As a trainer, I take great pride in my creative workout names and themes. Not only do the names make training more fun, but they also set the tone and reveal the expectations.

One of my favorite workouts is called The Metaconda.

Why the hell would I call it that?

This type of workout is designed to improve metabolic conditioning, commonly referred to as “MetCon” by fitness junkies.

And anacondas are the largest snakes in the world.

So fuse MetCon with anaconda, and you get “Metaconda”— a sweaty snake of a workout that slithers into your heart, wraps around your whole body, and squeezes out body fat to change your physique.

Is that a bit much? Am I being too melodramatic?

Before you answer that, you must try the Metaconda first.

The Concept

It’s a circuit workout. The amount of time you spend doing each exercise remains the same from round to round.

Your rest periods, however, progressively decrease every round. As you get more tired, you get less of a break.

Why It Works

The diminishing rest creates a larger metabolic disturbance than normal due to the increased oxygen demand for your working muscles. This means you’ll burn more calories post-workout, which leads to accelerated fat loss.

The protocol also allows you to frontload your efforts in the first couple cycles since the rest periods are longer. It’s inevitable that your intensity will dip as your rest periods shorten, but try to maintain as much all-out effort as possible.

As you get into better shape and improve your cardiovascular and muscular endurance, you’ll be able to maintain higher levels of intensity throughout your workouts.

Now don’t get me wrong: You’re still working as hard as you can.

But you’re in a state of progressive fatigue, which means your energy is getting zapped. Only mental toughness will see you through to the end.

Fair warning: This workout may swallow you whole the first couple times you try it. But don’t get discouraged. If you keep showing up, you’ll be shocked at how quickly you progress and how quickly the fat melts off.

The Workout

Directions: Perform the following exercises in a row. Do each move for 30 seconds, resting 30 seconds between them.

Once you finish all 6 exercises, you’ve completed 1 round. Do 8 rounds total, but decrease your rest period by 5 seconds each time.

1. Dumbbell swing
2. Blast-off Pushup
3. Bodyweight squat
4. Dumbbell piston push-pull
5. Mountain climber
6. Hollow-body hold

So in round 1, do 30 seconds of work, followed by 30 seconds of rest for 6 exercises straight. In round 2, do 30 seconds of work followed by 25 seconds of rest. Round 3: 30 seconds of work, 20 seconds of rest.

Repeat until you’re left with zero rest between exercises.