Circuit Training- How to

If you're committed to getting in shape and improving your health and fitness, circuit training is about the best method you can use. Why? Because it gets the best results. When done properly, circuit training builds lean muscle and improves aerobic fitness simultaneously, making it nothing less than the most effective fat-burning workout you can get.

So what is circuit training? It’s a combination of different types of strength training and cardio exercises done in sequence with little to no rest between sets. The strength training works your muscles, and the cardio keeps your heart rate up. Keeping your heart rate elevated is important because the higher it is, the more calories you’re burning.

The thing to remember is that the sets for a given exercise are not performed back to back. Instead, you do one set of the first exercise before moving on (with little or no rest) to the next. When you've done one set of all the exercises in Circuit 1, you go back to the beginning and do one more set of each.

Example:

1. Do one set (10 reps) of Modified Push-ups.
2. Do one set of Wall Squats (hold the squat position for 1 minute).
3. Do one set of Jumping Jacks (jump for 1 minute).
4. Without stopping to rest, do the second set of Modified Push-ups.
5. Do the second set of Wall Squats.
6. Do the second set of Jumping Jacks.
7. Without stopping to rest, do the third set of Modified Push-ups.
8. Do the third set of Wall Squats.
9. Do the third set of Jumping Jacks.
When you have completed all the sets in one circuit, move on to the next. You can take a brief rest between circuits if you really need it, but it's preferable that you don't.
Once you complete all the circuits, performing all the reps and all the sets, you're done — all that's left is to cool down with some stretching, and you've completed your circuit training for the day. Easy, right?