Recharge your routine with a 14-day workout plan that combines muscle sculpting and high-intensity training from weight-loss coach, trainer, and model for this workout Heidi Powell. “The workouts give you the best of both worlds—you’ll build and sculpt lean muscle mass with training methods like dropsets, giant sets, and weak-point destroyers, while creating a metabolic afterburn that incinerates fat for hours after your workouts are over,” she says.
Powell and her husband, Chris, hosted five seasons of the hit TV show Extreme Weight Loss, and have written two books on exercise and weight loss. She draws the program on these pages from their newest app, Transform with Chris & Heidi, which offers personalized programs for weight loss, physique and body sculpting, and performance-based cross-training.
Give this comprehensive plan a try, and you should begin to notice a difference in your strength, stamina, and body composition in as little as two weeks.
Conditioning fundamentals
This workout incorporates several types of training modalities designed to challenge your muscles and boost metabolism. Here’s how they work:
SIngle set: These strength workouts typically start with a single set of a move. Increase weights as rep count goes down (use lighter weight for higher reps; heavier weight for lower reps, aka pyramid set).
Superset: Combine two sets together without resting between sets; take a break for the given amount of time only when both sets are completed.
Giant set: Similar to supersets, although this time you’re combining three or more exercises without taking rest between each.
Dropset: Start with the heaviest weight you can handle for the given rep count; for each additional set, reduce to next heaviest weight.
Weak-point destroyer: This finisher is designed to burn out the muscle at the end of your workout, says Powell. You’ll typically finish with the same exercise you started, but instead of focusing on strength and hypertrophy you’re looking to maximize the muscle and build up lactic acid. Use the same weight for all seven sets.
