Want to burn more calories? No need to get stuck on one particular exercise or train for twice as long—just don’t sit down. Simply keeping your body moving during a workout, especially between sets, raises your metabolism and promotes fat loss better than any gimmick. Follow this program for four weeks and you’ll get the results you’ve been restless for.

HOW IT WORKS:

These routines use circuits—exercises done back to back without rest—to train the whole body, making the most of every second you spend in the gym. The key is to vary the intensity, mixing hard moves with easier ones so you burn the most calories without burning yourself out. (After all, a workout is no good if you can’t finish it.) So between sets of squats and rows, for instance, you’ll do rope jumping, which will keep you moving but not completely exhaust you. You’ll stay energized enough to give subsequent sets your best effort, while also making your downtime between sets work for you—and your abs.

DIRECTIONS:

Perform each workout (Day I, II, III, and IV) once per week. Rest a day between workouts II and III. Exercises marked with a letter are done in sequence without rest in between. Complete them and then rest a minute afterward, and repeat for the total number of prescribed sets. So you might do one set of A, then immediately a set of B and then C before resting. Complete all the exercises in one group before moving on to the next.

For a visual reference of each exercise, check out our gallery of all the exercises in the Move Your Butt, Lose Your Gut Workout Plan.

Chris Doukakis is the owner of 2 Town Fitness in El Segundo, California.

DAY I:

1A. Front Squat
Sets: 4
Reps: 8
Rest: 0 sec.
Grasp the bar with hands at shoulder width and raise your elbows until your up- per arms are parallel to the floor. Take the bar out of the rack and let it rest on your fingertips. Step back and set your feet at shoulder width with toes turned slightly out. Squat low, but don’t lose the arch in your lower back.

1B. Bentover Dumbbell Row
Sets: 4
Reps: 8
Rest: 0 sec.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and bend your hips back until your torso is about parallel to the floor. Keep your lower back in its natural arch. Row the weights to your sides with palms down, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top.

1C. Rope Jumping
Sets: 4
Reps: 50 jumps
Rest: 60 sec.
Make sure the handles of the rope measure up to chest level. Swing the rope, using only your wrists, and jump just high enough to clear it.

2A. Lat Pulldown
Sets: 4
Reps: 10
Rest: 0 sec.
Grasp the handle with hands outside shoulder width and pull it to your collarbone. Drive your elbows down and back, and allow the weight to pull you slightly forward and stretch your lats at the top of the lift.

2B. Bulgarian Split Squat
Sets: 4
Reps: 10 (each leg)
Rest: 0 sec.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand lunge length in front of a bench. Rest the top of one foot on the bench behind you. Bend both knees and lower your body until your rear knee nearly touches the floor. Keep your torso upright.

2C. Rope Jumping
Sets: 4
Reps: 50 jumps
Rest: 60 sec.

3A. Ice Skater Hop
Sets: 3
Reps: 20 (each leg)
Rest: 0 sec.
From a standing position, jump to your left a few feet and stick the landing as you reach the trailing leg behind and to the outside of the front leg, like a skater on ice. Repeat on the opposite side.

3B. Back Extension
Sets: 3
Reps: 20
Rest: 0 sec.
Use a back extension bench and set the pad to just beneath the crease in your hips. Bend your hips and lower your torso as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. Squeeze your glutes as you extend your hips to raise your torso back up.

3C. Triceps Pushdown
Sets: 3
Reps: 15
Rest: 60 sec.
Attach a rope handle to a cable station and hold an end in each hand. Extend your elbows, pushing the handle down and away from your body.

DAY II:

1A. Deadlift to Toe Shrug
Sets: 4
Reps: 8
Rest: 0 sec.
Stand with feet hip-width apart and bend your hips back. Grasp the bar just outside your knees and, keeping your lower back in its natural arch, drive your heels into the floor to lift. Come up explosively, so that you’re standing on the balls of your feet at the top of the movement and shrugging your shoulders.

1B. Jump Rope
Sets: 4
Reps: 50 jumps
​Rest: 0 sec.

1C. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Sets: 2
Reps: 8
​Rest: 0 sec.
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree angle and lie back against it with a dumbbell in each hand. Press the dumbbells from chest level to straight overhead. Perform the incline press for the first two sets of the circuit; do the dumbbell bench press for the last two sets.

1D. Dumbbell Bench Press
Sets: 2
Reps: 8
​Rest: 60 sec.
Perform as you did the incline press but flatten the bench. Do this for the last two sets of the circuit only.

2A. Jerk Press
Sets: 3
Reps: 10
​Rest: 0 sec.
Place the barbell on a rack set to shoulder height. Grasp the bar with hands outside shoulder width and take it out of the rack. Split your stance so one leg is forward and the other trails. Press the bar overhead.

2B. Jump Rope
Sets: 3
Reps: 50
​Rest: 0 sec.

2C. Leg Curl
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
Rest: 60 sec.
Lie down on a leg curl machine and line your knees up with its axis of rotation. Hook your feet under the ankle pad and curl your heels up. Avoid extending your lower back. Hold at the top for a second.

