Adding Some Strength Circuits into Your Workouts

One training style I have incorporated into my current programs after having success with many of my clients, are the use of strength circuits. I have found these circuits to compliment traditional strength training nicely by:

• · Training muscular endurance (conditioning) that many sports and some jobs require
• · Training movements in a quick and power producing manner (explosive strength)
• · Allowing clients of varying strength levels can all train the same exercises and use different weight
• · Being a great opportunity for adding kettlebell, sandbags, sled drags, and odd object exercises

I generally structure strength circuits by using 5-6 balanced exercises consisting of;

• · Pressing movement
• · Pulling movement
• · Double leg moment
• · Single leg movement
• · Abdominal training

These exercises are set up in stations and done for either reps or time. Obviously you will be using weight that is much less than what you could do in a traditional strength training session.

Here is a very simple sample workout:

Circuit I: Three Rounds

Round 1: 12 reps, Round 2: 10 reps, Rounds 3: 8 reps

K.Bell Sumo DL

Bar Inverted Rows

Abdominal V-Ups

D. Bell Chest Press

D. Bell (Static) Lunge

Standing [Band] Tricep Extensions

Circuit II: Three Rounds Round

1 min Each Round

Jump Rope

K.Bell 2-Arm Swings

Sandbag Cleans

D. Bell Row

Front Plank

D. Bell Curl and Press

This workout is just one of MANY combinations you can come up with for an effective strength circuit program. Try it out, tell me what you think, and tell me about a strength circuit workout you have used.

Tags: circuits, Conditioning, Strength

How to Get Strong Without a Training Partner

I did a guest blog post for Joe Hashey’s site on how to training alone.  This article talks about what exercises to chose and even how to combat low motivation.

Here is a preview of the article…..

I remember my freshman year in college was the time that I became really interested in weight training and all of the science, methodology, function, and potential results that were part of it. I went to a commuter University and the only way to get free all-day parking was to arrive right when the street cleaners had finished at 6am. At so early in the morning, there were only two options to bide my time before classes; I could either sit in a coffee shop and study or I could hit the gym. I tried to study as little as possible, so the gym was my choice.

My friend, at the time, had armed me with two programs to follow; a navy seal program and a Tom Platz routine which was mostly an ascending-descending pyramid for bench press and squats.

Right away this was something new because I had never followed a structured lifting program before. I did lift for sports in high school but the programs were random. Being as I am a very structured (some would say “anal“) person, having a program that told me exactly what to do and how many reps to do was ideal. I got in the gym, had a plan, didn’t mess around, and I got positive results like I never had before. This set me on the path to learn more about the different exercise techniques and the programs that incorporate successful weight training.

Continue reading the rest of the article on Joe’s site here

Tags: Strength, training partner