Circuit Training

If you were to go through all of my blog posts, you might be able to find a running theme. I change up my workouts every month or two. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, I tend to get bored with a workout when I’ve done it for too long. Two, after a month or two of doing the same workout it stops challenging your body. Your muscles get used to the movement and the resistance and you stop seeing results. I love cardio, but after a mile or two running starts to get boring. I also love strength training, but sometimes I don’t feel like I’ve done anything because my heart rate never rises. I have found the solution though! Circuit Training, it’s the best of both worlds! Circuit training is also versatile enough that it is easy to keep your body guessing. So an example of a typical circuit for me would be: Run ½ mile, 10 pushups, 1 minute plank, 30 seconds Russian twists, 30 squats, 30 seconds tricep plank, 5 pike pushups…then repeat. So I would run another ½ mile then stop and do my exercises on the mat. I run through the entire circuit 3 times. The gym that I go to is laid out well for circuits. They have an indoor track with a section off to the side with mats, medicine balls, and step risers. Like I said, circuits are versatile, so one day for cardio I might do 1 minute of jump roping and add 30 seconds of jumping jacks during the strength exercises. There are so many strength exercises that you can do using your own body weight so the combinations are endless. I try to include arms, abs and legs into each workout, but you could focus on one with each workout if you wanted to. Circuits have made my workouts much more enjoyable. About the time that I am sick of running, it’s time for strength exercises. Likewise, when I feel like I’m going to collapse if I try another pushup, it’s time to run again and I have a new burst of energy. This also makes my workouts fly by. I have seen more results in the last 30 days of doing circuits than I have in the last 3 months combined. I am back down to 145 and I have lost another inch on my tummy. If you get bored with routine, I would highly recommend that you try circuit training. I am so glad that I did!

Thanks for reading, 

Sarah