Circuit Training Exercises For The Do It Yourselfer
Below you will find several circuit training exercises to create your own perfect workout routines. Remember it's not the exercises that lead to fat loss and endurance alone. You have to take each exercise to failure and be sure to rest no more than 10 seconds before beginning the next movement to acheive maximum results.
Before beginning, it's always best to warmup with 10 minutes of hopping, skipping, jumping jacks and stretching.
We recommend that you start with 4 exercises, one for each muscle group. Chest, Legs, Back and Arms, in that order.
Perform 10-20 repetitions of each exercise. If the movement is too easy add weight by including dumbells, ankle weights and/or my favorite, the weighted vest. Between each set perform 25 jumping jacks. Move on to the next exercises without rest. Complete the circuit twice.
Then, choose 4 other exercises for each muscle group and complete 2 circuits. Perform 10 burpees or 1 minute of walking lunges between exercises.
Finally, finish your routine with 3 rounds of 4 circuit training exercises for your core. For example, crunches, leg lifts, oblique twists and hyperextensions (lower back) would be ideal.
You should be able to finish the above routine in 30-45 minutes. We recommend 15 minutes of moderate cardio and 5 minutes of stretching to end the workout routine.
Be sure to experiment, for example you could try this 2 push up 2 pull up combination in your workout
Chest Exercise
Burpees, also known as Up Downs are a great exercise for entire body, but with emphasis on your chest and shoulders. Consider using Burpees in your warm up before going into the other circuit training exercises, it raises your heart rate in a hurry.
DB Bench Presses are very effective for building and toning the chest for both men and women. Dumbells are much more effective than barbells because of the increased range of movement and added stabilization.
Incline Presses work the upper chest and shoulders. This exercise is very important for bringing proportion to the chest and lifting breasts for women.
Scorpion Push Ups are a great variation on the standard push up that improves your balance and stability.
Spiderman Push Ups strengthen your hip flexors and stabilization muscles as well as provide an excellent upper body workout.
Plyometric Leg Exercises
Shallow/Deep Jumps build the reactive muscles of the legs and trigger a quick rise in heart rate.
Scissor Middle Jumps Increase coordination,build the reactive muscles of the legs and trigger a quick rise in heart rate.
Split Jumps Are an endurance exercise that builds the reactive muscles of the legs and trigger a quick rise in heart rate.
Step Up Jumps Build explosiveness in the legs and trigger a quick rise in heart rate.
Back Exercises
Horizontal Pull Ups Are excellent for building the middle of the back and shoulders. Also improves posture.
Negative Pull Ups Are excellent for building the entire back. Especially useful for beginners. Improves posture.
Single Leg Dumbell Row Build stability and balance while strengthening the entire back.
Arm and Shoulder Exercises
Shoulder Press The workhorse for building shoulders. Also strengthens the triceps. Improves your body proportions.
Tricep Dips Are a variation of the standard dip, focusing the work load on the triceps. Tightens the back of the arms.
Bicep Curl Performed here with a barbell but can also be done with wrist rotation using dumb bells.
