Healthy Living • YMCA Health and Fitness
Circuit training: the cure for a workout plateau
10 August 2016 - by Nicole Meredith
Variety is the spice of life, and your workout routine is no different. Changing things up at the gym not only keeps exercise fun and interesting; it also guarantees great results. Developing a personalized circuit can help cure your workout boredom while bumping your strength and stamina up to the next level.
Why break a tradition?
Over time, your body becomes accustomed to all the physical challenges you throw its way. That’s why those 30 minutes on the treadmill may feel gruelling at first, but become manageable if you push through them for a few weeks. Your muscles adapt according to what you tell them you need to do, and they grow stronger and more limber in ways that allow you to perform those movements. If you keep testing your body in the same way forever, you’ll quickly feel like you’ve plateaued.
How will circuit training help?
A circuit consists of 6 – 10 exercise “stations” completed one after another, with little or no break in between. For example, you might jump rope for one minute, then plank for another, then do burpees for another minute — and so on, until you’ve completed all the stations in your circuit.
Here are a few of the perks:
What should my circuit include?
Because you’ll move through each station consecutively, with a maximum of 10-second breaks in between, make a circuit for yourself that constantly changes up the muscle groups you’re exercising. For example, don’t start with push-ups and then do pull-ups right after; fit a few other stations in between, to give those muscles a few minutes of recovery time while you work out others.
Some good moves to have in a circuit include:
Have fun stitching a variety of these moves together into your own routine, and then swap them up during your next workout. If you aren’t sure what exercise should go where, or if you need some personalized guidance to refine your technique, talk to one of our personal trainers.
Why break a tradition?
Over time, your body becomes accustomed to all the physical challenges you throw its way. That’s why those 30 minutes on the treadmill may feel gruelling at first, but become manageable if you push through them for a few weeks. Your muscles adapt according to what you tell them you need to do, and they grow stronger and more limber in ways that allow you to perform those movements. If you keep testing your body in the same way forever, you’ll quickly feel like you’ve plateaued.
How will circuit training help?
A circuit consists of 6 – 10 exercise “stations” completed one after another, with little or no break in between. For example, you might jump rope for one minute, then plank for another, then do burpees for another minute — and so on, until you’ve completed all the stations in your circuit.
Here are a few of the perks:
- Since you’re doing something completely new every minute or so, you won’t have the time or attention span to tune out and let your mind wander.
- Circuits challenge different muscle groups in different ways, which will help you avoid that muscular plateau that comes along with doing the same exercises over and over.
- Because you rest for little or no time between stations, circuits are super efficient: you’ll get heart-pumping cardio and strength training simultaneously.
What should my circuit include?
Because you’ll move through each station consecutively, with a maximum of 10-second breaks in between, make a circuit for yourself that constantly changes up the muscle groups you’re exercising. For example, don’t start with push-ups and then do pull-ups right after; fit a few other stations in between, to give those muscles a few minutes of recovery time while you work out others.
Some good moves to have in a circuit include:
Have fun stitching a variety of these moves together into your own routine, and then swap them up during your next workout. If you aren’t sure what exercise should go where, or if you need some personalized guidance to refine your technique, talk to one of our personal trainers.
