Saturday, October 13, 2012

The Value of Circuit Training

Circuit training is essentially doing one exercise after another , with little to no rest . This is a great way to build strength endurance , burn fat, build muscle , work the whole body ,as well as work different adaptations.
Circuits generally use 1 or more pieces of equipment although it's  not an absolute requirement. I do believe you will make faster progress with a mix of equipment and body weight exercises. Suspension equipment ( TRX, Jungle Gym, etc.) , dumb bells, and especially kettle bells are all great equipment to work with . The kettle bell is especially valuable because of its versatility as well as the sheer number of exercises that can be done with it. Weights on the other hand are less than ideal for circuits . Weights are generally for maximal strength ( 1-3 reps ) as well as the fact that you'd have to waste time changing the weight between exercises . This isn't to say it's impossible but either you would have to lower the weight  or limit the number of exercises.
The exercises you choose should be relatively simple , although not necessarily easy . Examples would be push ups , pull ups, military presses , swings . Usually you want to do moderate to high reps ( 3 - 10 + ) depending on the exercise , although you could do a 1 rep exercise in the circuit as long as there was enough time to recover . The number of sets can range from as low as 3 to as high as 10 or more .
Here are a couple of examples . 1 circuit I did the other day. It was a mix of maximal strength , strength endurance, and a little explosiveness . It also worked grip , pushing, and pulling strength . I did 16 diamond push ups , then using my 16 kilo ( 36 lbs ? ) kettle bell , I held it with the handle down ( known as the bottoms up grip ) and did 5 lateral lunges  ( for both legs ) , then immediately 5 bicep pull ups ( the pull up bar in my room ) , and ran back to the kettle bell and did the 2 hand swing for 25 reps . I  immediately got back down in push up position and started it all over again .I did this for a total of 10 sets. That's a total of 160 diamond push ups , 50 lateral lunges , 50 bicep pull ups, and 250 swings . This type of mixed training has recently been termed metabolic resistance training . Another goal is to try to beat the previous time . In the above work out , last week I did this in 42:06 . This week I did it in 40:36 . I did the same amount of work in less time . That's progress.
This morning I did a circuit on the beach that focused on explosiveness and speed. I did 2 hand swings with the kettle bell x 25 reps, the hopped laterally over the kettle bell x 5 reps, the immediately sprinted to the shore and back to the kettle bell ( about 20 -50 meters , much in soft sand ) .I did this for 10 sets in 16 :15 . Notice the overall reps were much lower as well as the overall time . That's because this was a much more intense circuit ,namely the jumps and sprints. However the results are more than perfect.
As shown , circuits don't have to be limited to the gym . You could swim laps and alternate them with body weight or resistance exercises. The only limitation is your imagination .
And if you want to add an extra fat burning element , consider some non stop aerobic exercise immediately afterwards . In the example of my 2 circuits , after the long 40:00 circuit I ran a mile . After the beach circuit I ran 4 miles on the beach .
I would recommend at least a couple of circuits a week although more won't hurt . I would say however not to do the exact same circuit more than twice a week , if even that  ,and certainly not 2 days in a row .
So get your equipment ready, set your timer, and go.

No comments:

Post a Comment