18 Workout Finishers to Maximize Gains and Speed Up Fat Loss

A workout finisher is a short, high-intensity burst of exercise tacked on at the end of a training session – typically 5–15 minutes. They feel brutal. They’re supposed to. And if you’re serious about burning fat, they’re one of the most effective tools you’re probably not using.

Here’s why they work. By the end of a hard training session, your glycogen stores are substantially depleted. Your body has been burning through stored carbohydrates to fuel the workout – and now it’s running low.

A high-intensity finisher at this point forces your body to reach into fat stores for energy, because glycogen isn’t available in the quantities needed to sustain the effort.

The second mechanism is EPOC – Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption. High-intensity exercise creates an oxygen debt that takes hours to repay. Your body continues burning calories at an elevated rate for 12–24 hours after the session ends, not just during it. A 10-minute finisher can keep your metabolism elevated for the rest of the day.

The finishers below cover every major muscle group and training goal – from full body circuits and HIIT to muscle-specific burnouts for chest, shoulders, arms, back, and abs. Pick one that matches what you’ve just trained and add it to the end of your session. You’ll hate it while you’re doing it. That’s the point.

Make no mistake – the precursor to fat loss is intensity. You want to see that abdominal fat melting and making room for the chiseled six-pack to shine through? Low-intensity activities like jogging and yoga won’t get you there and you know it, that’s why you keep your workouts as brutal as possible.

But if you want to take fat burning to a whole new level, we have a few ideas about it. Nope, we’re not going to enlighten you with a shortcut – actually, we want you to speed up even more! In order to get rid of the deepest and most stubborn pockets of body fat, you need high-intensity workout finishers that will induce high metabolic costs and activate hormone-sensitive lipase, resulting in a ton of fat getting burned to provide more energy for the already exhausted body.

At the end of an intense workout, your glycogen is depleted and your body is pushed to use stored fat as a primary fuel source, and a good workout finisher is the way to activate this process. When you’re done with your regular training routine, don’t stop there.

Instead, tap into your last reserves of willpower, push your body to its limits and empty your tank to the last drop – this is guaranteed to separate your physique from that of an average gym-goer.

You’ll hate finishers while you’re doing them for sure, but you’ll feel rather blissful later as you watch your muscles grow! Increase the efficiency of your workout with these ultimate workout finishers:

1. The Full Body Flush

The full body flush may seem simple and easy, but pair it with a great number of intense reps with proper form and you’ll get a solid burn in every major muscle. Perform each of the following exercises with 25+ reps and do them in a consecutive order until exhaustion.

– Inverted Row
– Push-ups
– Single Leg Step-up (power the movement through the heel to place stress on the glutes)
– Burpees (including a full push-up in each)

2. Plyometrics

Also known as “jump training”, plyometrics is a workout technique that uses maximum power in short intervals of time to strengthen your muscles. This combination of stretching and contracting your muscles into quick, explosive movements can increase your power faster than any other exercise, resulting with an improved performance in your weight training as well.

To avoid injury, make sure you warm up properly before you start and stretch well afterwards.

– Box jumps #1: Squat down, then explode up to a box or a bench, landing softly. Perform 6 reps with 60 seconds rest.

– Box jumps #2: Stand on the top of a bench that’s at least 20 inches high. Drop down to the ground on your toes, then explode back up onto the bench.

3. The Warrior Conditioning Circuit

Use this circuit to increase your power, endurance and efficiency of movement, while building the body of a professional athlete! Perform the following exercises as fast as possible in a consecutive order with 2 sets of 15+ reps:

– Medicine ball slam

– Med ball push-up

– Plyometric chin-up: start performing a regular chin-up but as you’re coming up, bring your knees up as well. At the top of the exercise, “jump”, releasing the hands from the bar, then grab hold of it again as you descend.

– Box jump: start by standing on the top of a bench, then drop down and jump up back onto the bench in an explosive manner.

4. The HIIT Finishers

Burn fat like crazy by including high intensity interval routine at the end of your workout. This will increase your metabolic rate for up to 24 hours after the training. Keep the blood pumping by performing one of the following two routines:

Routine #1: 3 sets, performed as fast as possible

– High Knee Stationary Sprint: 20 seconds of sprinting followed by 20 seconds of rest.

