Higher Calorie Burn, Less Time If you're used to going through your workout one exercise at a time, transitioning to circuit training will shorten your workout and allow you to burn more calories in that period of time than you did previously.

Read also: 5 Ways to SPEED up Your Metabolism How Many Times a Week Should You Do Circuit Training? Is Circuit Training Good for Weight Loss? The Author. Kinsey Mahaffey Kinsey Mahaffey, MPH, is a Houston-based fitness educator, personal trainer and health coach who developed her commitment to lifelong fitness while playing Division I volleyball.

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Alternating lateral lunges. Even if your stations are only strength training exercises, you still get a form of cardio exercise due to the limited rest periods in between movements — win!

Circuits can focus on different muscle groups such as upper body, lower body, or core, or they may be a combination of them all for an entire body workout. Let us explain. In a circuit workout, stations are chosen strategically. For instance, the goal is to move from a lower body exercise, like lunges, to an upper body exercise, like push-ups.

While the limited rest periods allow these workouts to have a cardio aspect, the primary focus is to build muscle and strengthen bones. In order to do this, you need to challenge yourself with weight and resistance and pay special attention to your form for all of your reps.

Meanwhile, the goal of interval workouts is to spike your heart rate and improve cardiovascular strength, and you do this through varying spurts of intensity.

For example, you might jog on the treadmill at a moderate pace for 30 seconds, and then sprint all-out for 30 seconds, and recover with a second brisk walk.

Here are just a few reasons why we love circuit training. Studies and research show that with a or minute circuit workout, you can build muscle mass, while also burning calories and spiking your metabolism to help with fat and weight loss and getting in better overall shape.

People have different fitness goals, so it makes sense that people should have different fitness programs, too! From beginners to bodybuilders, and every fitness level in between, circuit workouts are a great way to get your heart pounding, blood pumping, and muscles working.

For athletes looking to increase power and build strength, it would be a good idea to add plyometric stations such as squat jumps or step ups. Remember, with circuit training, you are in charge of the pace and intensity!

You can do them at the gym with equipment and machines, or do them at home, the park, the beach—literally any place—by incorporating only bodyweight exercises. The options are endless!

The choices are endless. And because of that, you can do circuit workouts multiple times a week by just switching up the stations. Are you someone that tends to get bored of the same workout programs week in and week out? If so, circuit workouts are for you!

Also, circuits are perfect for groups; start one person at each station and all rotate through until everyone has done each movement! Working out in groups is more fun, and can give you the extra push to work harder , too.

Session time: 15 minutes per round. Directions: Complete as many reps as you can of each exercise for 60 seconds, take a second break, then move to the next exercise. Equipment: Jump rope, barbell or pair of dumbbells , bench or chair. Difficulty level: Easy to medium. Muscles targeted: Glutes butt , quads thighs , hips, core, chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps.

This quick but effective workout will teach you the ropes while you work up a sweat. These 10 different exercises alternate between lower body, upper body, and full body movements.

If you find that you are gasping for your breath at the end of each station, slow your pace slightly and take at least 30 seconds of rest in between sets.

Perform each exercise for 60 seconds, rest for seconds, and move on to the next movement. Remember: the quality of reps is more important than the number of reps completed.

But WAIT! Rest for seconds. Bent-Over Row for 60 seconds. Bodyweight Squats for 60 seconds. Shoulder Press for 60 seconds. Jumping Jacks for 60 seconds. Romanian Deadlift for 60 seconds. Push-Ups for 60 seconds. Glute Bridges for 60 seconds. Triceps Dips for 60 seconds. Plank for 60 seconds.

Similar to high intensity interval training, probably the most beneficial quality of circuit training is that it can be an extremely time-efficient way to train. Instead of taking your standard two minutes of rest between sets of an exercise, with circuit training, you cut that down to 30 seconds.

That only applies if you use circuit training for your entire workout routine, but you get the point. This makes it ideal for people who have "no time" to go to the gym.

If you don't have "an hour" to spend at the gym, what about 20 minutes? Regardless of what your ultimate goal is, circuit training can be used to add volume to any session. For example, a common practice by strength athletes is to perform their normal strength training exercises with a traditional rep scheme, i.

