3 Quick Finishers for Fat Loss and Improved Conditioning

I'm always on the lookout for non-traditional forms of cardio. From my perspective, nothing is more boring than plugging away for 30 minutes plus on a treadmill or elliptical trainer. I would rather watch Ozzy Ozbourne try and explain quantum physics.

To be clear, I'm not saying I don't like aerobic work. Steady state cardio definitely should be a part of any balanced training program. For more on that, check out this post. With that being said, I would rather get my aerobic work in through walking, hiking or a mobility circuit. For the rest of my conditioning, I use a lot of finishers.

I like finishers for a number of reasons:

• Great way to elevate heart rate after main strength work.
• Time-effective.
• Usually minimal equipment is required.
• Creates a "metabolic disturbance" without totally crushing the trainee.
• Can be used as a stand alone workout if short on time.  

Finishers are a fantastic way to get in some conditioning at the end of a heavy strength training session. A good finisher will elevate heart rate for a period of time, which is ideal for fat loss and improved conditioning. They usually take anywhere from 5-15 minutes to complete, and can be used as a stand alone workout if you are short on time. Here are three of my favorites.

1. Countdowns

Countdowns are pretty straight forward. Simply pick a rep range and count down, decreasing the amount of reps performed with each circuit. They are best when performed with 2-3 multi-joint movements such as squats, kettle bell swings, pull ups etc. For example:

Burpees
Push Ups
Kettle Bell Swings

On the first set, perform 10 reps of each. The second do 9 reps. Third 8, and so on until all reps are completed.You can use virtually any combination of movements for these so they provide plenty of variety for the trainee. You can also do count UPS, or combine count downs and count ups if you are really sick and twisted.

You can also use them in a lower rep range for extra strength work or to work on some weaknesses. Higher rep ranges can also be used with countdowns in increments of 2-4 reps.

I'll throw in a few more of my favorite combinations. These are all done in countdown format, but you can use them however you like.

5 Hang Cleans
5 Front Squats
5 Pull Ups

10 Front Squats
10 Back Squats

20 Kettlebell Swings
20 Push Ups

10 Inverted Rows
10 Rollouts
10 Deadlifts

2. Ladders

Ladders are performed with 2 exercises performed in ascending/descending order. A third movement can be added as a "constant". For example:

Burpees: 1-10 done in ascending order
Squats: 10-1 done in descending order
Pull Ups: 3 constant

The sets will look like this:

Burpee x 1
Squat x 10
Pull Ups x 3

Burpee x 2
Squat x 9
Pull Ups x 3

All the way down to...

Burpee x 10
Squat x 1
Pull Ups x 3

Sometimes it helps to remember the sum of the first two movements will always be the same. In this example it will always be 11.

I find that the constant is a great way to work on any weaknesses. For example, if you are terrible at push ups or chin ups you could use a low number of these as your constant. You could also add some sort of corrective exercise as your constant such as a hip or shoulder mobility correction. A corrective ladder might look like this:

Kettle Bell Swing x 10
Push Up x 1
Bench t-spine mobilization x 5 each

As with the countdowns, ladders provide a seemingly endless amount of variety, so you should never get bored with these.

3. Minute-On-the-Minute Sets

Minute-On-the-Minute sets are a great way to be held accountable for your rest periods while sustaining a metabolic effect. The amount of work will be limited by how fast you can complete the interval before the time expires or by the amount of reps you can perform. Simply set an interval timer or stop watch for one minute work/one minute rest intervals (there are a ton of free interval timer apps out there for your phone).

There are three ways I use this method:

1. Pick a compound movement (squat, deadlift, bench press etc.) and load it with 75-85% of your one-rep max. At the top of each minute, do 1-3 reps. Do this for 10 minutes. By the end you will have performed a pretty decent number of reps with a large percent of your 1RM.  This is a good stand alone workout because it builds strength and work capacity simultaneously.
2. Pick a compound movement and load it with 50-60% of your 1RM weight. At the top of the first minute do 1 rep. At the top of the second minute do 2 reps and so on and so fourth. Continue in this fashion until you can no longer complete all the reps within the minute time frame. It will seem easy at first, but trust me it will catch up with you. 
3. Combine minute-on-the-minute with countdowns and ladders. This adds a timed element to the aforementioned methods. So on the first minute you could do 10 swings and 1 chin up. Second minute 10 swings and 2 chin ups and so on until failure. 

With all of these methods in your toolbox, you now have an endless variety of ways to add finishers into your training. These are simple, effective methods that can easily be added regardless of the equipment and time you have at your disposal. Enjoy!


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