One of the best things about circuit training is its flexibility. You can customize the activities in the circuit to meet your current goals and fitness level. Flexibility makes circuit training an excellent choice for those looking to improve fitness, including the amazingly diverse group of adults over 65.
Definition
In circuit training, you move from one station to another, performing a particular activity for a set amount of time. The activities and the amount of time at each station depend on your personal goals and your current fitness level. You would normally alternate an aerobic activity like jumping rope with a resistance activity like overhead triceps extensions. Circuits are a great way to get a complete workout that includes cardiovascular, resistance, stretching and balance components in a compressed amount of time.
Guidelines
For adults over 65, the American College of Sports Medicine, or ACSM, recommends moderately intense aerobic exercise 30 minutes a day, five days a week or vigorously intense aerobic exercise 20 minutes a day, three days a week. The intensity level varies from person to person. Some seniors can run uphill at 5 mph and describe this as moderately intense. For others, brisk walking is vigorously intense. As a general guideline, moderate means you can still carry on a continuous conversation; at a vigorous level, you can only say a few words now and then. You should never be gasping for breath during your workout.
The ACSM also recommends doing eight to 10 different resistance exercises and balance exercises. When designing a circuit, first consider your intensity level: moderate or vigorous. If you will be doing moderate exercise, make sure your aerobic components add up to at least half an hour, but more is fine.
Functional Fitness
Circuits should be designed with functional fitness in mind. In other words, think about the muscles you use to go up and down stairs --- quadriceps and glutes --- to move groceries out of the car --- back and arms --- and to keep you stable when you walk --- abdominals. Choose exercises that work these muscles together, like squats, lunges, push-ups against a wall, and abdominal crunches on a stability ball. You can also challenge your balance by doing an alternating single-leg stand for 30 seconds on each leg.
Example
The exercises you do will depend on your current fitness level. Push yourself, but don't work too hard too fast. To do a 60-minute circuit session, you could start off with 10 minutes of walking, gradually building from an easy pace to brisk. Then try doing squats for two minutes, followed by two minutes of stepping up and down on a low aerobic stepper bench. Next, do two minutes of lunges followed by two minutes of pretending to jump rope. You can repeat this whole circuit another time, and then follow with another circuit. If your goal is to build endurance, keep the intervals about two minutes long. If you want to build power and speed, then use shorter intervals and work at a higher intensity in each of the cardio segments. Be sure to allow 15 minutes for cool-down, including about ten minutes of low-intensity cardio exercise like walking or marching followed by at least five minutes of stretching for all the major muscle groups.
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