Circuit Training
This circuit is designed to develop muscular endurance and uses minimal equipment. You will need a gym mat and a step box of about 30 cm in height. Choose 5-10 of the exercises listed below according to your fitness level. Five exercises are plenty if you are just starting your training regime. You can add further exercises as you become stronger. It is wise to consider the muscles that each exercise works so that you place them in an order which avoids targeting the same muscle groups straight after one another.
You can use the guidelines presented in the Table below for muscular endurance to build a simple circuit. For example, you could perform 30 seconds of each of the exercises listed below (where you should aim to perform 12-50 RM), with 30-60 seconds rest between each exercise. You could make the circuit session more aerobically demanding by performing box stepping during the 30-60 second recovery period. As you progress, repeat the circuit a further 1-2 times. You can adjust the number of exercises (5-10), the difficulty of some of the exercises, the exercise time (20-60 seconds) and the recovery duration (20-60 seconds) and the recovery activity to suit your fitness level.
Don’t forget to warm up before and cool down after performing the circuit exercises.
| Exercises | Alternative |
| Press Ups | Knees up (easiest), Box press up (easier); Declined press up (Hard) |
| Squat thrusts | Alternate squat thrusts (less stress on the back) |
| Squats | |
| Lunges | |
| Burpee | |
| Back Extension | Hands under forehead (harder), hands behind head (hardest) |
| Abdominal crunch | |
| Seated triceps dips | |
| Tuck jumps | |
| Stride jumps | |
| Recovery | |
| Rest | Marching on the spot, Step ups, Rope Skipping |
Weekly Exercise Routines: (Click on link below to view routine)
Week 1 - 4
Week 5 - 8
Week 9 - 12
To view a video clip of an exercise click on a link below;
1. Alternate Squat thrusts
2. Back extension
3. Bur-pee
4. Crunches
5. Lunges
6. Press Ups
7. Reverse Crunches
8. Squats
9. Squat thrusts
10. Step Ups
11. Stride Jumps
12. Tricep Dips
13. Tuck Jumps
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