a row...so at least I know I'm not as bad as when I started.
So there you have it...that's my Jillian Michaels circuit (at least for today, they do change).