Kathleen Tesori's Work It Circuit Workout

Building your dream physique—complete with stacked caps, round glutes, toned tris, and a tapered upper body—takes sweat, time, and devotion.

There are no secret substitutes for hard work and daily effort, but there are a lot of excuses for skipping a workout, from low energy to a lack of time. Guess what? If you can find 30 minutes in your day, you can build the body you want!

When you're short on time but still want to get in a good sweat session, my killer total-body "work it" circuit is just what you need. You'll train and develop every single body part in only half an hour. Even better: This circuit requires little to no equipment. You'll only need yourself, a weight or two, and maybe a few bands.

We're going to start with a warm-up, and then we're going to move into three rounds of strength movements.

Let's work it!

Kathleen Tesori's "Work It" Circuit
Watch the video: 06:28

WARM-UP

Exercise 1 Curtsy Lunge
2 sets of 15 reps (15 reps/leg)

Curtsy Lunge

Tesori Tip

You could always hop on a treadmill to get warmed up, but curtsy lunges are a great alternative because they engage your entire body while giving you a chance to stretch out. Focus on elongating your limbs with each lunge.

Exercise 2 Jumping Jacks
1 set of 15 reps

Jumping Jacks

ROUND ONE

This round consists of four exercises. You're going to go through all of them once, then pause for a brief rest. After resting, repeat the circuit for two more rounds.

The goal here is to keep moving, so don't focus on the weight you're using, the amount of time it takes you to finish, or how much rest you need. Just do what it takes, push yourself, and get it done!

Rest: 30 seconds-2 minutes between rounds

Exercise 1 Around The World Lunge With Biceps Curl
3 sets of 15 reps (per leg)

Around The World Lunge With Biceps Curl

Tesori Tip

Start with a traditional lunge, going straight forward at 12 o'clock. Then, lunge at two o'clock, three o'clock, five o'clock, and then directly back to six o'clock.

That means you'll do five lunges. To get to 15, you'll just do three rounds on each leg, curling your weights at the bottom of each lunge.

Exercise 2 Bench Dip
3 sets of 15 reps

Bench Dip

Tesori Tip

For bench dips, you really want to focus on form. Make sure your back is close to the bench—it should almost be scraping. Keep your arms tight to your body, and try to get your glutes to touch the ground.

Take breaks as needed. If you can't finish all 15 reps right away, finish 8, take a couple of seconds, shake out your arms, and keep going. Form is the key to getting the nice shape that you're look for.

Exercise 3 Dumbbell Push-up With Single-Arm Row
3 sets of 15 reps

Dumbbell Push-up With Single-Arm Row

Tesori Tip

Step outside the realm of the traditional push-up with this modification! Be sure to get low on your push-up. On the row, bring your arm up and keep it close to your body. Then bring it down. Don't worry about the amount of weight or number of reps you do. Focus on form.

Exercise 4 Mountain Climber
3 sets of 15 reps

Mountain Climber

Tesori Tip

The definition of a mountain climber is basic: Bring your knees in line with your chest while keeping your abs tight and sucked in at all times.

Make sure to keep a steady breath throughout the whole exercise.

ROUND TWO

This round is structured like the first. We're going to do all four exercises consecutively, take a break, and then repeat for a total of three rounds. Here, the weight plate takes front and center, so grab one and get started!

Exercise 1 Plate Thruster
3 sets of 15 reps

Plate Thruster

Tesori Tip

Grab any size plate or, if you don't have access, just hang on to a dumbbell. For this metabolic movement, you'll move the weight up overhead and then bring it down.

Looking to make it more of a full-body movement? Jump up on your tip toes to help target your calves.

Exercise 2 Plate Curl And Press
3 sets of 15 reps

Plate Curl And Press

Tesori Tip

Keep your arms tight and close to your body, do a complete plate curl, and then press up. Make sure that you complete both movements—the rep and the press—with full range of motion.

Exercise 3 Plate Squat
3 sets of 15 reps

Plate Squat

Tesori Tip

When it comes to plate squats, there are a few things to keep in mind: Push through your glutes, keep your core tight, get your elbows to your knees, and always stay on your heels.

Exercise 4 Plate Crunch
3 sets of 15 reps

Plate Crunch

Tesori Tip

The goal here is to keep your abs in a nice "C" shape so you're always in a crunch position—both on your way up and your way down. Breathe steadily so that every time you crunch up, you exhale. Remember to scale if necessary. Don't worry about matching my weight; just keep moving!

ROUND 3

Two rounds of total-body circuit training down, one to go! This is a three-minute, Tabata-style abs challenge of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for two sets of three different exercises.

Just remember that, while the first minute might seem really easy, the difficulty will sneak up on you as time accumulates. Stay strong and fight the fatigue! Remember, it's only three minutes total.

Exercise 1 Plank
2 sets of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off

Plank

Exercise 2 Leg Lift
2 sets of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off

Leg Lift

Exercise 3 Shoulder To Bridge Walk-up
2 sets of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off

Shoulder To Bridge Walk-Up