Once those are done, they will then finish their session using smaller accessory movements and isolation exercises. This is a great method for anyone with muscle hypertrophy goals.

If desired, circuit training can be structured to be quite intense and resemble cardio exercise. Even when you're just trying to cut some time off your total workout, getting the same amount of work done in less time is going to impact your cardiovascular health in a good way.

The effects that circuit training has on cardio can vary depending on what exercises you use. However, studies do show that circuit training can have a positive effect on your cardiovascular health¹. It can either improve your cardiovascular health or at least maintain it.

One study compared the effects of circuit training with heavy weights vs. a traditional program. It showed that measurements such as bar velocity and strength were similar, but the effect of cardio was substantially greater².

It should be noted that the chosen exercises were questionable and don't reflect real-world application bench press, leg extensions, ankle extensions , but it is still something to consider. Even when cardio isn't your sole goal, by limiting your rest breaks you're going to be performing cardio circuit training exercises.

In endurance sports, VO2 max is the primary indicator of potential success. While it is usually associated with cardio exercises, VO2 max is also required for the ability to perform any stressful work.

That's why many point to it as being the best indicator of overall fitness. VO2 max is a physiological variable that measures your efficiency at utilizing oxygen. When you take a breath and draw in air, a higher VO2 max allows you to utilize more oxygen to get more work done at the same intensity.

When circuit training includes high-intensity movements and multiple muscle groups, studies show that it can significantly affect VO2 max.

If this is your goal, make sure to keep your recovery period to 30 seconds. Circuit training might be able to help you burn fat and improve body composition. In theory, doing more work in the same amount of time while following a high intensity circuit training formula means burning more calories, but that only applies if you actually do more work.

For example, by doing the same exercises with the same rep scheme in a circuit workout style, you're just shortening your workout time without increasing the workload. If you use the correct exercises and loading schemes instead, the increased intensity of circuit training can help you burn fat.

Now let's talk about the not-so-beneficial attributes of circuit training. These can be either misunderstandings or actual drawbacks of circuit training, but either way, it's good to know about them. Circuit training is often touted to be good for improving muscular strength or building muscle mass.

While it can do this, it doesn't mean that it's superior to a traditional workout split in actual improvements. If you bring in the time aspect, you could maybe say it's "better," but that's assuming it provides the same benefits. There's no reason it would produce better results, and if anything, it may produce inferior results.

I am not saying circuit training doesn't work! But if time is not an issue, circuit training doesn't offer any benefits in terms of greater strength or muscle growth. Depending on what type of circuit training you want to do, circuit training can require multiple pieces of equipment.

This is especially true if you're using machines. Oftentimes, gyms will have a specific "circuit training section," which has a variety of machines that you are supposed to work through in a specific order.

They do this to keep the flow of traffic steady. Think about it: If you had 3 trainees doing circuit training but following no specific order, they're either going to be using a ton of equipment or interfering with each other.

Some gyms offer circuit training classes as well to manage this coordination and exercise instruction. Because keep in mind, if you aren't able to move through your exercises efficiently or are stuck waiting for equipment, it's not really going to save you much time. I'd like to over some general guidelines and specific scenarios so you can optimize your circuit for a great workout.

Following these rules, you'll even be able to create your own routines! If you are in a situation where you need to do circuit training to cut down the total workout time, your main priority is optimizing the training load for each muscle group. To do this, you must order the exercises in a way that they don't interfere with one another.

Exercise programs can be designed with different splits, or the way you order your exercises. The two main splits ideal for this are an upper-lower split and a push-pull split.

However, if you can, I would advise you to train upper-body pushing exercises with lower-body pulling exercises and vice versa. This provides the least interference and will optimize recovery time. Further, this is similar to how you would perform a full-body workout.

For recovery time, use the maximal amount you can while still being able to get in the entire workout. If you are using circuit training for volume, you should still try and alter the movements, so they don't interfere with each other if possible. At the same time, it's not going to be as important as these are generally smaller exercises.

When you do this, I strongly recommend you use the cable machine. You can stay in one location and perform dozens and dozens of exercises like face pulls and hammer curls. And sometimes I throw in circuit training like this after performing big compound exercises.

