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circuitcentral · 3 years ago

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Here is how to get started yourself:

1. Download a timer. I recommend Tabata Timer from the app Store.

2. Choose 3 exercises that you enjoy – Or use the recommendations below.

You want to engage as much muscle as possible so choose multi-joint/compound exercises

This will be workout 1A.

3. Start the timer and perform SLOW AND CONTROLLED reps until the alarm sounds. Don’t worry about how many reps you do! It doesn’t matter! Just focus on the movement!

4. Repeat until you have done 2-3 rounds of all three exercises.

SO IMPORTANT – These workouts should always be MODERATE in intensity. The ENTIRE focus of this program is CONSISTENCY, FREQUENCY AND LONGEVITY. Pushing too hard will only require more rest time/days off and possibly lead to derailment.

I am guessing that you are thinking… How can I possibly get into ANY sort of shape doing 9 MODERATE sets in 7:30? Relax, and KNOW – You are building a Fitness Foundation. (Think about that baby calf)

At this point in my personal development in this approach I was relying on the workout to energize me and provide the endorphin buzz that had been missing from my life for so long. My mood and tolerance for work had totally transformed!

I get up early and do these workouts first thing so that I feel amazing for the entire day – maybe a little tired by 3 or so but a definite improvement over the last few years.

This will be the one and only workout that you will be performing for two weeks. We are keeping things SIMPLE.

Perform the circuit for 2 days in a row and then take a day off – 10 workouts.

You WILL see increases in strength, endurance, and your overall disposition.

If you are tracking your food intake and hitting your daily calorie goal, you should be seeing some weight loss as well.

After 5 sessions, you will add 5 seconds to your “work” time. This should result in about 2 more reps per exercise

After 5 additional sessions you will add one round to the circuit.

After two to three weeks – Depending on your progress - the next step is to choose three more exercises to make up workout B.

For the next month, you will be alternating between Workout A and Workout B.

Day 1 – WO A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj7FyS2hrQQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2UZq6uq_mY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNuZWO0if5o&t=17s

Day 2 – WO B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIvr9ootgos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCoT39CE7bU&t=5s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjNi69LNC78

Day 3 – Recovery Day. Actually REST on your recovery days. Workout quality and motivation will suffer if you exercise.

PROGRESSIONS: How do I increase the workload so that I continue to increase my fitness?

PROGRESSION:

I see Circuit Training as the perfect method by which a new exerciser can get into exceptional physical condition by way of a concrete, systematic and PREDICTABLE approach.

By starting at POINT 1A as I discussed last post – Their own individual base level - and then GRADUALLY adding workload in the form of longer workouts of similar intensity (Increased VOLUME). NOTE: Intensity should ALWAYS remain MODERATE. The overriding theme of this program is that CONSISTENCY is key. High intensity leads to the need for more rest days and the potential for injury and burnout. We are building a FOUNDATION of fitness. Not a peak. That will come with time.

How can this be done? Very easily – There are three methods

1. Add TIME to the “WORK” portion of each exercise. Something as simple as adding 5 seconds of extra reps adds a noticeable increase in challenge to the workout.

2. Add ROUNDS – Do one extra set of each exercise in the circuit.

3. Add Exercises to the Circuit.

In my personal experience with this approach, I have added 5 seconds every 4 weeks. I began at 30 seconds and now up to 55 seconds. As a result, my actual TOTAL WORK TIME has increased from about 5 minutes in the first weeks to over 45:00 now. My transition/rest time has remained 20 seconds. I feel like this is the fastest I can get between exercise without missing the “GO” buzzer.

For someone just starting out I would recommend 3 rounds for 2 weeks. The next step is to begin to add exercises so that you are performing a longer circuit. (More on exercise choice and arrangement next installment) If you are still content with these three exercises, adding a round may be the right choice. (The freedom to choose just the right direction to go is part of the fun of this style of training)

I encourage anyone to keep a log of their workouts so that you can adjust the TOTAL WORK TIME of workouts according to your increase in fitness. TWT is merely the number of stations completed, multiplied by the work time. You then divide by 60 to get the TWT in minutes. As you get more fit, your TWT will increase. It can then be adjusted to accommodate recovery workouts or weeks.

Clearly 3 exercises is a small assortment and will not possibly hit every muscle group. It is a start though and I encourage sticking to the three first exercises for approximately 2 weeks before adding new exercises.

The FUN of this program is the infinite choice of exercises that can be added and arranged to create totally unique workouts. You just never know how doing one exercise will affect the next. Putting pen to paper and planning the next day’s workout is something I look forward every day.

More about EXERCISE CHOICE and ARRANGEMENT in the next installment.

For the sake of simplicity, I am going to focus on creating a Circuit Central program for someone who is just starting an exercise program from an untrained state of fitness.

Both of these workouts will begin to build total body and core strength. INTEGRATION – The connecting of the core to the extremities.

These are the first two workouts that I personally did for several weeks when beginning my current fitness approach. By mastering these two and then slowly modifying and adding to them, I have created a series of over 100 workouts that all relate to one another by several consistent “threads”.

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circuitcentral · 3 years ago

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Things to look for in a fitness program:

Appropriate starting point. Tailored specifically to the individual’s exact fitness level.

Slow, steady, logical progressions that change slightly as the individual gains’ fitness and experience.

Predictable progressions – No guesswork as to how and what to change to get stronger.

Workouts that are fun and engaging.

Intensity and volume that ensure that the individual does not get injured or burned out.

