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Workout Wednesday: Circuit for Time Crunched Athletes

Looking for a quick and efficient upper body circuit workout? Geared for both time efficiency and upper body strength, this circuit can be completed in 15 to 20 minutes and is a great way to get a strength workout down immediately after another aerobic-oriented session.

I modified this workout from a shoulder-specific set I had heard of a few years ago. Since so many of the athletes I coach are stressed for time, but also in need of some much-needed shoulder-strength workouts, I came up with this quick workout that combines both weight sets with own-body-weight exercises. A set of dumbells, an exercise ball and a bench are all you need. (Although, if you have access to a chin up bar, that is an option to add to the set, too.)

I typically program this set the day after a hard bike or run workout, so there is no leg work included.

Use dumbells ~ 5 – 15 lbs each
Do 10 reps of each in rapid succession:
Bench Press (back on exercise ball)
Upright rowing
Bicep curls
Shoulder press (sitting on ball)
Push ups on ball (elbows close to the body to emphasize the triceps)
Dips (feet on ball)
Tricep Extensions
Optional: Chin ups
Abdominal curl/ crunch on ball
Abdominal jackknife on ball

Take a 1:30 break then repeat one or two more times