3A. Pylo Pushup
Sets: 3
Reps: 15
Rest: 0 sec.
Place your hands on the floor at shoulder width and extend your legs behind you. Do a pushup, pressing back up explosively so that your hands leave the floor. Catch yourself on the way down and lower into the next rep.

3B. Deadbug
Sets: 3
Reps: 20
Rest: 0 sec.
Lie on your back on the floor and bend your hips and knees 90 degrees. Raise your arms to the ceiling. Brace your abs and flatten your lower back into the floor. Reach one hand behind your head while extending the opposite leg, letting it hover just above the floor. Reverse the motion and repeat on the opposite side.

3C. Dumbbell Curl
Sets: 3
Reps: 15
Rest: 60 sec.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand with arms at your sides and palms facing forward. Keep your upper arms still and curl the weights up.

DAY III:

1A. Squat
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
Rest: 0 sec.
Grasp the bar as far apart as is comfortable and duck under it; rest it on your traps or rear delts. Nudge the bar out of the rack and set your feet shoulder- width apart; turn toes out. Bend your hips back and squat without losing the arch in your lower back.

1B. Jump Rope
Sets: 3
Reps: 50
Rest: 0 sec.
See directions in Day I.

1C. Lying Triceps Extension
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
Rest: 60 sec.
Lie back on a bench holding dumbbells in each hand. Press the weights over your chest. Bend your elbows, lowering the dumbbells behind your head, then extend them. Your arms should be angled enough that you feel tension on your triceps—not your elbows—at lockout.

2A. One-Arm Snatch
Sets: 3
Reps: 8 (each side)
Rest: 0 sec.
Hold a kettlebell or a dumbbell in one hand and stand with feet at shoulder width. Bend your hips back, then explosively extend your hips and pull the weight up in front of your body and overhead.

2B. Shrug
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
Rest: 60 sec.

3A. Jumping Lunge
Sets: 2
Reps: 20
Rest: 0 sec.
Stand in a lunge position and explosively jump as high as you can, switching your legs midair. Land softly and repeat, switching your legs back. That’s one rep.

3B. Jump Rope
Sets: 2
Reps: 25 jumps
Rest: 0 sec.

3C. Chinup
Sets: 2
Reps: 15
Rest: 0 sec.
Pull your body up until your chin is over the bar.

3D. Jump Rope
Sets: 2
Reps: 25 jumps
Rest: 0 sec.

3E. Ball Slam
Sets: 2
Reps: 20
Rest: 0 sec.
Hold an eight- to 12-pound medicine ball with both hands; stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Brace your core and reach overhead. Explosively throw the ball into the floor, then catch it.

3F. Rope Jumping
Sets: 2
Reps: 25 jumps
Rest: 0 sec.

3G. Lateral Raise
Sets: 2
Reps: 15
Rest: 60 sec.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and raise the weights out 90 degrees to your sides.

DAY IV:

1A. Bench Press
Sets: 4
Reps: 8
Rest: 0 sec.
Lie back on a bench and grasp the bar with hands just outside shoulder width. Arch your back and tighten your glutes and abs. Plant your feet firmly. Pull the bar out of the rack and lower it to your sternum. Push your feet into the floor as you press the bar back up.

1B. Rope Jumping
Sets: 4
Reps: 50 jumps
Rest: 0 sec.

1C. Good Morning
Sets: 4
Reps: 12
Rest: 60 sec.
Set up as you would to do a squat with the bar on your back and feet shoulder-width apart. Brace your abs and bend your hips back, lowering your torso until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings—bend your knees as necessary. Squeeze your glutes as you extend your hips and stand tall again.

2A. Hang Clean
Sets: 4
Reps: 8
Rest: 0 sec.
Stand holding a barbell with hands at shoulder width and feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees slightly and then your hips until the bar is just above your knees. Explosively extend your hips and shrug the bar. Let the momentum carry the weight up to your chest and then flip your wrists so you catch the bar at your shoulders.

2B. Rope Jumping
Sets: 4
Reps: 50 jumps
Rest: 0 sec.

2C. Wide-Grip Bentover Row
Sets: 4
Reps: 10
Rest: 60 sec.
Load a barbell on a power rack set to hip height. Grasp the bar with hands outside shoulder width. Pull the bar off the rack and step back. Set your feet at shoulder-width apart and bend your hips back until your torso is about parallel to the floor. Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, row the bar to your belly.

3A. Reverse Curl
Sets: 3
Reps: 15
Rest: 0 sec.
Hold a bar with an overhand grip with your hands shoulder-width apart. Keeping your upper arms stationary, curl the bar and flex your biceps at the top.

3B. V-Up
Sets: 3
Reps: 20
Rest: 0 sec.
Lie on your back on the floor with legs extended and reach your arms overhead. Crunch your torso off the floor while raising your legs until your body forms a V-shape.

3C. Ball Slam
Sets: 3
Reps: 20
Rest: 60 sec.
Hold an eight- to 12-pound medicine ball with both hands; stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Brace your core and reach overhead. Explosively throw the ball into the floor, then catch it.