– Heavy Bag Punches: perform 40 reps (20 reps per arm), followed by 20 seconds of rest.

– Bench Toe Touches: place one foot on a bench while keeping the other on the ground, then switch the position of the legs and keep on alternating as fast as possible. Perform 40 reps (20 reps per leg), followed by 20 seconds of rest.

– Plyometric push-ups: perform 20 reps, followed by 20 seconds of rest.

Routine #2: 3 sets, performed as fast as possible

– Medicine Ball Touches: place your body in a push-position over a medicine ball, then explode up and touch the top of the ball. Perform 12 reps.

– Box Jumps: start by standing on top of a bench, then jump down and explode back up. Perform 15 reps. – Skipping: 30 second sprint, then rest for 15 seconds.

– Heavy Bag Punches: 20 reps (10 per arm), then rest for 60 seconds.

5. The Metabolic Cardio Cocktail

Hungry for more intensity while everybody else is packing their bags? Make the most of your workout and push your metabolism into overdrive with this super-intense cardio circuit. Perform it as many times as possible over the course of 10 minutes:

– Treadmill hill sprint: 15 seconds

– Suspension push-ups: 15 reps

– Split lunge jumps: 20 reps (10 per side, alternating)

– Pull-ups: 5 reps

– Treadmill hill sprint: 15 seconds

– Rope skipping: 50 hops

– Tuck jumps: 5 reps

– Suspension mountain climbers: 30 reps (15 per side)

– Jumping jacks: 20 reps

– Overhead medicine ball slams: 10 reps Add this finisher to your workout routine twice per week.

6. The Sprint Finisher

Shape up your condition and efficiency with a good run at the end of your strength workout. Rest periods should last twice as long as it took to complete the preceding sprint. Complete each sprint in a consecutive order, with adequate rest periods in between:

– 200 yard sprint

– 150 yard sprint

– 100 yard sprint

– 75 yard sprint

– 50 yard sprint

7. Shoulder Dropsets

One of the best high intensity bodybuilding technique of all times, dropsets are an excellent way to take your arm and shoulder training to the next level, inducing a greater hypertrophy of the muscles and building massive strength and endurance.

For optimal results, we suggest you perform this three-part shoulder dropset finisher with a pair of relatively light dumbbells:

– Lateral raise, 15 reps

– Front raise, 15 reps

– Overhead press, 15 reps

Perform all three movements without any pause in between, then rest for 90 seconds. Complete 2 sets.

8. Single Plate Complex Finisher

This is a rather great and untypical way to do complexes that completely changes the dynamics of this exercise and places the biggest part of the tension on the core.

Don’t look so disappointed – having a strong core is absolutely crucial for increasing the efficiency of your weight training and reducing the risk of back injury.

Put the barbells and dumbbells aside and grab a 45lb plate to perform this great finisher:

– Plate Swings: 8-10 reps

– Bent Over Plate Rows: 10 reps

– Reverse Lunge with Plate Twist: 10 reps (5 per side)

– Plate Curl to Overhead Plate Press: 10 reps

– Overhead Plate Squat: 10 reps

– Low to High Diagonal Plate Chop: 10 reps (5 per side) Perform 3-5 sets with 60 seconds of rest between them.

9. Dips

Add dips as a workout finisher to maximize the growth of your chest, shoulders and triceps. If you want to focus more of the tension on the chest and shoulders, lean forward on the dip bars, and if you want to move the focus to the triceps, keep your body in an upright position.

The routine:

– Perform 15 reps of regular dips on bars, then rest for 10 seconds.

– Perform 15 reps of bench dips, then rest for 10 seconds.

– Perform 10 reps of regular dips on bars, then rest for 10 seconds.

– Perform 10 reps of bench dips, then rest for 10 seconds.

– Perform 5 reps of regular dips on bars, then rest for 10 seconds.

– Perform 5 reps of bench dips, then rest for 10 seconds. Perform 3 sets of this routine.

