Awesome new workout: 5 to 10 to 15!

Hey everyone,

It's tough to be original in the fitness world!  There are a ton of great ideas out there and people seem to have already tried/invented everything.  However, we did come up with a new fitness routine, which we tested out today.  It was a blast!  It's based on starting out with a strength exercise, then moving onward into a strength/conditioning, then finally a conditioning phase.  As with many of our routines, it is circuit-based.

Let's up the intensity...

We have called this the 5 to 10 to 15 workout.  It's simple to plan.  You pick three exercises.  The first should be strength-based.  You will do 5 reps.  Then, you immediately move to the next exercise, which should be a balance of strength and conditioning.  You will do 10 reps.  Then you immediately move to the final exercise, which should be a lighter, conditioning-based movement.  You will do 15 reps to complete the set.  Thus, in a set, you will do a total of 3 exercises and 30 total reps, circuit-style.  It is ideal if the exercises are thematically grouped (e.g. we focused on pulling and posterior chain exercises in today's full-body workout), but you do not necessarily have to target the same bodypart.

Here's what we did in today's 5 to 10 to 15 workout:

1. Completed 3 sets of:

5 reps - Wide grip pullups (Tannys - band-assisted, Alex - weighted; 32kg kettlebell)

10 reps - Alternating kettlebell deadlifts (Tannys - 24kg, Alex - 40kg)

15 reps - Kettlebell swings (Tannys - 24kg, Alex - 40kg)


Demonstration video 1

2. Completed 3 sets of:

5 reps - Straight-leg deadlifts (Tannys - 24kg kettlebell, Alex - 205lbs barbell)

10 reps - Reverse pushups (bodyweight)

15 reps - Overhead kettlebell swings (Tannys - 16kg, Alex - 24kg)


Demonstration video 2 - note that due to the ceiling height, the overhead swing form is not perfect.  These are, ideally, done outdoors to allow for a more full range of motion...

3. Completed 3 sets of:

5 reps - Parallel-grip pullups (Tannys - band-assisted, Alex, weighted; 24kg)

10 reps - Alternating kettlebell rows (Tannys - 16kg, Alex - 40kg)

15 reps - Hip bridges (bodyweight)


Demonstration video 3

In this workout, we did three sets of each circuit (each composed of 3 exercises).  This meant that we completed 270 reps in the overall workout, which is a similar rep range to our 300 workouts, or AR7-style workouts (330 reps).  However, the 5 to 10 to 15 workout incorporates more of a strength component at the outset of each circuit.  The trade-off is that it puts slightly less emphasis on conditioning.  We took a decent rest break (e.g. 90 seconds) in between each circuit, to assist our recovery.

This was definitely a fun workout and we both enjoyed the strength component, while we also felt challenged by the conditioning demands that really show up in the final exercise of the circuit.  If you want to give this workout style a try, you can use it to design a full workout (as we did above), or simply add in one or more of these sets into your own workout.  Let us know what you think of it!

- Alex & Tannys