Circuit training is one of my favorite exercise methods, primarily because of the options and variety they afford. A well-designed circuit will keep your heart rate elevated, yet not too fatigued to complete the following exercise outside of resting for a few seconds while you transition to the next movement. If you feel too tired to perform an exercise without compromising your form, you can modify it to make it easier. This way, you can still keep working without skipping an exercise.
Walking into the gym with a pre-planned circuit also removes any friction about what to do for your workout that day. The more friction between you and your workout, the less likely you’ll do it. Eliminate that by having a plan ahead of time.
In my opinion, a circuit should consist of:
At least one exercise from one of the four basic movements of push, pull, squat, and hinge
Scalable to accommodate any fitness level
Assembled in a fashion that makes transitioning from one exercise to another as seamless as possible
Time-bound: setting a timer and trying to complete as many rounds as possible within the given time OR
Circuit bound: completing a desired number of circuits without a time limit
Seeing as how ‘I don’t have time to exercise’ is the number one reason most people don’t exercise, a 15-minute circuit that hits every major muscle group is a solution to that problem. Below is my go-to circuit.
Set a timer for 15 minutes, and complete as many rounds as possible, resting as needed.
5 pull - ups
10 push - ups
15 goblet squats squats
5 dips
10 inverted rows
15 kettlebell swings
All of the above is 1 round, repeat as many times as you can within the time limit.
You might look at that and think ‘that’s way too hard for me!’ Fortunately, the exercises above can be modified to meet your needs if you can’t do them as listed.
Instead of strict pull-ups, use an assisted pull-up machine, band-assisted pull-ups, or jumping pull-ups
Instead of push-ups, try elevated push-ups using a Smith machine or kneeling push-ups
Instead of goblet squats, squat without holding any weight
Instead of dips, use an assisted dip machine or bench dips
For inverted rows, raise the bar if you’re doing them on a Smith machine or use a TRX and do rows on it
For kettlebell swings, choose a lighter kettlebell
Another great use of circuits is to gauge your improvement over time. For instance, you can do three rounds of the above circuit within the 15-minute frame. A few weeks later, you do it again and can complete four rounds. Congratulations! You’ve improved by being able to perform more work in the same amount of time.
Well said, and great example of a circuit. My "Notes" app on my Mac contains more than 100 circuit routines. Each one a little different, but each one with the four basic movements you mention. Super important stuff, thanks for the post!