10. Leg Presses

No matter how hard you train your legs, it won’t hurt to burn them some more with a decent finisher. After all, having strong, well defined squats will significantly boost your overall performance.

The routine: Leg press Perform 4 sets with 5 reps each, dropping the weight continuously by 10%. Keep in mind that the key is in dropping the right amount of weight.

If you drop too much, you’ll decrease the efficiency of the workout, and if you drop too little you’ll have a hard time completing all reps. However, if you drop too much weight, slow the exercise down to make it harder.

11. The Biceps Burnout Finisher

Desperate to initiate greater biceps growth? These small muscles can be really stubborn and demanding, so after you finish your regular routine, hit them even harder with this biceps-targeted finisher:

– Opening Set: Alternating Dumbbell Curl with a weight you’d fail after 4-6 reps.

– Drop Set One: 2-3 additional reps with a dumbbell that’s 5lbs lighter than the starting one.

– Drop Set Two: 2-3 additional reps with a dumbbell that’s 5lbs lighter than the previous one.

– Drop Set Three: 2-3 additional reps with a dumbbell that’s 5lbs lighter than the previous one.

– Final Drop Set: 4-6 additional reps with a dumbbell that’s 10lbs lighter than the last one.

Perform all sets in a consecutive order without any rest period in between.

12. The Hardcore Triceps Finishers

Here’s how to push your triceps to maximum growth:

– Cable Pushdown: perform one set of 50 reps with light weight and fast tempo on both the concentric and eccentric contractions.

– Complete Burnout Set: start heavy, then move to lighter and lighter weights.

Dips: 25 reps

Skull Crusher: 25 reps

Seated Dumbbell Triceps Press: 25 reps

Just make sure you don’t perform these finishers at the end of every workout – overtraining can only harm your gains.

13. The Pecs Finisher

This set-up is a great finisher to boost your pecs growth. Pump your chest to insane proportions while sparking up some triceps activity as well:

– Start with 7 reps of dips, followed by 7 reps of push-ups.

Then perform 6 reps of dips, followed by 6 reps of push-ups.

Then do 5 reps of dips and 5 reps of push-ups.

– Continue with this descending rep pattern all the way down to one rep of each movement, maintaining a proper form and resting as little as possible between exercises. If this proves to be too easy for you, start at 10 reps the next time.

14. The Hardcore Chest Finishers

Squeeze every last drop of strength out of your body and tear down any remaining muscle fibers in your pecs with one of the following brutal chest routines.

Routine #1:

– Flat Dumbbell Bench Press: 12-15 reps.
– Incline Dumbbell Press: 12-15 reps.
– Dips: as many reps as possible.
– Push-ups: as many reps as possible.
– Flat Dumbbell Flyes: 20 reps.

Make sure you choose a relatively light weight for this routine, because the combination of intensity and a high number of reps will be enough to drain you completely. The right way to perform these exercises is without any rest periods in between, but if you reach failure before completing the number of reps required, allow yourself a few seconds of rest.

Routine #2:

– Inclined bench press: 20 reps.
– Flat bench press: 20 reps.
– Declined bench press: 20 reps.

15. The Hardcore Shoulder Finishers

Can’t brag with solid shoulder definition yet? Maybe it’s time to try something new – the following finishers will give you exactly the boost you need. Don’t do them at the end of every workout though – you can’t benefit from overtraining.

Finisher #1: Lateral Raises Perform one set with 50-100 reps as fast as you can, making sure you bring the weight above shoulder height on each rep.

Finisher #2: Drop Sets Choose the maximum weight you can handle and perform one sets of 5 reps without rest periods. Decrease the starting weight by 10% and perform another set of 5 reps without rest periods.

Decrease that weight by 10% and perform a third set with 5 reps without rest periods. Decrease the previous weight by 10% and perform a fourth set of 5 reps without rest periods.

Decrease the weight by an additional 10% and perform a final, fifth set with 5 reps without rest periods.

Finisher #3: Reverse Pec Deck Flyes Perform one set of 50 reps with proper form as fast as possible.

