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By
Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems |
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When I teach acute training
parameters in seminars across the USA, a very common question
regards which exercise to do first, second, third, etc., in
any given workout. Traditional wisdom says to do whatever
exercise is most important first, since fatigue accumulates
over the course of the workout. While I agree, there is a
much more refined way to address the problem of accumulating
fatigue, and it’s called circuit training.
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Of course, whenever one uses the term
"circuit training," serious lifters often conjure up images of PACE
classes which are used in Gold’s Gym’s across the World. PACE is
in fact a form of circuit training, but it’s simply one variant
out of hundreds, and it unfortunately leads serious trainees to
assume that circuit training is more appropriate for the "chrome
& fern crowd" than it is for dedicated, experienced weight trainers.
I’m here to tell you that circuit
training is a tool that will improve your workouts regardless of
your experience level, and I’ll show you exactly how. I don’t care
if it’s your first day in the gym, or if you are a dedicated athlete
finally closing in on a 500 pound squat, circuit training will get
you toward your goals faster than any other alternative.
What Exactly is Circuit Training?
To most fitness enthusiasts, circuit
training (I’ll abbreviate it to "CT" from here on out) is thought
of as a method of integrating resistance and aerobic exercise by
performing several (9 to 12) exercises in "vertical" progression
(meaning you perform one set of each exercise on the workout "menu"
until all have been completed, as opposed to finishing all sets
of the first exercise before progressing to the second exercise,
and so on) with little or no rest between exercises. The supposed
benefit of this type of exercise is you'll improve aerobic and anaerobic
functioning at the same time.
Unfortunately, this narrow definition
has done a disservice to CT and to those who have dismissed this
method as an ineffective fringe variant used by only the profoundly
unfit as a way of regaining some semblance of fitness. In truth,
CT has much to offer, for weight trainers at all levels, if you'll
allow for a slightly broader definition of the term and a bit of
creative application.
First, CT is NOT defined by the number
of reps per set, the length of rests between sets, the number of
exercises performed, or even the exercises chosen. It is defined
by the fact that you progress from one exercise "station" to another
in sequence, until the entire circuit of stations has been completed.
You then continue until you have completed the prescribed number
of circuits.
(Incidentally, "non-circuit training"
is any exercise format where you complete all prescribed sets of
a particular exercise before moving on to the next exercise.)
If you were to conduct a poll of weight
trainers, you’d find that between 90 and 98 percent use "non-circuit"
training. This is unfortunate, when you consider the enormous benefits
of CT, which I’ll describe in detail.
Macro and Micro Circuits
Within the context of CT, there are
actually two distinct ways that you can organize any training session:
macro or micro circuits.
The macro circuit is what most people
mean when they think of CT: you simply perform one set of each planned
exercise in the circuit, and then repeat for the desired number
of circuits.
The is another way to perform CT,
however. It’s called micro circuits: here, you break up the circuit
into several small circuits of 2-3 exercises each, and then repeat
for the desired number of circuits. For example, if you have planned
to perform 4 exercises, do the first 2 circuit style until all planned
sets are completed, then finish off the second two in the same manner.
Benefits of Circuit Training
No exercise method is perfect of course
(if there was such a thing, I would have discovered it by my 13th
birthday!), but CT is about as close as you can get. Compared to
the alternatives, CT is more efficient, more motivational, and far
more versatile. Here’s a quick run-down of CT’s assets:
Efficiency
CT allows for more work to be done
in the same time frame. For example, let’s imagine that you’re performing
dumbbell incline presses and close grip lat pulldowns. Let’s further
assume that each set takes 30 seconds to complete, and that you’re
resting 2.5 minutes between sets.
If you perform this workout "non-circuit"
style as most people do, you’re getting 2.5 minutes rest between
sets of whichever exercise you’re doing.
But if you perform this session CT
style, you’d perform one set of incline presses, rest, then do a
set of pulldowns, rest, and so on. Here, you’re obtaining 5.5 minutes
of rest between two sets of the same exercise! This is more than
double the rest, yet your total exercise duration does not increase.
Now it is true that you’re still doing a set every 2.5 minutes,
but fatigue from different exercises, particularly if they are for
different muscle groups, tends to be specific. This means that even
though you may still be too fatigued to accomplish another set of
the same exercise, you will still be able to complete a set for
another exercise. For this reason, CT is clearly a better way of
managing fatigue through the workout.
If you arrange your exercises stations
in antagonistic fashion (i.e., a hamstring exercise is followed
by a quadriceps exercise), you’ll further enhance the efficiency
of CT through a principle known as reciprocal inhibition: since
muscles work in antagonistic pairs, when you perform a set for the
agonist (in this case, the hamstring), the antagonist (quadriceps)
achieves a better contraction because the hamstrings are too fatigued
to oppose it.
Motivating
For many people, "sampling" from each
item on the menu is more satisfying than simply finishing off your
swordfish, then your rice pilaf, then your veggies, and so on. Similarly,
in a work environment, it’s more productive to alternate between
tasks than it is to spend a huge block of time on a single task.
Training is no different. Somehow,
it’s intrinsically more satisfying to move from exercise to exercise
as opposed to "slugging it out" on a single exercise until it’s
finished.
Versatility
CT can be integrated with your favorite
training techniques, such as rest-pause training, drop sets, eccentric
training, you name it. You can also use any exercise you wish, including
free weights, machines, plyometrics, Olympic lifts, whatever is
appropriate given your particular circumstances. CT accommodates
all set/rep schemes as well.
CT also works well in non-gym environments,
such as the high school track (where you can create circuits consisting
of sprints, jumps, and throws) or a community park (where your circuit
might contain pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, short sprints,
and so forth).
Drawbacks of Circuit Training
For all the benefits of CT, there
are a few drawbacks as well, but most can be solved with a bit of
creativity and imagination.
For technical exercises such as the
Olympic lifts, which demand a very refined sense of timing and coordination,
CT should not be used, at least during competition preparation cycles.
This is because the enormous effort and specific coordination involved
in executing say, a snatch, would have a negative transfer to something
like a clean & jerk when both lifts are performed in CT style.
Nevertheless, CT remains an effective training option for Olympic
lifters in the early preparatory phase of their training.
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Another possible problem:
in crowded gyms, you may find someone has "stolen" your
next station while you performing the last exercise.
Although this can usually
be solved by simply waiting until the station is available,
you can get around this by doing "micro circuits" where
you're only going back and forth between two machines. Or,
simply make a quick substitution "on the fly," such as substituting
a machine bench press for a dumbbell bench press.
In Part II of "Creative Applications
of Circuit Training: Fatigue Management Strategies for Bodybuilders"
you will learn how to adapt circuit training methods for
your specific goals. We’ll have detailed circuit training
workouts to help you build strength, power, size and even
performance.
Click Here For Part 2
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About
The Author
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His colleagues call him
an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients
call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability
to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself
a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout
school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are
ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.
His counter-intuitive approach and self-effacing demeanor
have lead to appearances on NBC’s The TODAY Show
and The CBS Early Show.
Currently, Charles competes
in Olympic-style weightlifting on the master’s circuit,
with a 3-year goal of qualifying for the 2009 Master’s
World Championships.
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