Don't worry so much about the recovery time here. One very useful application of circuit training is using a full-body workout at home. When training at home with bodyweight-only exercises, you are generally limited in what you can do. Further, working out at home just isn't the same as working out at the gym.

For many, it can be a bit boring. One way to make these exercises more challenging while also making your workout exciting is adding circuit training to your home workout. When using circuit training with strength training exercises, you won't alter different muscle groups, and try to use 1-minute rest between exercises.

Since this is usually 2 minutes, you will greatly reduce the workout time while allowing adequate rest. When doing strength training in a circuit, you must be extra cautious with the loads and your rep count.

Even if you do alter between upper body and lower body exercises, you're still going to build up general fatigue. Before you jump into using your normal weights, run a couple of circuits to see how your body adapts to the stimulus and if you can handle it. When your circuit workout for strength has numerous exercises, we recommend using multiple circuits instead of one large circuit.

If you rest for between each exercise, this is half of a normal rest period, so you would only need to pair two exercises in multiple circuits to save time. Not all circuit training workouts utilize little to no rest.

However, the rest period should never be more than 1 minute, or it defeats the purpose. Most rest periods will be on the shorter end, from 0 to 30 seconds. Don't forget that your rest period includes any time needed to swap weights or equipment. When choosing how many exercises to do, I like to practice on the lower end of exercises.

Having more can be confusing as well as disturbing to other people in the gym. If you do have multiple exercises, break them up into 2 circuit workouts. While there are some instances when you run through a circuit just once, you could do however many sets you would normally do.

On average, this will be 3. If you have time, you could bump this up to 5, but it depends on your goals. The loads you use can be the same as you would normally as well. You can also plan on doing fewer reps in the later sets due to fatigue. You should only be overly concerned with this when you're doing exercises like back squats and bench presses.

You're able to use any exercise you want to with circuit training. The determining factor will be what variables you're trying to improve or why you're using circuit training, as we went over above.

One strategy you can utilize is including strength training exercises with cardio bodyweight movements, like mountain climbers. However, I strongly recommend using the cable machine for smaller accessory movements and isolation. You can pair this with bodyweight exercises or free weights.

When writing the order of exercises, your main goal is to have them have minimal interference with one another. This generally means swapping muscle groups.

There you have it. I just gave you the low down on circuit training as well as a host of various workouts to fit every need and training goal. Feel free to use any of the workouts as is or use them as a framework to create your own. When used right, circuits can be instrumental in following an effective workout plan, either by adding a new stimulus, allowing you to get in a workout in a short time, or as a method to help get in volume and cut down on training time.

As long as you understand what circuit training is and how to do it correctly, it will be a pivotal training method in your repertoire. Looking for more information on circuits? Check out our article on Circuit Training: Benefits, How To, and Bonus Workouts! February 13, Read More.

February 12, At SET FOR SET, we strive to equip you with the tools and knowledge needed for your fitness journey. Our team of experts, including certified trainers, dietitians, and athletes, brings over a decade of industry expertise. Our goal is to be your primary resource for all fitness inquiries, guiding you toward a stronger and healthier life.

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Pivot on your feet as needed. With control, lift the weight back up to the starting position. Do 12 reps, then repeat on the other side. Start standing with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing each other.

Keeping your back flat and core engaged, bend forward at the hips so your arms hang below your shoulders. Exhale and raise both arms out to the side, maintaining a slight bend in the elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Then, with control, lower the dumbbells back toward the floor.

Holding the weights at your shoulders with your palms facing out, take a big step backward with your left foot. Press the weights up to the ceiling. Lower the weight to your shoulders as you bend your knees to descend into a lunge, pausing when your knees form degree angles or as low as is comfortable for you.

Push into the front foot to straighten both legs and press the weights back toward the ceiling. Do 10 reps, then repeat on the other side. Holding a pair of dumbbells, stand with your legs together. Perform a bicep curl by bending your elbows to bring the weights up to your shoulders.