Finisher #4: Barbell Punches Pick up a 45-pound barbell. Standing upright, hold the barbell at the upper chest area with the hands positioned at shoulder width apart, then push it out horizontally with both hands.

When your arms become almost fully extended, bring the bar back to the original position with an explosive movement and repeat. Perform one set of 50-100 reps as fast as possible.

16. The Ultimate Abs Finisher

Finally, let’s put the abs under the spotlight. Getting a ripped mid-section will take more than dieting and burning the excess body fat with HIIT, so why not complete your regular abs workout with a hanging circuit?

Perform these three exercises in a consecutive order until you reach failure at each of them, without pausing in between:

– Hanging leg raise: start in a half pull-up position, then raise your legs to above your head.
– Hanging trunk rotation: while hanging from the chin-up bar, bring your trunk to a position parallel to the ground and the legs to a position parallel to the wall in front of you. Slowly lower the legs to the right side until they become parallel to the ground, then repeat the same movement on the left side.
– Hanging oblique knee raise: raise the knees and hips to the left, then bring your legs back down and do the same movement on the right side.

17. The Back Burnout Finisher

Nope, we didn’t forget about the lats – the following finisher is designed to get them burning like never before. It’s crucial to perform this routine in a controlled cadence, holding for a few seconds at the top of each lift.

The routine: Seated Row Drop Set

– Perform 5 reps using the maximum weight you can handle.
– Drop the weight by another 10% and perform 5 reps.
– Drop the weight by another 10% and perform 5 reps.
– Drop the weight by another 10% and perform 5 reps.
– Drop the weight by another 10% and perform 5 reps.
– Drop the weight by another 10% and perform 5 reps.

18. The Ultimate Full Body Burnout Finisher

Aiming to push your whole body to its maximum? Forget about the finishers designed for specific body parts and make your whole body burn instead with only one intense set of these four exercises:

Exercise #1: Squats

– Start by performing as many reps of regular air squats with proper form as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after reaching failure.
– In the second round, perform the squat by lowering yourself into the squat position a bit slower than normally, then exploding back up. Perform as many reps as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after failure.
– In the third round, perform the squat by lowering yourself into the squat position with an explosive movement, then slowly come back up. Perform as many reps as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after failure.
– Finish the routine by staying in a squat position for as long as you can. Rest for 15 seconds, then move to the next exercise. Exercise #2:

Push-ups

– Start by performing as many reps of regular push-ups as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after reaching failure.
– In the second round, perform the push-up by slowly lowering yourself down, then explosively pushing your body up. Perform as many reps as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after failure.
– In the third round, perform the push-up by quickly lowering yourself down, then slowly pushing back up. Perform as many reps as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after failure.
– To finish the routine, hold your body in a push-up position for as long as you can. Rest for 15 seconds, then move to the next exercise.

Exercise #3: Pull-ups

– Start by performing as many reps of regular pull-ups with proper form as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after reaching failure.
– In the second round, perform the pull-up by slowly lowering yourself from the bar, then exploding up. Perform as many reps as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after failure.
– In the third round, perform the pull-up by quickly lowering yourself from the bar, then slowly pulling up. Perform as many reps as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after failure.
– Finish the routine by holding yourself at the mid-position of the pull-up for as long as you can. Rest for 15 seconds, then move to the last exercise.

Exercise #4: Hanging Knee Raise

– Start by performing as many reps of a regular hanging knee raise with proper form as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after reaching failure.
– In the second round, perform the hanging knee raise by slowly lowering the knees, then exploding up. Perform as many reps as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after failure.
– In the third round, perform the hanging knee raise by quickly lowering yourself, then slowly pulling the knees up. Perform as many reps as possible. Rest for 15 seconds after failure.
– Finish by holding your knees in the top position for as long as you can. Great news – you’re finally done!

Hit the shower room and drag yourself to bed. If you find the routine above too confusing, try something that’s simpler but provides the same intensity: 100’s.

In other words, hit 100 reps of each of the following exercises and perform them as quickly as possible in a consecutive order:

– Squat
– Push-up
– Sit-up
– Barbell Curl
– Triceps Pushdown
– Dumbbell Shrug
– Calf Raise

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