Circuit training is the ultimate multitasker in the weight room, burning calories and building muscle simultaneously. A study published in the August 2008 issue of the "European Journal of Applied Physiology" indicates that circuit training continues to work its magic even after you've left the gym, increasing elevated post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC, even more than a cardio workout of the same intensity.
Features
Circuit training involves performing a set of one exercise, then moving to a different exercise with minimal rest between sets. After performing all exercises, repeat the circuit from the beginning. A typical circuit training workout will target all major muscle groups and ideally work each muscle to near-failure in each set.
Effectiveness
If performed vigorously, a circuit training workout elevates the heart rate by combining aerobic and strength training exercises. This maximizes the calorie burn and strength gains in a given time frame. Circuit training workouts performed using free weights versus resistance machines burn more calories because machines only work one muscle group at a time. Moreover, they typically require you to be seated while performing the exercise.
Considerations
If circuit training provides such an effective fat burning and toning workout, surely doing it every day would provide even faster results, right? Wrong. According to the Mayo Clinic, you should allow 48 hours between strength training workouts. Muscular development happens not in the gym but during the recovery time. If you circuit train every day, you deny your body adequate rest time and actually hinder muscle development.
Options
One option to address the need for adequate muscle recovery time is to perform split sets, working legs, buttocks and abdominals one day, for example, and then arms, chest and back on the following day. Body builders used this method effectively for hypertrophy, however, for those with weight loss goals, this method wastes time. The strength of circuit training lies in its ability to burn the greatest number of calories and target the greatest number of muscles in the least amount of time. A typical circuit training exercise should target multiple muscle groups simultaneously, such as lunges with lat rows or side abductions with forward rows, thereby toning multiple muscles and increasing calorie burn. A split routines mitigates this training effect.
Solution
If you wish to perform circuit training workouts daily for weight loss, consider adjusting a typical circuit to perform heavy resistance exercises one day and then a cardio circuit the following day. A cardio circuit keeps your heart rate high, provides for natural intervals and works muscles from different angles. To perform a cardio circuit, move from a stair climber, to a recumbent bicycle, to the treadmill and finally to an elliptical trainer. Adjust the incline or intensity of each machine to keep your body guessing and your heart rate soaring.
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