It’s fast, it’s effective, it’s challenging: it’s circuit training. In just 30 minutes you can raise your heart rate, build muscle and burn fat.

I know what you’re thinking, 30 minutes, that’s not enough time to truly get a good workout. Why bother? But before you walk away and decide to spend the next half hour lying on the sofa channel surfing, consider this, scientific evidence has proven that the combination of a resistance training regimen with a cardiovascular element increases your metabolism, which builds muscle and burns fat. The result is an overall decrease in body fat percentage. And yes, it can be done in just 30-minutes.

There are an unlimited number of ways to organise a circuit-training workout. Many gyms actually have circuits laid out on posters in the weight rooms or near the cardio machines. You can also talk to an Create Personal Trainer get ideas for a good circuit routine.

But if you’re doing this at home, your options are aplenty. A good rule of thumb is to alternate strength exercises with cardio work. And when possible combine upper and lower body exercises to work multiple muscle groups simultaneously thereby increasing effectiveness. Timing is of the essence so don’t rest in between sets: just go with the flow, it’ll all be over soon.


The following workout is a fun, challenging, 30-minute circuit-training workout, targeting all major muscle groups and is guaranteed to get your heart rate up and in turn burn fat. You just need hand weights (food cans, water jugs or whatever you have available) and a clock.

Note: this routine adds up to a little less than 30 minutes, but you'll need about 10-15 seconds in between exercises to grab your weights and get into proper position. And, don’t forget to include some time for stretching at the end.

30 Minute at home Circuit Workout - All about the timing

Start with a two-minute warm up. You could march in place, do star jumps, run up and down the stairs or turn on your radio and dance around like a disco diva.

Once your body is warmed up and ready to work, grab your weights and …

Tricep kickback/squat

There’s a lot going on with this one, so if you need to just start by doing each move separately then after a few times putting them together, that’s fine. It’s more important to do it correctly then to muddle through with bad form.

Hold a weight in each hand and pull your elbows back so you're holding the weights near your waist.
Pull abs in.

Squat down and straighten your arms behind you, pressing the weight back and moving only your forearms. Your upper arm (from shoulder to elbow) should not move (imagine it being glued to your body).
Lower the weight as you squeese your glutes to press up from the squat.

Repeat for One Minute.

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