Keys to a Proper 30 Minute Circuit Training RoutineThere are many new 30 minute fitness businesses on the market today. Unfortunately many of them don't have the customer service or trained personal to handle all your needs. Many, from one of the larger companies basically brings people off the street, trains them in a day or two, but mainly has them as a greeter for the customers as they come and go. Technical questions may cause a panic on their part or worse, misinformation because of not wanting to look stupid.
So what do you do. Here is a beginners guide to the elements of a good training session at your local 30 minutes fitness center.
When beginning your overall workout start at a slower pace until you give your muscles time to adjust to the new demands you are asking it to perform. After 3-5 minutes you can gear up the pace for the rest of your workout. Additionally on each new machine for the first set work into your pace, start at a gradual speed and until you reach your desired pace.
Think of this as oiling your joints to meet the demands of the work you are about to perform. Although you have increased your heart rate through your normal warm up, you have not prepared your body for the work on the individual sections of your body, by moving incrementally into your pace on every machine you will not only benefit your metabolic rate and work output, you will be much safer.
The movements performed in circuit trainings are done to elevate the heart rate. As the heart rate increases we reach new zones or levels of calorie burning potential. Suggested working rates are suggested to be within 50 -85% of your maximum heart rate. Most facilities have a chart to help you follow your heart, if yours does not you can by fairly inexpensive heart rate monitors to wear as you work or go here and you can calculate your heart rate.
By increasing your heart rate to these levels you start your body burning stored body fat, help to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and many other health problems which develop as we age.
Things to remember while performing the movements on the machines:
Always stay in control of the machines.
Many people try to perform the movements as fast as they can, the faster the movement the more the resistance. This is true, but without control, you increase the probability of injury and actually perform less work by moving the point of muscle focus.
Think about the movement as you perform them.
Feel the muscle they are targeting and feel how they perform throughout the movement. By becoming more aware of the experience while you are working out you will have a better understanding of your body and how to get it to work for you.
Never lock out the arms or legs in any of the movements you perform on the machines.
When we lock our joints we actually stop the movement and have to restart again, this action can actually put undue stress on the joints. Instead stop just short of lockout, which keeps the targeted muscle in a state of work throughout the movement.
Create resistance.
With hydraulic fitness machines you do more work the faster you perform the movement. The hydraulic is designed to buffer the impact of pressure put directly on it (resistance) through work, by increasing the speed, we increase the pressure causing the hydraulic to resist the pressure thus creating more work. Remember our first rule though, do not try to go to fast.
Review of the Simple rules for peak performance:
Control speed thus controlling work, Never lock out to assure work throughout movement and eliminate possible injuries, Understand the muscle and how it performs on each movement by paying attention to what you do, increase your speed and adjustment levels on your hydraulics as you adapt to the accomplishments of your body.
As you approach the end of your workout don't just stop your work.
Ease out of your workout, slow down your heart rate using the last 3-5 minutes of your time to accomplish this. This is much healthier and reduces shock to your system.
Finally take some time after your workout to stretch out those muscles you just worked so hard.
This will help you increase your level of flexibility while enhancing your physical fitness, enhances the ability to learn and perform skilled movement, increases mental and physical relaxation, increases awareness of the body, help prevent injury to joints -muscles and tendons, reduces muscle soreness, reduces muscle tension, and increases your mobility.
For more information on stretching go here.
