Circuit Training
Every one of my client’s physical fitness program is different. Everyone’s goals are different. Regardless of what you’re in the gym for, Typically, I still run everyone through some kind of circuit training. What is circuit training? It’s not complicated. It’s a list of exercises you repeat, in a row, a certain amount of times. I generally have somewhere between three and six exercises in a circuit. When I’m feeling crazy, maybe a few more. I usually run through each circuit two to three times. On the bigger circuits, two times is enough!
The Benefits of Circuit Training
Why do I prefer circuit training? For one it’s definitely more time efficient. We only have an hour, so it’s important to get as much done as we can. Rather than taking a one or two-minute break after a lift, only to go right back to the same exercise, we take a shorter break and hop right into something different. Breaking, getting water and going to the bathroom as needed. Circuit training allows us to get more done in a session, hit more muscles, but also workout more constant.
Another benefit to circuit training is it helps you have a more diverse fitness program. It can be easy getting stuck in the habit of working out the same favored muscles. I’ve been there. It’s common for younger adults to spend more time just on the glamour muscles. But as the imbalances and injuries pile up, if they want to continue exercising and progress, finding a more well-balanced program will have to happen. Circuit training forces you to mix it up, and in the process, you work muscles out that might have been neglected.
The last major benefit in taking part in a circuit training styled workout over a more traditional weight training style routine, is it’s more of a cardio blast. Circuits have a lot more cardio. That kind of workout to me is more functional. It is better for your heart!
How Can You Circuit Train on Your Own?
You might be wondering how you’re supposed to set up circuits in your gym. With all that equipment. If dragging a bunch of weights across the room in a packed gym to pile together in your area makes you nervous, don’t worry, it’s not that hard. Even if the gym is packed setting up an effective circuit shouldn’t be an issue. How do you do it? You find the main exercise/machine you want to do/use, and build other easy to set up exercises around it. If your main exercise includes a machine, grab that machine and throw a towel on it. Then grab a few easy to move things. Maybe a mat, a couple dumbbells, kettlebells or bands. There is so much you can do with only a couple of small pieces of equipment. Check out my FREE WORKOUTS sections for ideas!
Circuit Training is fun, it keeps you on your toes and pushes you to try new things. It’s easy to do with friends, having multiple exercises means there’s more room for people to join. You are not all fighting over one bench machine. But above all, circuit training is effective and pushes us to adopt a more complete and diverse fitness program.