How to Do the Dirty Dozen

The dirty dozen is a high intensity workout that uses 12 rep cycles to get your heart pumping and your muscles contracting through grueling sets. Since the dirty dozen can include a variety of exercises, it's important to know how to structure the routine to work for you.

Instructions

1. Choose five exercises that can perform with good form. Pick one that works the upper body (such as pushups), one for the lower body (squats), a cardio exercise (jump rope), one for rarely worked muscle groups, such as your deltoids, and a full body exercise, such as L-pull ups.

2. Move through the exercises quickly with good form. Complete 12 reps of each exercise, even if you have to stop for a few seconds to squeeze out the last few reps. Take as few breaks as possible and time your circuit to see how you do.

3. Add time pressure to your next workout. Try to reduce your previous workout time by 20 percent. If you performed your dirty dozen workout in 20 minutes, get the routine down to 16 minutes while still performing each rep of the entire exercise cycle.

4. Increase the number of cycles you can do in a given period. If you can perform the entire cycle in 15 minutes, see how many you can do in 40 minutes. Allow yourself a few more breaks as you increase cycles, but make the breaks shorter.

5. Change the exercises every few sessions. Or change the exercises every session so you learn to adapt to a variety of exercises performed at high intensity. Maintain the 12-rep standard no matter which exercises you choose.