Why YOU Should Be Doing Circuit Training

When you work out by yourself it can be difficult to know exactly what to do. I get a lot of clients asking me questions on planning their own workouts, especially if they are traveling or only have a limited amount of time. My answer is simply circuit training!So what is circuit training and why should you do it?Circuit style training is a form of high intensity conditioning that mixes cardioand strengthtraining. Typically you target multiple muscle groups with minimal rest in between. For most, the weights are generally moderate to light. Circuit training is great if you are limited on your equipment or if you only have 30 minutes to squeeze in a workout. Due to its fast-paced nature, circuit training is great for cardiovascular health as well as muscular endurance and strength!So how do you put together the perfect circuit? First set a number of stations that you will repeat until your allotted time runs out. Here is a template that you can follow to get started. Choose one exercise from each category. You can choose to count reps for each exercise or set a time limit at each station. (For example you can choose to do 10 pushups, 10 squats, 10 v-ups, 100 jump rope, and 1 bear crawl for 15 minutes…OR you can do each exercise for 1 min for a total of 3 rounds and then move on). You can choose to complete 1,2,3+ circuits depending on how much time you have!

1. Upper body exercise (pushup, pull-up, rows, chest press etc)
2. Lower body exercise (squat, deadlift, lunge, step ups, eatc.)
3. Core exercise (plank, hollowhold, v-ups, bicycles, etc.)
4. Cardio (sprints, jump rope, rower, air bike, etc.)
5. Compound movement aka full body exercise (burpee, bear crawl, sit throughs, etc.)

The great thing about circuit training is that you can always mix it up! Create different combinations with different rep schemes. Are your legs sore? Then make your circuit more upper body focused and cut out the lower body exercise. You really can’t go wrong with circuit training. Feel free to email me at info@mindfulmixtures.com with any questions you might have or if you need help creating a circuit that’s perfect for you! Happy training!Coach Tay