Circuit Training

Exercises
• WHAT COMES TO YOUR
MIND WHEN WE TALK
ABOUT CIRCUIT
TRAINING?
Walking is the Panacea of all Living!
What ?
• With circuit training, you will complete each set of
exercises for a certain number of repetitions, or times.
Then, you'll move to another activity for the same amount
of repetitions or time with little or no rest in between.

• Because you move through the circuit of exercises

relatively quickly, an entire circuit training session can
usually be completed in only 30–45 minutes.
What Is Circuit Training?
• Circuit training is a type of workout that involves rotating
through a circuit of up to 10 exercises that target different
muscle groups.
• Circuit training refers to how a workout routine is
structured rather than a specific type of exercise.
NOTE
• Talk with your healthcare provider before starting a new
exercise routine to ensure it's safe to increase your
activity level if you have any underlying health conditions.
Four main types of circuit training workouts are:
• Competition circuit: Similar to a timed circuit, but each
exercise is completed for as many repetitions as possible
within the given amount of time
• Sport-specific circuit: Each exercise is a drill used to
improve certain movements involved in a specific sport,
such as practicing jumps, kicks, turns, and tumbling skills
for gymnastics
Four main types of circuit training workouts are

• Repetition circuit: Each exercise in the circuit is

performed for a certain number of repetitions (typically
10–15) before moving on to the next exercise
• Timed circuit: Each exercise in the circuit is performed
for a certain amount of time (typically 30–90 seconds)
before moving on to the next exercise

Benefits of Circuit Training
• Circuit training is a flexible and highly individualized form
of exercise that you can adjust in various ways depending
on your personal preferences for exercise types, intensity,
and duration.
• In addition to being customizable, which can help make
working out more engaging and enjoyable, circuit training
also has specific health benefits.
Increase Strength
• An efficient circuit training workout incorporates exercises
that target muscles of the upper and lower body, which
helps to increase overall strength.
How Do You Circuit Train?
• You can create a circuit training workout for yourself, use
one provided online, or get direction from a personal
trainer or coach. Effective circuit training workouts include
exercises that target cardiovascular endurance and upper
and lower body strengthening.
May Help With Weight Loss
• Circuit training involves strength training and
cardiovascular exercises, such as rowing, running, or
elliptical training, which can help improve your body
composition by building muscle and losing fat.
It’s Time Efficient
• Circuit training involves little to no rest between exercises,
so its fast-paced nature helps save time. This can be
incredibly beneficial to people who have limited time to
exercise but want to reap the most rewards out of their
workouts.
What Are The Benefits Of Circuit Training?
• #1: It Is Flexible
• One of the perks of circuit training as a workout style is
that it’s highly customizable and flexible.
• You can adjust each factor in the FITT principles of
exercise programming—frequency, intensity, time, and
type—to customize your workout to exactly what you want
it to be on any given day.
• #2: It Is Appropriate for All Levels
• From beginners to advanced athletes, circuit training can
be beneficial and adapted for all fitness levels, marking it
a good option for group settings with diverse abilities.
• #3: It Increases Muscular Strength and Endurance
• Studies show that circuit training is an effective method
for increasing muscular strength in both the upper and
lower body.
• ‌When you perform each exercise for a greater number of
reps or a longer period of time, you will also increase your
muscular endurance.
• #4: It Can Promote Weight Loss
• So, can circuit training help with weight loss? It sure can!

• Circuit training keeps your heart rate elevated, which

enables you to burn more calories during the workout
because you’re maintaining a higher intensity.

• This can result in greater weight loss over time.

