Total Burn opens with a run on the spot. Day 1 is a circuit of seven exercises: 10 march steps, 20 high knees, 10 march steps, 10 bicep extensions, 20 high knees, 10 bicep extensions and 20 high knees. Work through all seven in order without stopping, then rest 2 minutes - that is one set. Level I repeats it 3 times, Level II 5 times, Level III 7 times; pick the level that lets you finish every set with the sprints still honest, and change level any day the numbers tell you to. The grey arrows next to the high knees are the program's one instruction that matters more than any other: when you see them, go flat out.
The design is a sprint sandwiched between things that let you recover without standing still. March steps drive the knees up at a brisk walking rhythm and get the legs moving; high knees take the same movement and turn it into an all-out sprint for 20 reps; then march steps again bring the pace down while your heart stays up. The second half swaps the marching for bicep extensions - arms punched straight out from the shoulders and curled back under their own tension - which parks the legs completely and hands the arms a job. Three sprints per set, each one arriving on a slightly more tired body, is the whole idea of the program in miniature.
In the march steps, lift each knee to hip height and swing the opposite arm - a walk with intent, not a jog. In the high knees, that same knee height stays but the tempo becomes the fastest your feet can turn over; land on the balls of your feet and keep the torso tall rather than folding forward. In the bicep extensions, make fists, extend the arms fully in front of you and pull them back to the shoulders as if something heavy is resisting both directions - the resistance is yours to supply.
Three sprints, two breathers, one set - and the first of thirty days is already behind you.
Make it Harder: Turn the march steps into high knees too, so every leg block in the circuit is a sprint.
Make it Easier: Do the high knees at a fast jog rather than an all-out sprint and stay on the level you chose.
