Today there is a very common excuse of non having a sufficient time for exercise, which leads in skipping the gym by many people. Circuit training is a solution to this gym excuses with its freedom of doing variety of workouts with adequate intervals. It is known for its multitasking fitness workout nature, with gaining the better cardiovascular health and strength with one high-intensity workout sessions.
Whether you are a beginner looking to start your gym or a professional athlete trying to achieve his goals, this article will explore the science, benefits, and structure of a world-class circuit training.
What is Circuit Training?
Circuit training is a type of workouts that involves variety of exercises including resistance training, high-intensity aerobics, and endurance work performed in a specific sequence to achieve your health workout goals.
The circuit refers to a series of 6 to 10 exercise types on one go with short intervals. You perform one exercise for a set duration or number of repetitions, then move immediately to the next exercise with a very little to no rest. A full circuit is completed when you’ve gone through every exercise by at-least once, followed by a short recovery period during every workout.
The Science-Backed Benefits
Why should you switch your traditional workout routine for a circuit? The benefits of this workout goes above just saving time.
- Maximum Caloric Burn: Because your heart rate remains higher throughout the entire circular workout session, you burn more calories per minute than a regular weightlifting session.
- The Afterburn Effect: High-intensity circuits training trigger the EPOC -Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. Which helps your body in continuous burn the calories at a higher rate for hours even after your circular workout training session at the gym.
- Cardiovascular & Muscular Endurance: You are effectively training your heart and your muscles simultaneously, which promotes a multiple beneficial approach to your fitness.
- Versatility: Circuits Training can be performed anywhere, at a fully equipped gym, in a park with bodyweight exercises, or even in a small hotel room.
How to Structure Your Circuit:
A balanced circuit should target the entire body to prevent overtraining your body’s specific muscle groups and to keep the heart rate climbing. Here is a standard 4 pillar structure for a balanced circuit training session:
- Body workout Type: Upper Body, Focus: Push/Pull strength, Example Exercises: Push-ups, Overhead Press, Rows
- Body workout Type: Lower Body, Focus: Quads/Glutes/Hamstrings, Example Exercises: Squats, Lunges, Kettlebell Swings
- Body workout Type: Core, Focus on: Stability & Rotation, Example Exercises: Planks, Russian Twists, Mountain Climbers
- Body workout Type: Cardio Burst, Focus on: Heart rate spike, Example Exercises: Burpees, Jumping Jacks, High Knees
Sample Beginner Circuit Training Routine:
Try this 30-15 workout format: Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, take rest for next 15 seconds before moving to the next workout station. Complete the circuit atleast 3 times.
- Bodyweight Squats (Lower Body)
- Incline Push-ups (Upper Body)
- Walking Lunges (Lower Body)
- Dumbbell Rows (Upper Body)
- Plank (Core)
- Jumping Jacks (Cardio)
Tips for a successful circuit training session:
- Prioritize Form Over Speed: It’s an easy way to get sloppy when the clock is ticking. Move quickly between one workout to another, but perform the movements with precision and with a small rest to avoid workout injury.
- Progressive Overloading to workout session: Once a circuit becomes easier with regular practice, then don’t just add time, increase the weight, reps, reduce the rest intervals, and go with more intense body movements including swapping a regular squat for a more intense jump squat.
- Better Body Hydration is very Important: Because of the constant body movement, you may sweat more than usual. Keep a water bottle handy with you and drink enough water during the interval sessions for better hydration.
Circuit training is more than just a routine workout, and is a purposeful strategy for total-body transformation. By keeping your resting periods shorter and your workout movement intensity higher, you can achieve a full body intense workout experience in 30 minutes what usually takes 90 minutes of time.