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Circuit Training
Circuit
training is an excellent way to improve one's strength, mobility, and
stamina. For those who do not know what circuit training is, it is a
training format that consists of 6-10 exercises, strength exercises to
be precise, in which the participant completes each exercise, one by one
with each of
the workouts performed a certain number of times or for a stipulated duration of
time before moving on to the next exercise. Once each exercise has been
completed the participant completes the circuit several more times. The exercises within each
circuit are interspersed with short rest intervals, while each
individual circuit is separated by longer rest periods. Usually, in a
training session, the total number of circuits will depend upon the
training level of a person (whether he/she is beginner, intermediary, or
advanced), the duration of expected training, if there is a competition
ahead and the objective of training.
Designing a
circuit for one's own fitness regimen is not a big deal at all. Anyone
can plan a circuit with some application of mind and yes, some common
sense. The theory is simple – identify the exercises you can do with the
available equipments and group 6-10 of them together such that each
exercise stresses on a different part of the body or group of muscles. In other
words, never group together two exercises that work on the same muscle
group, for example, you can't follow press-ups with pull-ups. The
circuit must be planned such that it works each body part, the total
body, upper-body, lower body, core and trunk. Finally, plan at least 3-4
circuits so that you won't feel bored by the monotony of the exercises,
which can happen if you always hang on to one circuit.
Before
designing the circuits, here is the list of exercises that fall in each
of the categories – from total body to core and trunk.
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Total body workouts
include treadmills, squat thrusts and skipping.
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Upper body exercises
include press ups, pull ups, bench dips, bench lifts, medicine ball
chest passes and inclined press ups.
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Suitable lower body
workouts are squat jumps, astride jumps, compass jumps, shuttle
runs, step ups, hopping shuttles and bench squats.
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Finally the core and
trunk types include sit ups (lower abdominals), stomach crunches
(upper abdominals), and back extension chest raises.
By
combining these exercises judiciously, one could design 4-5 circuits
easily. An example of a balanced circuit is mentioned below.
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Six Exercise Circuit:
treadmills, press ups, squat jumps, sit ups (bent knees with feet on
the floor), squat thrusts, and bench dips.
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Eight Exercise Circuit:
The same as six exercise circuit, but after bench dips, continue
with shuttle runs and back extension chest raise.
Regarding
individual exercise timings, each exercise must be done for 20-30
seconds, with a 30 second recovery time separating the workouts. A daily
session must ideally include 3-5 circuits, each circuit separated by a 3
minute interval.
So, now
what are the benefits of circuit training? Does it have any disadvantages?
Well, like any aspect in life, circuit training also has its pros and
cons. On a positive note, circuit training brings strength and endurance
to the person doing it, the exercise regimen can be customizable for any
requirement or age, the training as a whole is quite simple to follow
and there are wide choices of exercises to choose from so that the
person working out will not feel that the work out is boring or
monotonous. On the flip side, in circuit training, most of the exercises
are such that it requires specialized equipment, ample space is a
necessity to set up circuit training workouts and there must be some
expert there with you to monitor your progress and keep you on schedule.
Regarding the latter aspect, you need to check into a gym or hire a
personal trainer to monitor your progress.
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