Whether you're short on time or just bored with your usual workout routine, circuit training can help you get fit fast. This high-intensity form of exercise requires you to put a maximum amount of effort into a minimum amount of time, helping you improve your endurance and burn more calories per minute than you would doing a regular strength-training or cardio workout.
Guidelines
Circuit training involves completing a series of exercises in succession for 30 to 60 seconds each, with no rest in between; circuits are usually repeated two to four times to complete the workout. You can choose to focus on strength-training exercises, cardio or both. One of the biggest benefits of circuit training is that it allows to work your body efficiently in a short amount of time, since the goal is to move quickly from one exercise to the next and squeeze as much work as possible into each 30- to 60-second segment.
Strength-Training Sets
If you want to focus your circuit-training workout on building muscle, choose a variety of moves that target all of the major muscle groups. Try completing one minute each of wall squats, push-ups, lunges, bicep curls, bicycle crunches, bent-over rows, jumping squats and overhead presses; repeat the circuit three to four times without resting in between. Or complete a series of standing leg lifts, chest presses, back extensions on an exercise ball, planks with a leg extension, tricep dips, reverse crunches and plie squats. You can customize your own workout by including any moves you choose, as long as you're targeting your muscles equally over time; you might prefer to do two circuit workouts per week, one focusing on the lower body and the other isolating the upper body.
Strength and Cardio Sets
Including both aerobic and strength exercises in a single circuit-training workout helps you burn calories and build muscle without a major time commitment. Try one minute each of ski hops, lunges with bicep curls, jumping rope, squats with lateral raises, running in place, push-ups, fast feet and plie squats with tricep extensions.
Considerations
When the focus is on maxing yourself out on a single exercise in one minute, it's easy to let good form fall by the wayside as you push yourself to perform more repetitions. But maintaining proper form is absolutely essential for making circuit-training effective. Without it, you're body isn't getting the maximum benefits of each exercise and you're putting yourself at risk of injury. Work circuit-training into your exercise routine once or twice per week but keep up regular strength-training and cardio activities as well, since they offer benefits that circuit-training can't. Finally, make sure you speak with your doctor before trying this type of exercise if you have any health conditions; circuit-training requires serious exertion that can be dangerous for certain individuals.
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