Circuit Training - What Is It?

By Richard Black

So you have decided that it is time to start going to the
gym regularly. You are ready to start working out, but where
do you begin?

Perhaps you want to try bicep curls first because you are
curious about how strong your biceps are. Or maybe you want
to do a leg press because your arms are tired from working
all day and you want to give them a rest before you start
those exercises. Maybe, rather than all of those, you want
to try a treadmill for a half hour first to burn away some
of the calories that you gained from that cheeseburger you
ate on the way over.

When you start working out, these questions may go through
your mind every time you open the gym doors. But this
uncertainty can lead to inefficient workouts, skipping
exercises, and failing to achieve the results you want
because you went in a poor order on one particular day.

To solve this, many trainers teach what is known as "circuit
training." Circuit training is a pre-specified exercise
routine that involves moving from exercise to exercise in a
specific order over a specific amount of time (as as though
you are moving through a circuit).

Circuit Training Techniques

Circuit training gives you significantly less time to rest,
and often involves working out at such an extreme pace that
many people receive an aerobic exercise even though they are
not technically doing any aerobic training methods. However,
just because they give you less time to rest does not mean
that circuit training is only for in shape, experienced
bodybuilders.

On the contrary, circuit training requires significantly
less repetitions (which are generally required with
standardized weight lifting), where you are trading excess
work (lifting with repetitions) for faster work (no
repetitions, faster moving through the workout). Because
there is less resting, many people experience some
impressive results as though they had rested and completed a
repetition.

Benefits of Circuit Training

There are two well known benefits for circuit training:

1) Time

Because you are quickly moving through every workout, you
save a great deal of time overall. If you are often on a
particularly busy schedule, this time saved can be
substantial, and you can cut your time at the gym down
significantly.

2) Efficiency - By rushing from exercise to
exercise in a specific order, you are not wasting any time
allowing your muscles to relax or harden up. Instead, you
are making sure that they are constantly being worked out as
you move from machine to machine, tiring them more and more
in the process.

Circuit training does require a less crowded gym (so that
you can get each machine when you need it), a lot of
planning, and a commitment to moving to the next workout
right away no matter how exhausted you are. But for those
that are on a busy schedule or want to see more results in
shorter time, circuit training is one of the best workout
courses you can put yourself through.

5 Simple Changes to Build Muscle Fast

If your goal is to get 100% better at something, what would
be the best way to go about it? I can think of two ends of
the continuum. The approach you select will be somewhere
along this continuum: doing one thing twice as good (or 100
percent better), or performing 100 activities 1 percent
better. I think that most people attempt the first approach,
but the latter is much more realistic.

Taken a step further, to make each of these small building
blocks more effective, you could also focus on things that
occur outside of your workouts. So you concentrate on
modifying your habits and making tiny improvements in many
areas that will stack on top of one another to bring you
massive benefits.

So here are 5 simple lifestyle changes you can make to help
you build muscle fast.

1) Replace Traditional Cardio with Interval Training

Aerobic exercise has a negative impact on muscle gaining
because it burns branched chain amino acids (BCAA) and
glycogen. Rather, concentrate on HIIT sessions for fat
burning, e.g. a 400-meter sprint followed by a 400-meter
recovery jog, repeated for a total of four times.

2) Increase Total Time Under Load (TTL)

Instead of focusing on the number of reps, concentrate on
the total time your muscles are under load. Try spending 2
seconds on the negative contraction, 1 second at neutral
(bottom of the exercise), and 1 second on the positive
contraction. Emphasizing the negative is an easy way to
overload muscles and promote muscle weight gain.

3) Eat More Fish

Not only is fish high in protein, it is also a natural
source of essential fatty acids, which are vital for both
your muscular health and your overall health. Omega-3's make
your muscles more sensitive to insulin, so they aid glycogen
storage and increase the absorption of amino acids into your
muscles, while also preserving glutamine storage.

4) Mix up your Total Time Under Load

One really easy way to add variety to a workout, confuse
your muscles, and build muscle up is to switch up your
repetition tempo by adding an explosive day once per week,
or an explosive set once per workout. It looks like this:
2-second negative contraction, 1-second neutral, explode as
fast as you can on the positive contraction and repeat.

5) Cheat on your Diet

If you haven't yet read the Cheat to Lose Diet, you should.
It's a pretty interesting theory into how the body
metabolizes food. The short story is that your body burns
fat in response to the presence of a hormone in your body,
and that hormone comes as a direct result of overeating! So
once a week, cheat, and follow your cheat day with two very
low-carbohydrate, high protein days. You'll enjoy the cheat
day and burn more fat to boot.

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Here Are 7 Super Tips To Great Ab Workouts

Does it really have to be so difficult to find some good ab
workouts? There is so much to choose from, so how will you
know what is good? Let me give you some pointers to keep in
mind when working your abs, and some great ab workouts.

1. To make sure an ab exercise is effective you need to
make sure that you feel your muscles working, either
pushing or pulling. If you can't feel anything, it's highly
unlikely that the exercise is effective.

2. Concentrate while doing the exercise. Make sure you are
really using your abs. Don't cheat by using the momentum, or
by pulling with your arms or legs.

3. Use an exercise ball. By lifting the exercise up from
the floor, on to an exercise ball, you will be strengthening
your whole core. Your body will be using more muscles to
prevent you from falling off. Its great for balance as well.

4. Here are some great ab workouts for you to try:

Toe Raises. Start with lying on the floor, hands by your
sides. Point your toes towards the ceiling, lifting your
legs straight up. Slowly return to start position. Repeat 15
lifts.

V-Sit. Start with lying flat on the floor, with your hands
by your sides. Lift your legs and your upper body at the
same time, making a V with your body. Only your bottom
should be on the floor. Slowly go back to the starting
position. Do 10 repetitions. Or at least as many as you can
manage.

Superman Push-ups. Take the normal push-ups position,
then run your hands forward as far as you can. Pull your belly
in and keep it tight. If you can manage 5 to 10 you are doing
well. One of the best exercises because it works your whole body.

5. Your diet will have the biggest impact on what your body
looks like. To get a body to show off on the beach, you need
to spoil your body with nutritious food. Eat a lot of fresh
fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats, and drink
a lot of water. This will make a big difference.

6. Have a balanced workout. All your muscles need to be
trained for optimal result. If you are working your abs, you
mustn't forget your back, and so on.

7. Include an aerobic program in your exercise routine. You
need to lower your body fat percentage if you want a really
toned stomach. Use interval training - short, intense cardio sessions.

Use these seven tips, and you will get the best out of
already good ab workouts.

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