Lower your arms as you take a large step out to the side with your right foot, lunging toward the floor. Make sure your right knee does not extend past your toes, and keep your left leg relatively straight. Push off through your right foot to return to standing, and perform a bicep curl to return to the starting position.

Start standing with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in your left hand in front of your left hip. Squat, lowering the weight toward the floor between your legs while holding your right arm out to the side.

Exhale, engage your abs as you straighten your legs, and pull your elbow behind you at shoulder height, bringing the weight to your chest. Bend your knees and squat as you return to the starting position.

Repeat on the other side. Continue alternating for 20 reps. Lie on your back with your arms reaching toward the ceiling, holding one weight horizontally with both hands.

Place your left foot flat on the floor, knee bent, and extend your right leg toward the ceiling. Exhale and lower your arms and leg toward the floor, keeping your lower back touching the mat. Only go as low as you can while still keeping your lower back pressed into the floor.

Inhale and lift your arms and right leg toward each other to return to the starting position. Strength Training Home Workouts Dumbbell Workouts Full-Body Workouts Leg Exercises Butt Exercises Arm Exercises Full-Body Exercises Back Exercises. You May Also Like. by Chandler Plante 1 week ago.

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We're Hiring! You'll also burn calories more efficiently. Your body goes through a post-workout recovery period called the afterburn effect that requires more energy when performing circuit training workouts than other methods — such as steady-state, moderate-intensity routines.

Because of this, you can expect to burn 8 to 15 percent more calories when opting for high-intensity circuit training, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. And when your circuit training workout combines cardio and strength moves, you'll also increase muscle — basically, you can check off multiple training goals with this one workout.

Figuring out how to set up an effective circuit training workout on your own can be pretty daunting at first. So to give you a hand, here are six easy steps to help you build your perfect routine.

Circuit training workouts are based around a set number of "stations" that you repeat until your time runs out, so knowing how much time you have can help you determine how many circuits you'll need to complete and how hard you'll need to work.

Anywhere from 10—45 minutes is ideal for circuit training — but the shorter the workout, the harder you should be pushing. And since you're alternating which body part you're working during each move, there's no need to rest between exercises.

Think of it like this: Your arms get a break during squats, and your legs get a break during push-ups. Example circuit training workout: One minute at five different stations.

Repeat that for six rounds and it adds up to a minute workout. The trick with circuit training is to use whatever you have handy. If you're at the gym, you have a wide range of options — but all you really need is your body.

Here's a great at-home HIIT circuit training workout you can steal. You can choose a different upper-body move each round or simply repeat the same exercise every time if you want to keep things simple.

Depending on which style you'd prefer, you can either cycle through all of these exercises or just pick your favorite. Upper-Body Circuit Training Exercises:.

Circuit 1: Shoulder press. Circuit 2: Bent-over row. Circuit 3: Standing dumbbell curl. Circuit 5: Push-up. Circuit 6: Russian twist.

Just like you did with the upper body, choose exercises that will work each part of your lower body. You can change up the moves each round or keep them the same. Lower-Body Circuit Training Exercises:.

Circuit 1: Forward lunge or walking lunge. Circuit 2: Sumo squat. Circuit 4: Hamstring curl on a Swiss ball. Circuit 5: Deadlift.

Weight training is an excellent workout, but you'll really get your heart rate up by adding in some total-body movements to your circuit training plan.

Again, choose one of the below or cycle through all six of these moves. Compound Circuit Training Exercises:. Circuit 1: Jumping lunge. Circuit 2: Mountain climbers.

Circuit 3: Thruster squat to shoulder press. Circuit 4: Barbell clean. Circuit 5: Bench hop-over. Circuit 6: Single-arm kettlebell swing. Research shows that engaging in cardio regularly is an effective way to improve cardiorespiratory fitness.

Pick your favorite type of cardio to add to your circuit training workout and go all out for one minute.

Download a PDF of this infographic English or Spanish. Home Healthy Living Fitness Getting Active Create a Circuit Home Workout Infographic.

Circuits can be a great way to work out and reduce stress without any special equipment. To build your circuit, choose exercises from each category: Alternate cardio and strength exercises in short bursts of 30 seconds for up to 3 minutes, then repeat the circuit two to three times.

