Tired of your workouts? Give Circuit Training a try!

Dumbbell Press

Those of you who know me are aware of my SIZE.  I’m not a small guy, by any means, but over the past two years, my focus has been to promote health, rather than simple size or strength.  Since my Singapore days of middle school, I’ve been into Strength Training in a big way.  About a year ago, I did a workout with a young, Miss Fitness Japan and was reminded of the technical nature of training.

The first thing I noticed was her notebook.  Write everything down!  This gives you accurate numbers to shoot for in the future.  She also used very slow, controlled motions, which I am also a fan of.  Whenever I see some meathead dropping weights I cringe (and then laugh at them).  But this isn’t about gym etiquette, it’s supposed to be about Circuit Training!  So onto that.

Pull Downs

After nearly one year of doing isolated muscle group workouts, EX: Biceps, Triceps, Chest, Shoulders, Legs, Back ALL on separate days, I was again given some advice.  “You should give Circuit Training a try” said Cy Sanders of SNAP Fitness.  While spending a month in Harrisburg, PA for the winter holidays, I’d opted to stay physical at the nearest gym.  Cy recommended trying Circuit Training as a way to boost the fat burning process and to see noticeable results.

Circuit Training Example:  20–25 reps to failure, with no break, repeated through five cycles (in under 20 minutes)

Chest – Push

Back – Pull

Legs – Squat

Core – Crunch

Make sure to get LOW!

The great thing about training to failure is that you’re always getting an unreal burn.  No more feeling like you could have done more, because after Circuit Training, you’re ready to puke, and in this case, that’s a good thing.

Simply rotate through these four groups without a break.  Because they are MAJOR muscle groups, they pull a huge amount of blood to different parts of the body, quickly.  And while doing Back, for instance, the other groups are at rest, giving ample recovery time (2~3min) until the following cycle.  If you do five sets of each group at 20–25 reps, we’re talking 100–125 reps!  Far outdoing a normal routine!

Again, not a Pro, but I can account for a HUGE shakeup of the average workout.  Every one of them gets boring after a while.  I did Circuit Training full-time for a month (every other day), which over the holidays was rather difficult.  I trained every-other day, rather than my M–F routine.  It was a fun challenge, and even now, I’m incorporating a Circuit day once every two weeks.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.  I’m also happy to answer any questions regarding diet and exercise.  Happy Lifting!  ~Hacker ahacker@shotocon.com

Crunches