The Benefits Of Circuit Training
As things are starting to move slowly back towards some kind of normal, many of us have been back in the gym! At FITU we used to run free circuit sessions once a month for the FITU team, family and friends, but obviously that hasn’t happened for a while now. We are planning another circuit session on the 4th October in the FITU studio, Hillsborough, Sheffield. All the details can be found on our facebook page! With this in mind I thought that it might be worth writing a blog about circuit training and what it’s all about.
Circuit training is essentially a sequence of exercises or movements done in a specific order. It is often fast paced and quite high intensity. The beauty of circuits is that they can be adapted to almost any individual, sport or time frame. They help build strength, muscular endurance as well as cardio fitness and they are killer calorie burners! Below I will list what I think are the top 4 benefits to circuit training. I’d love to know what you think of circuit training too!
# CALORIE KILLER
One of the biggest benefits of circuit training is the ability to burn a large amount of calories in a shorter amount of time. Commonly known as HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training, sends your metabolism soaring. During a circuit session, you will be doing exercises at maximum effort for short bursts of time, which in turn torches calories! Yes it’s hard work but it is totally worth it!
# FULL BODY BLAST
Circuit training will often target your whole body making sure that you hit every major muscle group in your session. This helps to reduce over training of one area and keep your muscles in balance. We often favour training one muscle group over another, which over time could lead to imbalances. I absolutely love training my arms and upper body but I HATE training abs. This often means that I do not spend as long training my abdominals as the rest of my upper body. This could eventually lead to muscular imbalances that effect my posture and could lead to injury down the line. Circuit training makes sure that all muscle groups are covered, and due to the short bursts, we only have to do the bits we don’t like for a short time!
# IT MAKES TRAINING FUN!
Because these sessions are split into lots of stations, it is a great way to keep workouts interesting and provides the opportunity of training with others. We all have way more fun training with other people than on our own right?! It brings people together, to motivate each other, laugh with each other and enjoy being able to workout. I love the atmosphere and fun at our FITU circuit sessions! It never fails to bring the whole community together. With such a vast library of movements and exercises available, there is no end to the circuits you could make. Now, more than ever, we need to be interacting with each other (still from a distance of course) and encouraging each other to keep going. Covid has isolated so many of us and sucked the motivation from our very souls! Let’s get it back together!
# ADAPTABLE
No matter your ability, fitness level or knowledge, circuits is for you! I love how anyone can get involved. By changing the weight, choosing body weight movements to suit individual needs and working as hard as you are able, anyone can take part in a circuit session. Wether you are 80 or 20 you can do it. An elderly individual may chose to sit on a chair, lift their arms above their head and back down for 30 seconds and then reach down to touch their toes repeatedly on the next exercise. Compare that to a young and fit 20 year old who may use a weight for a shoulder press and then go into dreaded burpees for the next station. My point is that circuits are suited to anyone of any level of fitness. They can be performed almost anywhere and with absolutely no gym kit at all!
There are so many benefits to circuit training but I would say that these are my top 4. However, as a Personal Trainer I would always advise to stay within your limits. Circuits are fast paced and fun but over training and performing movements incorrectly can lead to injury. If you are new to fitness then I would recommend finding a personal trainer to help you start your journey or join a gym class with a qualified instructor. This way if you are unsure of movements at first, trainers are there to help show you the correct way to perform each exercise correctly.
Finally I will leave you with a simple bodyweight circuit for you to try. Every Saturday we post example circuits over on our Instagram page too! Peace out and happy circuit training!
COMPLETE EACH MOVEMENT FOR 45 SECONDS AND REST FOR 20 SECONDS BETWEEN EXERCISE
SQUATS
PRESS UPS
PLANK
WALKING LUNGES
TRICEP DIPS
