Knowledge
Circuit Training
This article is going to be geared more toward other trainers, although I think athletes looking to learn more about their own training can learn something too. In this article, I'm going to explain why I do most of my personal workouts and nearly all of the group training sessions with my clients in circuit fashion.
Setting up your training session into one or more circuits simply means that, instead of picking your exercises for the day and going through them one after the other, you create a circuit of a few exercises and rotate them, completing a set of each exercise before going back to do the second set of any particular exercise.
For example, instead of doing:
Deadlift (set 1)
Deadlift (set 2)
Deadlift (set 3)
Single-leg Squat (set 1)
Single-leg Squat (set 2)
Single-leg Squat (set 3)
Pullup (set 1)
Pullup (set 2)
Pullup (set 3)
You would do:
Deadlift (set 1)
Single-leg Squat (set 1)
Pullup (set 1)
Deadlift (set 2)
Single-leg Squat (set 2)
Pullup (set 2)
Deadlift (set 3)
Single-leg Squat (set 3)
Pullup (set 3)
One quick point I would like to make: circuit training, in this context, does not mean that you go from one station to the next without rest. It simply means that you rotate through different exercises (with an appropriate work:rest ratio) before going back to the first one.
There are different advantages to each method, but I will share the three reasons why I use circuit training most of the time with my clients.
1.) It allows you to do more work in less time.
Typically, you might do one set of a particular exercise, rest 60-90 seconds, then perform the next set, rest 60-90 seconds, and so on. With a circuit-based setup, you can set up the exercises that work different muscles and thus you will require less rest between sets. For example, you might need to rest 60 seconds after a set of pullups before you do your next set, but if you are alternating it with a set of pushups, you might be able to cut the rest periods down to 30 seconds. That way, you actually have more time in between sets of pullups, but the overall rest time where you are completely inactive is lowered. This may help build an athlete's work capacity.
2.) It breaks up training monotony.
When training young athletes, it is important to engage them mentally as well as physically. It is very common to see a young athlete be very "into it" on his or her first set, but begin to get bored or start to go through the motions on subsequent sets. With young athletes, it is vital that they focus on learning and perfecting technique, so it is important that they are focused mentally on the task at hand. By setting up their training session into circuits, you present a young athlete with a constant stream of new challenges that keeps them mentally engaged.
3.) It is easier to organize training sessions.
When you train in circuit fashion, you can get more out of less space and/or equipment. If you are training eight kids and they are all doing the same exercises, you need eight sets of whatever equipment that is necessary for those exercises. If you simply make a circuit of four exercises and pair the kids up and have them each doing a different exercise, then you only need two sets of your training equipment. Doing more with less is crucial if you want to provide your clients with the most cost-efficient and time-efficient training sessions.
Some general rules for circuit training:
Each circuit lasts 8-10 minutes
4-6 total circuits per training session
2-4 exercises in a circuit
Start exercises every 30, 45 or 60 seconds, depending on the length of time it will take to complete each set, the intensity of the exercises and the desired work:rest ratio
Durations of each set should be 5 to 20 seconds
Good exercises to use in circuit training:
Box jumps or Squat jumps
Low hurdle hops
Split Squats and/or lunges
Kettlebell swings
Trap-Bar deadlifts (light loading)
Pushups
Pullups
Dumbbell/kettlebell presses or rows
Almost any med ball throw variation
Core progressions like planks/bridges/hovers
Circuit training is great in many situations, but one thing that I don't use it for is max-effort type training. I don't think it is appropriate to go above 80% of a 1RM in this fashion. Once you are above the 80% mark, I think it is more appropriate to dedicate a separate block of the training session or max-strength work or to just change the structure of the session entirely. Setting up a training session in circuit fashion will often work very well but you can't force a round peg in a square hole.
Best of luck with your training and I can be contacted at jtrinsey@prepperformance.net for more information on this or any other subject.
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