how and when to incorporate circuit training?

[Tom]

hi everyone! just wanted everyone's expert opinion on how and when to incorporate circuit training into and/or including my usual weight training routines/routines?

want to be muscular and big but yet also have flexibility, conditioning, muscular endurance and fuctional body.

wondering, how i can incorporate a typical circuit training program into my existing just lifting weights program?

by circuit training i'm talking: push-ups, swiss ball exercises, core exercises, various exercises for all bodyparts that require just your body weight (i.e. pullups,etc)  all stuff that don't usually require weights or at least not heavy ass weights. anyway, any suggestions?.....

 perhaps maybe something like 3 months of lifting weights, followed by 1 month of just circuit training, then take a week or so break, and then start the same again?

perhaps incoporating a little bit of circuit training every day after lifting weights?

not a clue really how to do both at the same time? thanks in advance for the advice!

[ngm21084]

hi everyone! just wanted everyone's expert opinion on how and when to incorporate circuit training into and/or including my usual weight training routines/routines?

want to be muscular and big but yet also have flexibility, conditioning, muscular endurance and fuctional body.

wondering, how i can incorporate a typical circuit training program into my existing just lifting weights program?

by circuit training i'm talking: push-ups, swiss ball exercises, core exercises, various exercises for all bodyparts that require just your body weight (i.e. pullups,etc)  all stuff that don't usually require weights or at least not heavy ass weights. anyway, any suggestions?.....

 perhaps maybe something like 3 months of lifting weights, followed by 1 month of just circuit training, then take a week or so break, and then start the same again?

perhaps incoporating a little bit of circuit training every day after lifting weights?

not a clue really how to do both at the same time? thanks in advance for the advice!

as far as pushups and pullups and dips or bodyweight exercises...i incorporate each one of them...i do pullups on back day and pushups or dips on chest day...for dips and pushups i like to do them as part of a superset as a finisher and they are performed till failure i alternate hand positions especially with pushups going from real wide to diamond...for pullups i do alot of them mainly due to the fact that i dont have any type of pulldown machine and i do 3 sets for each hand position palms facing in, underhand, overhand till 12 reps or failure which or part of a superset also but as the first move....this is just my advice but i know there is prob a bnetter answer for you from someone else...butwhat i do seems to work for me and i like it...

[dyslexic]

Nobody here that has bitten by the 'iron bug' is gonna stop lifting for a month just to do circuit training.

Now, if you are going to test for the academy (fire, police, etc.,) it may be a viable choice as you mention "conditioning, endurance, and functional strength"

Functional strength alludes toward having somewhat of a "cross-over' effect from the gym to your daily life. Excess muscle is not geared toward making your life easier, it's about appearance.

With all of the questions that you seem to have here lately, I would think your best interest would be choosing one objective, and sticking with it.

What is it that you want? More muscle? Better conditioning? Lower bodyfat? Functional Strength? Cardiovascular endurance? All of the above?

You can't have it... easily.

Circuit training, especially at high speeds and high heart rates is going to crossover into cardiovascular endurance. The first thing to go bye-bye in a 'natural' athlete is muscle tissue. So why work so hard to gain maximum muscle only to sacrifice it to 'endurance' training?

In my estimation, it is a waste of time, unless of course, you have a sport-specific (or job-specific) goal in mind.

Choose a basic weight training program and stick with it. If you want to add cardio before or after each session, so be it. Whatever you decide-not only will your training program be key, but so will your nutritional program.

I would assume that you want size. Size will not come overnight. You will lose it easier than you will gain it, so beware during your functional, cardiovascular endurance training.

[ngm21084]

hey dyslexic dont think its practical for adding size and putting a little bit of functional strength together by incorporating pullups and pushups and dips into your regular weight routine??? i know i always have used them and im also curious if you think doing these moves is counter productive to muscle building?

[dyslexic]

That stuff is fine. In the gym these days "functional training" has taken on a whole different meaning.


Sorry for the confusion (on my behalf)

[ngm21084]

are you talking about that ridiculous shit like doing squats on those balls for some "core training" lol   

[dyslexic]

are you talking about that ridiculous shit like doing squats on those balls for some "core training" lol   

The "functional training" gurus in the sorry-ass corporate gyms have their brand new fat assess trying to balance on Bosu balls. All of their training techniques are unneccessary and are a huge liability to the gym. The idea that a human needs to close their eyes and balance on an unstable surface is ridiculous.

The trainers believe that there is a huge need for humans to be able to balance as they walk down the sidewalk. They call it a "crossover" from the gym to your daily life. I personally have not seen any sober and fit humans staggering along our busy sidewalks in need of "functional" training...

Personally, I think just getting stronger and moving the bones and muscles in the directions that they were intended is more than adequate.

Weight training... and cardio (I guess)

No balancing acts in my gym. It's emabarrassing to watch.

[ngm21084]

ive never actually seen anyone doingit thankfully but it looks like it would be pretty amusing....and i agree that really all one would need is some good workouts....if new to working out id send them for a trip around the nautilus circuit then a 20-30 treadmill treatment see how they feel then....there is no need to be balancing on balls and shit

The "functional training" gurus in the sorry-ass corporate gyms have their brand new fat assess trying to balance on Bosu balls. All of their training techniques are unneccessary and are a huge liability to the gym. The idea that a human needs to close their eyes and balance on an unstable surface is ridiculous.

