The Importance of Circuit Training
Cardiovascular work along with core, resistance and weight training will give you a great exercise program. With proper eating habits and a positive workout routine, you will create a balanced program that will allow you to live a fit and healthy life for many years to come. The major benefit of circuit training is that by continually changing your workout routine, your body does not become accustom to the exercises and plateau. Using the circuit method, you will continually see the results of your hard work. By changing your routine, circuit training also prevents boredom and monotony within your workout. Keeping your workout fun is a key ingredient to the longevity of a successful program. Circuit 1....Cardio A cardio workout is extremely important in that it elevates the heart rate, burns calories and increases the body’s metabolism naturally. This workout helps to reduce stress and body fat, improve endurance, and control your appetite. By maintaining a cardio workout, and proper eating habits, you can have consistent weight management, reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, to achieve overall better health. It is recommended to do 20 to 60 minutes of cardio 4 times per week. Circuit 2....Weight Training Using lighter weights with more repetitions, this section is aimed at shaping and toning the muscular structure of the body. Building muscle allows you to burn more fat and calories with exercise as well as with normal everyday activities. The goal of this class is not to bulk up in size, but to define the lean mass of your body. Being secondary to the cardio portion of the workout, your muscles are properly warmed which will prevent injuries from occuring. The Instructors carefully monitor to make sure that everyone is using proper form. Circuit 3....Core Training The importance of strengthening the core muscles of your body cannot be over emphasized. The core (groin to sholder) of the body is where every single move we make is generated. If your core is weak, you are prone to injury not only in the core area of your body, but in any extremity. Any movement from as simple as taking a step to as large as doing a front flip, engages your body’s core muscles. This segment of the class is focused solely on stengthening and caring for those core muscles. The areas targeted are the abdominals, back, groin, and chest muscles. Circuit 4....Stability Ball Continuing to work with the core of the body, the next stage of our workout uses the stability ball. The stability ball circuit utilizes every muscle you have in your body. By performing different exercises on the ball you engage your abs and back for balance, and glutes and legs for stability. The stability ball develops overall control and strength in the core body muscles while improving balance. While performing a target exercise on the ball, you are not only improving that target area, but strenghening your core. This will increase building lean mass and help burn fat more rapidly. Circuit 5....Resistance Bands This section of the workout using the resistance bands is for conditioning and increasing muscle strength, endurance and power. Resistance workouts help develop a leaner stonger body. In addition, the resistance workout helps to boost your metabolism and increase your energy level. When using resistance bands, each exercise has a counter resistance that better helps to tone and shape the muscle group in focus. It all Began with Instructors.... Craig and Diane Spoor Co-owners of U.S. Martial Arts Academy Ltd., and Black Belts in the martial art system of Tien Shan Pai, created the Cardio Circuit Training Program as their own personal workout. Craig, a Type 1 diabetic with high cholesterol, and Diane, a mom retaining weight after pregnancy, decided to venture out and find the life style and workout to give them each the body for which they were serching. Craig was looking to slim in some areas and bulk in others, while Diane was looking to reduce weight and tone all over. Martial arts had developed a nice muscle foundation and good endurance, but was just not developing the body shapes they desired. The journey began by making adjustments to their eating style. Craig began eating 6 small meals a day, and Diane, 4. They removed all white products and replaced them with wheat. Removing fried foods from the meal plan was the final step. Healthy snacking is allowed. There is 1 "Cheat Day" per week in which they eat whatever they want. Should they have a craving, they fulfill it. If you deprive yourself of everything, you will eventually fall of the wagon and lose all the results from your hard work and effort. Enjoy yourself! Craig and Diane look at "Cheat Day" as a reward at the end of a week of hard work . After plenty of research, experimentation, trial, and error, the workout was finally developed. They began solely with weight and core training. Seeing small results, they added a cardio workout. At this point they each had bettered their body type, but had not gotten nearly the results they wanted, so they invested in the stability ball and resistance bands. This is when the circuit began. They combined all of the workouts, seeing amazing results and continue with them today. Craig has received outstanding reports from his doctor regarding the stabilization of his blood sugar, has reduced his insulin intake, and is no longer on cholesterol medication. Diane has made the transition from a ladies size 16 to a size 6.
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