Slim Down Workouts

Workouts for slimming down should add an aerobic component to your resistance training. In fact, any workout can be made into a fat-melting fest by simply reducing rest times between sets. Each of these programs utilizes minimal rest periods to shock your metabolism into overdrive. Remember to change your workout routine every four to six weeks to keep your body guessing and prevent it from adapting. Add these powerful weight loss workouts to your fitness program to slim down fast.

Traditional Circuit Training

Traditional circuit training is a great way to burn fat and slim down, according to "The Abs Diet." Circuits are made up of several different exercises done in quick succession with little or no rest between sets. You only do one set of an exercise at a time and then move on to the next exercise in the circuit, rather than completing several sets at once of one exercise. You can use circuits to target one or two muscle groups or the entire body, which is most common. A sample circuit might include squats, leg curls, standing calf raises, bench presses, seated cable rows, machine shoulder presses, triceps push-downs, dumbbell biceps curls, reverse crunches and machine abs crunches. Do one set of each exercise with eight to 12 reps, resting less than 30 seconds between each set. After completing the circuit, you would either repeat the same routine one or two more times or choose different exercises that target the same muscle groups for variety. Follow up this 30 to 60 minutes circuit training routine with 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, such as jogging on the treadmill or using the elliptical machine.

Fat-Burning Super-Sets

Super-sets are a very efficient way of hitting muscles from many different angles in a short amount of time. To do a super-set you choose two exercises and alternate between them with very little rest for two or three cycles. You can pair two exercises for one muscle group, such as super-setting barbell curls with concentration curls for biceps. Or you can super-set opposing muscle groups in a push-pull fashion, like bench presses and lat pull-downs. The weekly breakdown could include either three or five training days, depending on your personal preference. For three days, try chest and back on Monday, legs on Wednesday and shoulders and arms on Friday. The five-day breakdown might go shoulders, arms, legs, chest and then back, each on separate days. For each workout choose one to three super-sets for each muscle group and go through two or three cycles, keeping the reps between eight and 15. Follow your resistance training workout with fat burning cardio, such as interval training. An example would be walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes, doing two-minute runs every few minutes.

Metabolic Acceleration

Similar to circuit training, this workout has a few unique twists to increase fat burning. Rather than adding cardio after your weights workout, you will do short bouts of intense aerobic training between each set of your workout. Examples of this include step-ups onto a bench holding dumbbells, walking lunges with a barbell on your back or jumping rope between sets. The other unique twist is that you will not cycle through the entire routine one exercise after another. Instead, you complete all the sets for one exercise and then move on to the next. Starting with chest, for example, you would do a set of dumbbell bench presses, 40 seconds of aerobics, another set of bench presses, 40 seconds of aerobic and then one final set of bench press, for three total sets. Follow this with three sets of seated cable rows, three sets of leg presses, two sets of shoulder presses, two sets of leg curls, two sets of biceps curls, two sets of triceps push-downs and two sets of standing calf raises. Remember to do 40 seconds of some form of cardio between each set and keep your repetitions between six and 10.