• #5: It Can Improve Aerobic Fitness and Cardiovascular
Health
• Because you’re not resting between exercises, circuit
training keeps your heart rate elevated throughout your
workout.
• This improves your cardiovascular fitness, endurance,
and aerobic capacity.
• ‌Additionally, if you include cardio exercise in your circuits
—such as running, rowing, cycling, jumping jacks,
mountain climbers, and jump rope—you’ll get even more
of an aerobic workout.
Improves Heart Health
• With little to no rest between exercises, circuit training
helps to improve heart health by enhancing your
endurance as your heart has to pump harder to supply
your muscles with oxygen-rich blood.
• Exercises incorporated into circuit training are usually
performed at a moderate intensity level, with 10-15
repetitions or a time of 30–90 seconds.
• Once you complete the appropriate number of repetitions
or amount of time for a given exercise, you will move on
to the next exercise for the same amount of repetitions or
time.
• When you circuit train, you will move quickly from one
exercise to the next with little or no rest. Once you
complete each activity within the circuit, you will repeat
the cycle for three rounds—or more, depending on the
circuit.
Sample Workout
• You can structure your circuit training workouts to your
individual preference and desired intensity level.
Exercises can include resistance, body-weight
movements, or sport-specific drills.
At-Home Body-Weight Circuit
• Perform each exercise for 30 seconds. Then, move on to
the next exercise and repeat without resting. Once you
complete all the exercises, rest for two minutes and then
repeat the circuit for three rounds.
• Jumping jacks
• Squats
• Push-ups
• Alternating lunges
• Abdominal crunches
• Bench dips
• Glute bridges
• Burpees
Summary
• Circuit training is a workout method that involves rotating
through several different exercises for a certain amount of
time or number of repetitions, with little to no rest.
Because circuit training is time-efficient and targets your
whole body,Summary
it can help build strength, improve heart
health, and help you lose weight. Circuit training is
customizable, with many combinations of exercises.
Incorporate exercises that target your upper and lower
body, or use sport-specific drills.
A Word From Verywell
• Circuit training is an effective way to improve strength and
endurance in a short amount of time. Whenever beginning
any new exercise program, though, start slowly and
gradually increase exercise duration, frequency, and
intensity over time. If your circuit training workout is
getting too easy, you can increase the time or number of
repetitions for each exercise or add more resistance.
 What's the difference between HIIT and
circuit training?
• 
• Circuit training involves rotating through moderate-
intensity exercises with little to no rest. High-intensity
interval training (HIIT) can apply a few different activities
or one exercise alone, such as sprinting, at maximum
intensity for short intervals followed by short rest
intervals.
• Who is circuit training suitable for?
• Circuit training is suitable for all ability levels and can be
customized depending on your individual exercise
preferences and capabilities.
• Can you do circuit training at home?
• You can easily do circuit training at home by incorporating
bodyweight movements like jumping jacks, burpees,
squats, lunges, and push-ups.
What is Tabata?
• Tabata is a style of high-intensity interval training
(HIIT) that involves 20 seconds of exercise at your
maximum effort, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for a
certain number of rounds. It was founded by Japanese
scientist Izumi Tabata, who studied the effects of
moderate vs high-intensity training in the late ‘90s.
• Both groups exercised five days a week for six weeks, but
one group trained for an hour at a moderate intensity,
while the other trained at a high intensity for just four
minutes, alternating between 20 seconds of maximum
effort and 10 seconds of rest.
• Tabata and his fellow researchers found that HIIT training
can be an effective way to improve anaerobic and aerobic
systems significantly, whereas moderate-intensity
exercise only improves your aerobic fitness.
• Compared to aerobic exercise, where your body has a
continuous supply of oxygen (think power walking,
jogging or swimming), anaerobic exercise is when you’re
moving in short, intense bursts and your body relies on
energy stored in your muscles (think powerlifting or
sprints). Anaerobic exercise feels much harder!
• With Tabata, your body is forced to use both systems at once
as you alternate between hard work and rest. This means
you can improve your fitness in a shorter amount of time.
• Don’t be fooled into thinking that working in 20-second
bursts will be easy.
How long is a Tabata workout?
• Although traditionally structured as a four-minute workout
with eight rounds of the 20-seconds-on, 10-seconds-off
structure (this is still definitely a great place to start and
enough to feel the burn), many modern Tabata workouts
are much longer in duration or follow a 40-seconds-on,
• 20-seconds-off structure.
• If you’re truly working at your max, you shouldn’t be able
to go for much longer (if at all!) than 40 seconds as your
muscles will start to fatigue, you’ll be out of breath or
you’ll start to compromise on your form. Good form and
maximum effort is the goal here!
• The number of rounds and the exercises themselves can
all be modified to suit different fitness levels, which is why
Tabata makes a great high-intensity training option for so
many people.
Tabata exercises: What's involved?
• Tabata is more about the time structure and the intensity
than specific movements, which means your workouts
could involve a huge variety of exercises!
• For example, one of the full-body Tabata workouts in
Chontel Duncan’s FIERCE program features eight
different exercises including jump squats, push-ups,
burpees, lunges and shuttle runs. Then, the full-body
Tabata workout in the following week of the program has
different exercises!
• You can also use the time format for an intense cardio
workout, and push yourself with sprints, rowing or
Is Tabata suitable for you?
• Because Tabata pushes you to your max and the
exercises often involve a base level of strength and
mobility, it’s best suited to intermediate or advanced
fitness levels.
• If you’re a beginner, you can still try Tabata interval timing
(20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest), but
you may need to reduce the intensity or try different
exercises as you build your fitness and confidence with
this training style.
• Some people simply don’t enjoy high-intensity training,
and that’s ok! Finding a training style you love is most
important when it comes to building a consistent routine.
How often should you do Tabata workouts?
• If you enjoy Tabata training or have a goal to get better at
them, try to include this training style in your routine at
least once a week to see progress.
• Should you do Tabata workouts every day? Nope.
Because of the intensity, you need to allow time for your
body to recover. Having a varied workout schedule is
important for your strength, fitness and enjoyment.
• Even if you’re not the biggest Tabata lover, trying the
occasional workout is also a great way to keep your
workouts varied and challenge yourself so you
don’t plateau or get bored with your routine.
• How to prepare for a Tabata workout
• Fast-paced, high-intensity and full of variety… This
training style can leave you feeling full of endorphins and
on top of the world, but we know that if it’s your first
Tabata workout, it can also feel intimidating. Here are our
top tips to prepare yourself and get the most out of it:
• Never skip your warm-up
• Whether you prefer a few minutes of cardio or some
dynamic stretching (or both), a warm-up is essential to
increasing your circulation and heart rate gradually,
preparing your muscles for the workout to come and
reduce your risk of injury. A Tabata warm-up can also
include some low-intensity versions of the exercises in
your workout. For example, if you were doing jump
lunges, you could warm up with some stationary or step-
back lunges.
• Know that feeling a burning or shaking sensation in your
muscles is normal
• Because Tabata workouts are intense and don’t give you
much time to catch your breath, you may experience a
build-up of lactic acid in your muscles, aka the burn. This
fades quickly, but you can shake out your limbs or do
some gentle cardio or stretching afterwards for relief. If
you’re feeling sick or lightheaded, slow down or take a
break.
• Get comfortable feeling uncomfortable
• If you’re in the mood for a leisurely walk in the park, it’s
probably best to leave Tabata for another day. The key to
getting the most out of these workouts is challenging your
muscles and cardiovascular system, so those short bursts
of discomfort are your friend.
• Dedicate a few minutes to cooling down
• Alongside light cardio, stretching and foam rolling are
great cool-down options to gradually bring your heart rate
back to normal. Stretching when your muscles are warm
can enhance flexibility and range of motion, reduce
muscle tension, and improve circulation and recovery. We
know you want to skip your cool-down and get on with
your day, but your body will thank you for it!