Circuit Training Workout - What is it and How to Design One With Multiple Exercises
What is Circuit Training?
Circuit training is done with different types of exercises, and usually performed in a circle or similar clockwise rotation to make it simple to follow. Circuit training is great for building both strength and endurance because you get very little rest between each exercise and then you move on to the next exercise or station and begin again. Generally circuit class workouts have 8 to 12 exercises to target all the large muscle with 1 or 2 ancillary movements added.
Designing a Circuit Workout
As briefly mentioned above, a circuit training workout should consist of 8 to 12 exercises. This way you are sure it is a full body routine with cardio and core exercises added to it as well.
Designing a circuit is all about work to rest ratio and allowing for just enough recovery before moving to the next station. It is also a good idea to design your stations so that a single muscle group or body part does not get over worked. An example would be having the circuit setup where you perform leg press, then hamstring curls, followed by leg extension. You can see how this would not necessarily be a good idea, however this is not always true with some training situations.
Below is an example of different types of times of a work to rest ratio.
Beginner Machine Circuit Sample
Exercise
| Workout Time
| Rest Time
|
|---|---|---|
Leg Curl
| 45 seconds
| 15secs
|
Chest Press
| "
| "
|
Run on the spot
| "
| "
|
Leg Extension
| "
| "
|
Seated Row
| "
| "
|
Situps
| "
| "
|
Workout time of 45 seconds with 15 second rest.
Some Other Workout Time Options
Workout
| Rest
|
|---|---|
1min
| 30
|
45
| 15
|
30
| 30
|
Advantages of Circuit Training
- Develop muscular strength and endurance
- Great for targeting whole body
- Easy to plan and prepare
- Easily adjusted for different fitness levels and age
- Can easily be setup for more sports specific
Disadvantages of Circuit Training
- Usually not individualized
- Often time consuming on setup
- Lots of equipment needed to keep it exciting
- Depending on class size, it's often hard for instructors to watch technique of members
When it comes down to it, circuit training can be a simple effective way to help you burn calories and perform a full body workout. You can also change the circuits so it's more like a boot camp circuit or have it more specific for a particular sport.
Video of a Simple Circuit
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