Cardio exercises: Jumping jacks Jumping ropes Jogging or marching in place Stair-climbing or step-ups High knees Mountain climbers Star jumps Burpees Strengthening and stability exercises: Plank and side plank Pushups Sit-ups or crunches Hip lift or bridge position Tricep dips on a chair Lunges Squats or chair position Wall sits Learn more ways to add activity to your routine at heart.

Last Updated: Mar 15, For athletes looking to increase power and build strength, it would be a good idea to add plyometric stations such as squat jumps or step ups. Remember, with circuit training, you are in charge of the pace and intensity!

You can do them at the gym with equipment and machines, or do them at home, the park, the beach—literally any place—by incorporating only bodyweight exercises. The options are endless!

The choices are endless. And because of that, you can do circuit workouts multiple times a week by just switching up the stations. Are you someone that tends to get bored of the same workout programs week in and week out?

If so, circuit workouts are for you! Also, circuits are perfect for groups; start one person at each station and all rotate through until everyone has done each movement! Working out in groups is more fun, and can give you the extra push to work harder , too.

Session time: 15 minutes per round. Directions: Complete as many reps as you can of each exercise for 60 seconds, take a second break, then move to the next exercise. Equipment: Jump rope, barbell or pair of dumbbells , bench or chair. Difficulty level: Easy to medium. Muscles targeted: Glutes butt , quads thighs , hips, core, chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps.

This quick but effective workout will teach you the ropes while you work up a sweat. These 10 different exercises alternate between lower body, upper body, and full body movements.

If you find that you are gasping for your breath at the end of each station, slow your pace slightly and take at least 30 seconds of rest in between sets. Perform each exercise for 60 seconds, rest for seconds, and move on to the next movement.

Remember: the quality of reps is more important than the number of reps completed. But WAIT! Rest for seconds. Bent-Over Row for 60 seconds. Bodyweight Squats for 60 seconds. Shoulder Press for 60 seconds.

Jumping Jacks for 60 seconds. Romanian Deadlift for 60 seconds. Push-Ups for 60 seconds. Glute Bridges for 60 seconds. Triceps Dips for 60 seconds. Plank for 60 seconds. For optimal muscle gain, you want to get yourself almost to the point of failure with each exercise, but be careful not to push yourself too far past the point of fatigue.

The goal is to challenge yourself and get in as many reps as possible, but still be able to perform them with proper form. Aim to take as little rest as possible in between movements, but no more than 30 seconds. Ready for more?

Try this minute circuit workout to really get the heart pumping. Free 7-Day Passes are only available for new customers who live or work nearby.

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Search Search. Start your circuit-workout journey with this easy exercise routine that you can get done in just 15 minutes. December 2, By Anytime Fitness. What is circuit training?

How does circuit training work? Benefits of circuit training workouts. Less time training, more results. Routines are customizable.

Exercise anytime, anywhere. Session time: 15 minutes per round Directions: Complete as many reps as you can of each exercise for 60 seconds, take a second break, then move to the next exercise. Equipment: Jump rope, barbell or pair of dumbbells , bench or chair Difficulty level: Easy to medium Muscles targeted: Glutes butt , quads thighs , hips, core, chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps.

Reps and sets. Step-Ups for 60 seconds Rest for seconds 2. Bent-Over Row for 60 seconds Rest for seconds 3. Bodyweight Squats for 60 seconds Rest for seconds 4. Shoulder Press for 60 seconds Rest for seconds 5. Jumping Jacks for 60 seconds Rest for seconds. Romanian Deadlift for 60 seconds Rest for seconds 7.

Push-Ups for 60 seconds Rest for seconds 8. Glute Bridges for 60 seconds Rest for seconds 9. Triceps Dips for 60 seconds Rest for seconds Plank for 60 seconds Done!

Find a sturdy box, step, or bench and hold a dumbbell in your hands, or a barbell across your shoulders.

Step your right foot and right leg on top of the box first, followed by your left foot. Then step your left foot down first, followed by your right foot. If you just stepped up with your right foot, be sure to lead with your left next to make sure you get equal reps on your left leg and right leg.

Bent-Over Rows.