CIRCUIT CENTRAL SERIES

I have put together a series of posts aimed at explaining how and why Central Circuit Training is unique, and why this approach is slightly different from other methods and approaches to fitness that I have tried in the past.

I was a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified Personal Trainer from 2006 to 2013. In that time, I trained over 5000 one-on-one personal training sessions. With all of that opportunity to experiment, I should have been able to develop a rock-solid system for getting my clients into their best possible shape no matter what their initial fitness level. As hard as I tried, I was NEVER convinced that what I was teaching / instructing my clients to do what was the absolute best way to help them achieve LASTING fitness. I was looking for a way that would not only start them at the appropriate point but would then progress them gradually and safely to develop a SOLID BASE of muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance. I also wanted to keep them interested, motivated and on-track. Avoiding them getting over-trained or burned out. Wow! What an order! It finally took gaining 65 pounds and getting horribly out of shape, that I was able to come up with the solution I was looking for!

THE STARTING POINT:

Have you ever heard the adage about the boy lifting a newborn calf over the fence? If not, it goes something like this: A young boy on a farm starts a habit of lifting a new-born calf over a fence EVERY SINGLE DAY. As the calf grows, the boy must grow stronger in order to keep up. The assumption is that by the time the calf is a full-grown cow the boy should be able to still lift it over the fence because of the steady and repetitious activity. The boy’s body must grow incrementally and gradually stronger as the calf gets heavier and heavier as the months go by. It is not a likely scenario, but it does raise an interesting point about the human body’s ability to adapt to increasing loads.

When you start an exercise program, are you starting with a newborn calf……?

It is absolutely essential that a new workout regiment be challenging enough to be effective yet not SO challenging that the body’s ability to recover and adapt is compromised.

My observation is that most people who begin an exercise program will commit to a program that is much too challenging for their deconditioned state of fitness to handle. It doesn’t have to be THAT much too hard either! Our bodies are not always up to the challenge that our brains commit us to. The widely accepted theory is that EXERCISE MUST BE HARD to be effective. This mindset inevitably leads to over-exercising, frustration and eventually quitting the latest fitness attempt.

So, what is the answer? It is quite simple really. A person must FULLY ACCEPT their current level of fitness and choose to start at an appropriate point. This may take some deep soul searching to accomplish. Regardless of past fitness experience or level, it is imperative that a person deflate their ego and make the decision that it is OK to be a beginner again and start at ground zero. Trust me I know; it can be very hard to hold back and exercise at an “easy” level at a gym when surrounded by a crowd – But that is what must be done in order to build a BROAD and SOLID FOUNDATION of fitness. That is why I believe that working out at home or outside – away from the attention of others will allow a person to achieve the slow and steady increases in challenge that must be adhered to if one is to truly build a high level of physical fitness.

That is where I found myself 5 months ago. So pathetically out of shape that I was embarrassed to even go into a gym, much less exercise there. I was in such horrible shape that there was no question where I was going to start. At ground zero! If I had to grade myself on a 1 to 10 scale, compared to my past level of fitness, I was a 1. 65 pounds overweight, no core strength, weak arms and legs and no cardiovascular endurance. A 10-mile bike ride would leave me tired for a couple days. It was finally time to take action:

A plan had been hatched and I could already see the amazing impact this was going to have on my life! A short, efficient “blast” of exercise of JUST THE RIGHT LENGTH AND INTENSITY to MATCH MY own PERSONAL fitness level. If I performed this over and over through an extended period of time…..It would have to yield results! For once, I was not looking to get fit quick! I was fine with just making a tiny bit of forward progress… in the hopes that I could build on SOMETHING!

I broke out my old training notebooks and began to explore all of the workouts I had written and exercises that I had used with clients. I was searching for the 3 best exercises to hit every muscle group and emphasize integration of core, arms and legs. I found these:

Step 1A – I chose: 1 Upper Body Exercise – TRX Push Up

1 Total Body Exercise – Dumbbell Squat to Curl to Overhead Press

1 Core Exercise – Front Plank

If I could just focus on getting stronger at these 3 exercises, I would be on my way to at least some level of fitness.

I arranged them into a short circuit – (In a CIRCUIT, exercises are performed in succession - One set of A. Then one set of B. Then one set of C. and so on.) I would perform each exercise for a set amount of time rather than counting repetitions. This would allow me to focus on my form and the “feel” of the exercise.

I decided that 3 Rounds of 30 seconds “work” time with 20 seconds “rest” time would be a good starting point. A grand total of 4.5 minutes of actual movement time if you calculate it. My thinking at the time was that I just needed to get a foothold on SOMETHING to move me in the right direction.

I knew I could do this every day. The whole workout would only take 7 minutes and 30 seconds to perform.

How on earth could I ever be TOO BUSY or TOO TIRED to NOT DO 7 ½ minutes of exercise a day! It was a START!

So, I hung my TRX in a tree in the back yard, started the timer and I was on my way! I was amazed! The workout was over before I knew it! I felt totally energized – not beat up like after the workouts I used to put myself through.

Not surprisingly, I was sore the next day. But not so sore that I couldn’t do the workout again the next day! Which I did. (Incidentally, in one month of doing this 7 ½ minute workout, I lost 9 pounds!)

That was 22 weeks and 107 workouts ago and I am a totally changed person.

Using slight, measurable modifications my workouts have become GRADUALLY longer, more complex and of higher intensity, but it has been a steady and consistent process that is very clear, intuitive and flexible.

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