It's time to hit the gym at the end of a long day of work, so you spend 15 minutes warming up, and putter around for another hour without really getting a good workout. You go home after the workout feeling good because you managed to hit the gym, but months go by and you don't see results from your efforts. Within a few short weeks, you get tired of the lack of results, and you quit the gym in frustration.

Sound familiar?

Working Out to Guarantee Results

If you want to see results from your time at the gym, you'll find that it will take more than just casual weightlifting or cardio training to really build muscle. The good news, though, is that you can see results with just 30 minutes of gym time a day. It may sound too good to be true, but it's all about hitting the gym the smart way--rather than spending hours there.


What Should the Ideal Workout Look Like?

Pre-Gym: Jog a mile to the gym. If you live close to the gym, set up a circuitous route that will end up at the gym. If you live far away, park a mile away and jog to the gym. You'll arrive warmed up and ready to work out, and the post-workout cardio will guarantee increased fat burning once you're done lifting weights.

Minute 0 to 5: Spend just a few minutes stretching out the muscles that you are going to work. You have already warmed up your legs by jogging, so stretch the rest of your body. Stretch your back muscles, your chest muscles, your arm muscles, and your shoulders. Just do simple stretches that will get the muscles warm, and get ready to work.

Minute 6 to 15: Do a quick circuit of nine exercises, with just 10 to 15 seconds of rest between each exercise. It should take you less than a minute to do each of the following exercises:

Bench press
Pull downs
Squats
Military presses
Bent over rows
Lunges
Overhead dumbbell extensions
Bicep curls
Leg extensions or leg curls

Important: Do each of these exercises with proper form, and remember:

4 to 6 reps: Build strength and size
12 to 15 reps: General fitness
20 to 25 reps: Fat burning and muscle endurance

Minute 16 to 25: Once you have completed this circuit, do it all over again from start to finish.

Minute 26 to 30: Do exercises to tone your core muscles, such as:

Crunches
Leg raises
Jackknifes
Oblique crunches
Supermans
Static Plank

Just spend a few minutes doing these core exercises, and head out the door to jog back to your car.

Why is this So Effective?

With these exercises, you are hitting every muscle in your body repeatedly for an excellent workout.

Bench presses, military presses, and overhead extensions all use pressing movements, which work out your chest, triceps, and shoulders.

Pull downs, bent over rows, and bicep curls all use pulling movements, which work out your back, biceps, and shoulder muscles.

Lunges, squats, and leg curls or extensions all work out your calves, quads, hamstrings, and glutes.

The core exercises will hit the underused back, oblique, and ab muscles, strengthening your core.

See, in just 30 minutes, you can get the perfect full body workout to help you get in the best shape of your life. Do this routine three times a week--doing cardio workouts the other three days--and you're guaranteed to lose weight, build muscle, and get fit.

If you want, you can take more time to do the workout. You don't have to pack your routine into 30 minutes, but you can fairly easily. You'll find that it will be a simple thing to lose weight and get in shape with this circuit training routine, and it will give you the very best results from your time at the gym!