Circuit Training – Get The Most Out Your Time In The Gym
Riding moto is by far the most enjoyable activity within a racer’s training activities; outdoor activities like mountain biking and road cycling are probably a close second. Most riders almost unanimously proclaim that indoor modes of training like strength training and indoor cardio are the least favorite of training activities. The season is closing up for most riders and the winter months unfortunately bring frigid outdoor conditions and short daylight hours. Training inside a gym becomes a necessity for the athlete to keep his or her conditioning and strength up to par and to develop a base of fitness for the upcoming season.
Since you are already destined to have to train in the gym you should strive to make the most of your time and efforts. Circuit training is a way to achieve both strength and cardiovascular benefits while minimizing the amount of time you have to spend inside a gym. It is also more “entertaining” because it is fast paced and has little down time where you are not being active. Circuit training has been around for a long time and has been used in particular by personal trainers looking for an effective and entertaining workout for their clients since usually the session is only an hour in duration.
Simply stated, circuit training involves cardio and strength exercises that are done consecutively in “circuits” so that there is zero rest in between cardio efforts or strength sets. A circuit may consist of a few minutes of indoor cardio followed by three or four lower body sets. These are all done consecutively, with no down time in between exercises. The strength sets are usually arranged so that opposing muscle groups being stressed from one station to the next but you can also arrange them as “super-sets” where similar muscle groups are being stressed consecutively in different motions. These circuits are repeated over and over until the desired number of strength sets is completed then you move on to the next circuit; in the prior example the next circuit could be a core circuit or upper body circuit.
The cardiovascular benefit arises not only from the actual cardio station within a circuit but also due to the fast paced nature of the strength sets. Since there is no rest between exercises you are demanding that your cardiovascular system continually supply oxygen to the working muscles. This provides much more cardiovascular stress than traditional strength training where you do a set only to rest before the next set. You are keeping your heart rate and metabolism elevated (thus burning more calories) throughout the workout since you are continually in motion. This is also the most time efficient since every minute you are in the gym you are accomplishing work.
There are millions of potential combinations of exercises to use in a circuit routine. General rules are to use as many multiple joint exercises as possible and to use as many closed chain exercises as possible. Multiple joint exercises employ the use of more than one joint to complete the exercise motion. Closed chain exercises keep the end point of the limb pushing or pulling the load or the end point of the limb is grounded. An example of this would be hamstring curl is NOT closed chain since the load is on the calf and NOT the foot where lat pulldown IS closed chain since the load is at the hand. Multiple joint and closed chain motions are how your body actually performs in real world athletic movement. These types of exercises have the most neuromuscular carry over benefit to actual athletic performance so in most training periods these are the preferred motions to use.
Following is an example of a full body, muscular endurance based circuit workout. Again, this is ONLY an example. You can create your own circuit routine to accomplish your particular fitness goals and to fit within your own schedule.
Coachseiji.com Circuit Training Example Workout
Full body strength, muscular endurance/anatomical adaptation based
For use in Anatomical Adaptation/Preparation Periods
Warm up: 10 minutes rowing on Concept2 rower, heart rate zones 1 and 2.
No Rest
Lower body circuit: No rest between sets, repeat 3 times
Single side leg press; 45 seconds per side
Stiff leg dead lift; 45 seconds
Walking lunges; one minute
Single side standing calf raises; 30 seconds per side
5 minutes on Concept2 rower; all heart rate zone 2
No Rest
Upper body circuit: No rest between sets, repeat 3 times
Dumbell low row; 40 seconds per side
Dumbell chest press; 40 seconds
Lat pulldown; 40 seconds
Dumbell standing shoulder press; 40 seconds
5 minutes on Concept2 rower; all heart rate zone 2
No Rest
Core circuit: No rest between sets, repeat 2 times before going to cardio station
Abdominal exercise of your choice; 45 seconds
Abdominal exercise of your choice; 45 seconds
Abdominal exercise of your choice; 45 seconds
5 minutes on Concept2 rower; all heart rate zone 2
No Rest
Full body stretching for 10 minutes
This example workout would entail 45 minutes of cardio and 30 total sets of exercises encompassing the entire body, plus the stretching to cool down. This is a lot of exercises but it does complete them in the shortest time possible since there is zero down time from warm up to completion. This is definitely a serious workout!
In the dark and cold of winter we all anxiously await the longer days and warmer conditions so that we can get OUT there and train! Until the thaw arrives it is best to make the most efficient use of your indoor training time and efforts. Utilizing circuit training is a step in the right direction! So….get IN there and do it!
Originally Published on Vurbmoto.com