by Steve Robinson

Created on: December 31, 2009

Aerobic exercises burn the most calories but they have to be done for extended periods of time to get the results. Muscles assist in calorie burning, meaning that the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn. The ideal then would be to exercise aerobically while also strength training to build muscles and that is exactly what circuit training does.

Circuit training is not new, in fact if you were ever introduced to weight training in high school you likely performed circuit training because it is a logical way to get a number of people through a complete weight training workout with a limited amount of time. It was used by the old time bodybuilders before the word aerobic became its own form of exercise; they used it in preparation for contests to get rid of the last ounces of fat. It is still in use today too, by the informed few, in schools, and by professional sports teams such as the NFL and NBA.

THE DIFFERENCE

Ordinary strength training is performed by doing an exercise, resting, and then doing the same exercise again. One exercise is repeated in sets, usually three or more and then a different exercise is done for the same or a different body part. Each set of an exercise is done for a specific number repetitions usually starting with a lighter weight and performing a high number of repetitions, then adding weight and reducing the repetitions.

Circuit training uses the same exercises that regular strength training uses but instead of resting between sets, you move quickly from one exercise to another, essentially never resting until your entire body has been exercised. Not only do you derive the benefits of both cardio and strength training, you also cut your workout time in half.

SETTING UP YOUR CIRCUIT

One of the beauties of circuit training is that there really are no rules, which means that you can structure your circuit however you like. To get started though, it is probably best to work large muscles first and progress to smaller muscles so that as you fatigue, the exercises get easier to perform. A basic circuit could look like this:

1) squat 2) leg curl 3) lat pull downs 4) bench press 5) abdominal crunches 6) hyper extensions 7) shoulder press 8) triceps push down 9) biceps curl 10) standing calf raise 11) wrist curl

The type of apparatus you use can vary and due to other people using the gym, it is a good idea not to limit yourself to a particular form of an exercise. For example, you can do barbell squats, Smith machine squats, hack squats, or dumbbell squats and the same goes for every body part; the key is to keep moving from one exercise to another and rest only at the end.

INCREASING INTENSITY

Circuit can be extremely demanding but eventually your body will adapt to the stress and you will need to increase your exercise intensity if you want to make further progress and there are several ways to do it.

1) Repeat the same circuit twice

2) Add additional exercises that work a different part of each muscle. For example, do bench presses for the lower or middle chest and add incline presses to place emphasis on the upper chest.

3) Vary your number of repetitions. Use higher repetitions of 12 to 15 for one workout and use heavier weight in another that will only allow you to do 6 to 8 repetitions.

4)  Put 10 minutes of your favorite cardio exercise anywhere in the circuit.

5) Use whole body lifts such as power cleans, clean and press, and dead lifts anywhere in the circuit.

It may be an old school form of weight training but circuit training will never be outdated because it is quite simply, the best exercise to do when you want to burn the most calories.

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