Workout Wednesday : Circuit Training for beginners

I was first introduced to circuit training somewhere around 2011 or 2012, when I had a gym membership and decided to try a class called "Gladiator Training."  I attended the class pretty faithfully, twice a week, for a few months.  I also occasionally took the exercises I learned there and created my own circuit training workouts with them at home.  At some point in that process, I saw my abs for the first time. Now that I think about it, it must have also been the year I gave up alcohol for Lent, because it's pretty hard to have visible abs when there is frequent alcohol in your diet...all those extra calories.  My drinking has gradually decreased over the past few years to the point where now it is pretty low, and over the past few months I have once again been catching glimpses of those elusive abs.

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CIRCUIT TRAINING 

the basic method : 10 exercises, 3 rounds, limited rest

The Exercises: Choose exercises for legs, arms, abs, and cardio.  Exercises can be done utilizing body weight only, or you can add dumbbells or other basic equipment (kettle-bells, stability balls, etc.)  I think it is best to start with bodyweight only, and then work up to adding weight as needed.  I've found that there are not a lot of bodyweight options to work your arms, so dumbbells will be needed sooner for that than for anything else.  

The Execution: Start with 30 seconds for each exercise, with 10 seconds of rest in between each exercise.  Take a 2 minute break between each round.  This will give you a workout that lasts 23:40.  

-If you are just beginning with strength training, take it easy the first time!  It's good to be sore after a workout, but you don't want to be so sore that you don't want to do it again in a few days, or so sore that you give up on it.  I always advise for people to start slow until they know how their body will handle it.  If you aren't sore in the next day or two, you will know that you can work a little harder the next time.  It's better to start conservatively and not get much of a benefit the first time, than to start too hard and get hurt or discouraged.  

-If the 30/10, taking it easy method proves too easy, you have a few options.  You can up your intervals to 40/10 or 45/15, you can add weight, or you can increase your speed in each exercise.  If you were moving really slow, it's fine to increase the speed a bit, but if you feel you already have a pretty good tempo, don't try to increase it too much.  Some exercises are actually more beneficial at a slightly slower pace (Think about exercises like push-ups and squats: if you go too fast, your momentum is doing more work than your muscles.  If the goal is to get stronger...make your muscles do the work!)  Another option, which I am currently utilizing, is to vary the time for each exercise. I've upped the time for exercises that are easier for me, but left the harder exercises at a lower time.  This way, I can get the most quality out of each exercise.  For example, I do exercises like jumping jacks, lunges, and planks for 50 seconds, but exercises like get-ups and push-ups for 30 seconds.   

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Sample Workout 

(bodyweight only)

1) Jumping Jacks

2) Squats

3) Push-ups

4) Mountain Climbers

5) Superman

6) Lunges

7) Get-ups

8) Crunches

9) Windmills

10) Plank 

*In general, you can do a Google search for any exercises you aren't familiar with, but of course there are some exercises with multiple names, and names that fit multiple exercises.  In this workout,           -Superman means lying on your stomach with legs straight behind and arms straight in front.  Lift arms and legs off the ground for a few seconds, lower, and repeat. 

-Get-ups are burpees without the push-up : start standing, drop your hands to the floor in front of your feet, jump your feet back into push-up position, jump your feet back towards your hands, jump up in the air with arms raised.  Repeat. 

-Windmills mean lie on your back, arms/hands along your sides, arms/hands raised straight up in the air (harder) or hands palms-down under your buttocks (easier). Legs flat on the floor, lift both feet slightly off the ground, then (keeping knees straight) alternately raise/lower each leg without touching the floor.

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*I use an app on my iPad called "Seconds Pro."  It allows me to create each workout with exercise, time, and rest, and then play it.  This way, I don't have to keep an eye on my watch while I go through the workout, I can let the app count seconds for me, and announce each exercise and rest.  The app only cost a few dollars, if I remember correctly.  There is also a free version, which I believe lets you create the time intervals for each workout, just without being able to name each exercise.  

the created workout

sample view of the screen during the workout

(I recently discovered that I could customize the colors!)

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Questions?  Please comment on this blog post, I'd love to hear from my readers!

Did you try out the workout?  How did it go? Let me know in the comments!

Anything in particular you'd like me to write about in my workout posts?  Let me know!