Circuit training is an effective method for training conditional abilities, strength, speed and endurance. The term “Circuit” comes from the Latin and means orbital movement. Although the term “Circuit” caused misgivings among numerous linguists, it was able to prevail in the vernacular against the concept of Circuit Training introduced in GDR times.
In circle training, only one sentence is completed per station/device. A minimum of 5 to a maximum of 20 different exercises are integrated into a circle. This “circle” can be performed 2 to 3 times, depending on the number of exercises.
The exercises should be designed in such a way that different muscle groups are always used. This ensures that all muscle groups are sufficiently exercised in the shortest possible time. The method of circuit training (Circuit Training) was developed in 1952 at the University of Leeds in England.
MORGAN and ADAMSON were the first to develop circuit training with only one set per exercise. They oriented themselves very much on the American bodybuilding system, which however only included strength exercises in circuit training. In addition to training endurance and strength, the aim was to improve cardiovascular work, oxygen uptake and metabolism. Originally, there were 24 exactly specified exercises at nine stations.
Exercises
Circuit training is considered to be one of the most effective training programs, as it trains fitness, strength, speed, coordination and mobility, and in addition the entire body is trained. Depending on which exercises you include, you can use circuit training as a good whole body training. For a circuit training, an infinite number of exercises can be used and combined, depending on which training focus you want to set.
The knee bend is a classic exercise for a circuit training, because legs and bottom are trained and the back is strengthened. The level of difficulty is medium, as one should pay attention to the correct execution of the exercises to prevent injuries and pain. A somewhat easier exercise is the “Superman” where you lie on the floor with your stomach and with stretched arms and legs, especially the back muscles are trained.
However, the trunk muscles (abdominal muscles and lateral abdominal muscles) also benefit from this exercise. A variation of the squat is the exercise “Jump from the squat”. This exercise is more about the condition of the leg and buttock muscles.
From the position of the squat you jump vertically upwards and stretch your legs. The arms are crossed behind the head. Depending on the fitness level of the participants of the circuit training, it is recommended to do the “simple push-ups” or the “push-ups”.
With the simple push-ups you kneel on the floor supported. With the normal push-ups, only the tips of the feet next to the hands touch the floor. Both exercises are intended to strengthen and train the chest, arm, back and shoulder muscles.
The degree of difficulty is also indicated as medium, because it is important to keep the tension in the upper body and not to let the torso sag. An easy exercise for a circuit training is the “Crunch”. The aim is to build and strengthen the abdominal muscles.
You lie backwards on the floor and put your legs up. The arms are crossed behind the head and now the upper body is lifted towards the knees. Variations of this exercise are, for example, keeping the legs in the air, crossing the legs or leading the elbows crosswise to the opposite knees.
The so called “side lifting” is an exercise for which you need light weights or dumbbells. At home you can use water bottles or milk bags. The arms are placed with the elbows against the upper body and the hands hold the weights away from the front so that a 90° angle is created in the elbow joint.
Then the elbows are lifted sideways upwards so that they are at the same level as the shoulder axis. This exercise mainly trains shoulders and upper arms. As a variation to make the exercise more difficult, the arms can be stretched out instead of bending them 90° at the elbow joint.
The jumping jack is a medium-difficult exercise where the focus is on fitness training. Especially the legs, the buttocks and the torso should benefit from the exercises. Coordination is also trained whenever arms and legs are simultaneously moved apart or together.One exercise from which one can develop some more exercises is the “forearm support”.
This is a simple exercise that focuses on strengthening the abdomen, shoulders and trunk. With the forearm support you are in a supporting position where the body is only held by the forearms and the tips of the feet. The body should be kept straight and not sagging.
From this position you can change to the side support, lift your arm or leg or try out combination exercises with arms and legs. Variations with arms and legs can also be found from the side support. Bench dips are another exercise for a circuit training in which the upper arm, shoulder and chest muscles are trained.
For this you need one or two benches. On one bench you support your hands behind your body. The legs are stretched forward as in a sitting position with a 90° angle in the hip.
Now the arms are alternately stretched and bent. One last exercise, which mainly trains the adductors and the back thigh muscles, is “Lunge steps”. From a standing position, one leg is used to make a large step backwards.
Then the legs are slightly bent and the hands are placed on the hips. Now the back knee is bent almost to the floor and then slowly straightened up again. Circuit training is particularly suitable for training strength endurance performance.
Due to the change to a different exercise station with the participation of other muscle groups after each set, a shorter regeneration time is required than for station training. The accumulated lactate can be broken down in the already tired muscle while another muscle group is being exercised. Thus a high training volume can be guaranteed in a short time.
Due to the short breaks and the quick change between the machines, it also usually promotes motivation and is therefore often used in childhood strength training. Circuit training, however, is not suitable for all forms of athletic strain. High-speed strength training, reactive strength training and maximum strength training are associated with high demands on the musculature and require a longer regeneration time and therefore longer breaks between sets.
The strain on the musculature in the above mentioned forms is more likely to be achieved by multi-sentence training. Circuit training can be viewed from different points of view. Pure endurance circles are rarely used in practice.
The most common form of circuit training consists of strength endurance training alternating with speed exercises and endurance exercises in school sports. In school sports it is to be paid attention to the fact that the exercises contain coordinative aspects at the same time, and are predominantly put on in the area of the speed and high-speed strength. Circuit training for pure muscle building can be integrated into the training plan.
Fitness studios offer various courses for this purpose. Circuit training on machines is rarely possible in a fitness studio. In a health-oriented circle, it is important to ensure that the selected exercises are always considered from a functional point of view.
Circuit training for women should mainly include the aspects of fat burning through strength training. Among the methods chosen in a circuit training are
- Continuous method: There is no pause between the individual stations. The change is done on the fly.
The load is in the range of the anaerobic threshold and is carried out as pure endurance training.
- Extensive Interval Method: As the name suggests, these are intervals with loads in the extensive range. The load should be kept in the range of 45 seconds to one minute. Due to the extensive strain the interval duration should be kept relatively short (20- 30 seconds).
- Intensive Interval Method: The exercise selection is similar to the extensive interval method.
However, since the intensity of the exercise is higher, the interval length should be kept between 45 seconds and one minute. Children and adolescents in particular reach individual performance limits in the highly anaerobic range by themselves. This fact is very beneficial for the later development of long-term performance. Modern sports science does without pure aerobic endurance performance in endurance sports suitable for children.