The trainers believe that there is a huge need for humans to be able to balance as they walk down the sidewalk. They call it a "crossover" from the gym to your daily life. I personally have not seen any sober and fit humans staggering along our busy sidewalks in need of "functional" training...

Personally, I think just getting stronger and moving the bones and muscles in the directions that they were intended is more than adequate.

Weight training... and cardio (I guess)

No balancing acts in my gym. It's emabarrassing to watch.

[oldtimer1]

Bob Gajda was Mr. America in 1966 I believe when this was the biggest amateur contest. He was also an elite Olympic lifter and ran the Duncan Y where Sergio Oliva trained.  Besides being the sometime training partner of Oliva I believe he has his PHD in exercise physiology.

Bob Gajda won his bodybuilding titles using circuit training.  I know the young guys on this board are so use to the drug monsters of today but Bob had a great physique.  He called his circuit training PHA so called for peripheral heart action.  

If my memory serves me right he would use an extremely demanding circuit routine. He would take about 8 to 10 exercises and do them without any rest.  It was a weird combination where one exercise could be biceps and the next squats.  After doing a series of 8 to 10 exercises for the entire body he would rest and then repeat the series for a couple of sets.  Then he would pick 8 to 10 new exercises and repeat.  A third time he would do the same.  (This is from memory)  He wrote and was interviewed in a couple of articles on his PHA training in Iron man mag in the 60's.  

I heard from one guy who tried it who was a heavy trainer who rested a long time between sets.  He said at first the weights used were really light because he felt so out of shape trying to do these circuits.  With time the weight came up and he said he felt like he was really getting into shape.  

I have the old Ironman mags from the 60's in my basement.  Maybe I'll dig out the articles on PHA.  It's unconventional training for bodybuilding but man will you be in condition.  

[Montague]

The trainers believe that there is a huge need for humans to be able to balance as they walk down the sidewalk. They call it a "crossover" from the gym to your daily life. I personally have not seen any sober and fit humans staggering along our busy sidewalks in need of "functional" training...

 
I’ve got a couple of theories on this as well.
I’m sure there are trainers out there who are brainwashed & really believe that there are real world benefits to this Mr. Miyagi balancing stuff.

But I also suspect that, well…
Once the “average” person learns an “average” workout from the “average” trainer, there’s not much point in keeping that trainer around for anything other than motivation and/or to count.

Sadly, many of these “franchise” personal trainers only know one way to train people.
The idea of CUSTOMIZING a workout for someone is nonexistent.
By ingraining the idea that a client should be able to exercise while standing on a beach ball as easily as they can on the ground, they’re legitimizing the necessity of having a trainer because MOST PEOPLE CANNOT DO THAT SHIT AND NEVER WILL.

I also think that because the swiss balls are different & tricky to use, that makes people think they’re somehow superior to the conventional stuff.





Those never get old.
 

I have the old Ironman mags from the 60's in my basement.  Maybe I'll dig out the articles on PHA.  It's unconventional training for bodybuilding but man will you be in condition.  

Damn, that's a treasure chest.
Hold onto those things!
IM was a great magazine years ago.

Do you pull them out and go through them occasionally?

[oldtimer1]

 I didn't read the original post.  I thought we were talking about circuit weight training.  Body weight exercise is great for athletic functional training.  How many pro bodybuilders are just mirror athletes who couldn't run a 8 minute mile that any chubby soccer mom could do?  Below is a link to a great training site.  His books are great.  He's an ex boxer who now trains fighters for conditioning.   




http://www.rosstraining.com/
http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/strengthvsconditioning.html

[Montague]

I didn't read the original post.  I thought we were talking about circuit weight training.  Body weight exercise is great for athletic functional training.  How many pro bodybuilders are just mirror athletes who couldn't run a 8 minute mile that any chubby soccer mom could do?  Below is a link to a great training site.  His books are great.  He's an ex boxer who now trains fighters for conditioning.   






http://www.rosstraining.com/
http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/strengthvsconditioning.html

What you say is very true and accurate, but don’t forget that bodybuilding is an "appearance" sport – not a "performance" one.

At the competitive level it only matters how you look on stage. Call outs never include a mile run.
In that regard it’s not really fair to compare a pro bb to a runner or other types of athletes because functional muscle isn't what the bb trains for.

[oldtimer1]

That's where the expression mirror athlete came from when referring to bodybuilders. I believe in old fashion physical culture.  Train for function and what ever the cosmetics lead to so be it.  I think what a good physique is has been corrupted by massive drugs. I really think the best physiques in sports are sprinters, running backs, wrestlers, boxers and olympic lifters.  I know there are exceptions like the super heavy weight class.

There are some yard sticks to measure fitness like max Vo2 1.5 mile running test.  A 40 to 100 yard sprint.  Vertical leap and a lift like a  power clean are great tests of power.  Power lifts are a good test of pure strength as long as power suits are excluded.  What good is walking around 230 lbs drug ripped if you couldn't do 65 full and proper pushups in a minute without gassing?