Testing the 'Ultimate 2-Exercise Workout'

Hey everyone,

Recently, we decided to try out a new exercise format that we discovered on the Men’s Health website (http://www.menshealth.com/deltafit/ultimate-two-exercise-workout).  Pitched as the ‘Ultimate’ 2-exercise workout, we were quite intrigued to see what this workout had to offer.

This workout uses a countdown format.  You perform 15 reps of the first exercise, before immediately moving on to 15 reps of the second exercise.  You alternate between the exercises, doing one less rep each set (from 15 reps down to 1).  This workout is fast-paced, efficient and offers high intensity (helping to boost metabolism and help you achieve a leaner body).

In our version, we chose to use a heavier kettlebell swing as the first exercise (Tannys – 24kg; Alex – 48kg), with burpees as the second exercise.  This was a very challenging combination, since the heavy kettlebell swings were a great strength challenge and the burpees were an incredible cardio challenge.

We enjoyed this countdown format so much that we also used it for an upper body workout.  In that workout, Alex alternated between pullups and dips.  Tannys alternated between Jungle Gym reverse pushups and regular pushups.  The upper body version was perhaps even more challenging, especially for the back exercises (pullups and reverse pushups).

In this countdown workout, you perform 120 reps of each exercise, for a total of 240 reps.  For our upper body workout, after a rest period of a few minutes, we included a bonus round.  For this additional exercise, Alex did reverse pushups with plyometric pushups and Tannys did pullups with dips.  We performed sets of 15, 10, and 5 reps of each (alternating), for a total of 60 additional reps.

We recommend giving this countdown workout style a try.  You can pick any 2 exercises and follow the pattern of alternating and working through the decreasing reps.  Try to keep going at a fast pace, limiting rest periods.  We think you’ll find it’s a great challenge and it will give you a good feeling of accomplishment when you finish!   

- Tannys & Alex