Need Help / Advice With Circuit Training and Recovery Time

Daymon74

New member
I've recently started circuit training, which is a lot more fun than strength training, or cardio alone. The problem I'm having is all of the conflicting information out there on recovery time. Right now I'm only taking Sunday, and Wednesday off which puts me at 5 days a week circuit training.


My circuit looks like this:


Weights = lbsx10

Cardio machine = 2 to 3min.

Repeat through round 1 of circuit.


I have 6 stations. 3 cardio machines, and a bench, a bowflex, and dumbbell station / bench. I alternate between the cardio machines, and change the workout on each strength station each pass through the circuit. It takes about an hour, but the time flies! It's a lot of fun.


The Question:

Is it ok to circuit train up to three days back to back?


I know conventional wisdom says to rest one to two days after strength training, or heavy lifting, but with circuit training you only do one set (I do 1 set of 10) for each muscle group during the workout. So, instead of doing the old 3 sets of 10, is it ok to do the circuit 3 days and then rest?
 
Originally Posted by Daymon74


I've recently started circuit training, which is a lot more fun than strength training, or cardio alone. The problem I'm having is all of the conflicting information out there on recovery time. Right now I'm only taking Sunday, and Wednesday off which puts me at 5 days a week circuit training.



My circuit looks like this:



Weights = lbsx10

Cardio machine = 2 to 3min.

Repeat through round 1 of circuit.



I have 6 stations. 3 cardio machines, and a bench, a bowflex, and dumbbell station / bench. I alternate between the cardio machines, and change the workout on each strength station each pass through the circuit. It takes about an hour, but the time flies! It's a lot of fun.



The Question:

Is it ok to circuit train up to three days back to back?



I know conventional wisdom says to rest one to two days after strength training, or heavy lifting, but with circuit training you only do one set (I do 1 set of 10) for each muscle group during the workout. So, instead of doing the old 3 sets of 10, is it ok to do the circuit 3 days and then rest?


I think the ultimate question is "what's your ultimate goal?"


Without knowing what effect you're chasing, it's impossible to say whether or not circuit training is right for you, how long you should be resting, at what frequency you should be training, or anything else.


In general, circuit training can be a fantastic mode of exercise. I'm not sure that I'd do nothing but circuit training, as different modes of exercise carry specific benefits. By focusing solely on one mode, you're likely leaving something on the table as far as adaptations go. But I'll wait to hear about what you're shooting for first.
 
Fat loss mainly, and also building strength. Other workouts simply bore the hell out of me, and the circuit training gives me a way to break things up. Eventually I want to build muscle, but I know I have to get rid of the fat first. I'm currently 250 lbs, and should probably be around 150.


I guess in the end my first goal is to get rid of the fat, and the ultimate goal is to build lean muscle.
 
Okay, thanks for the clarification.


So you're definitely on the right track. With my clients who have a lot of fat to lose, I definitely prioritize energy-expensive workouts over true strength training. By energy-expensive, I'm simply referring to exercise that burns more calories relative to traditional strength training. Jogging, calisthenic circuits, weight circuits, swimming, hiking, etc all fall into this category. However, I don't completely ignore strength work, as it's what's best suited for muscle maintenance while losing fat.


The last thing you want to do is become a lighter version of your former self, right?


If I were you, I'd focus on 2 days of traditional strength training with a full body focus using the big exercises like squat variations, hip hinge variations, pushing and pulling. And on the remaining days, I'd focus on some form of energy-expensive stuff... if that happens to be circuit training, then that's perfectly fine. Since your strength sessions would handle the muscle/strength preservation, I'd lean the circuits toward a focus on constant movement.


I'd keep rest to a minimum between each movement... moving from one exercise to the next stopping only long enough to transition. At the end of the circuit, you can rest a moment, and then start again for however many rounds as you can do. I'd focus on 30-60 minutes.


Thoughts?
 
Hey Steve, Thanks for your help! It's really appreciated.


I just have a couple of questions. My main concern was over training since during the circuit I would do strength for both upper, and lower body, and cardio between sets. I even have to slow down on the cardio a bit sometimes not because I'm tired, but because my heart rate shoots up to 170 bpm +. At age 37, 5'10, and 250 lbs it looks like my heart rate only needs to be around 154 bpm, and 180's are in the red zone. Would you say this is correct?


Also, when I'm doing the circuit I do the strength exercises just as if it was a strength only day. Is this not a good approach?


Lastly, if I were to do as you're suggesting strength only days, then circuit days, are my muscles getting enough recover time since I do strength during my circuits?


I apologize if I'm being confusing. I've been trying to find something that works for a good 5 or 6 years now, and just trying to figure out the best way to go about it, so I have a lot of questions. I only really saw results one time when I got down to 215, but fizzled out because I quit going to the gym for financial reasons. I found that I really do enjoy the circuit style workouts, and if it's possible to reach my goals that way I would like to stick to that. If it's not possible then I would have to figure out the best way to introduce strength only days into my week.
 
Originally Posted by Daymon74


Hey Steve, Thanks for your help! It's really appreciated.



I just have a couple of questions. My main concern was over training since during the circuit I would do strength for both upper, and lower body, and cardio between sets. I even have to slow down on the cardio a bit sometimes not because I'm tired, but because my heart rate shoots up to 170 bpm +. At age 37, 5'10, and 250 lbs it looks like my heart rate only needs to be around 154 bpm, and 180's are in the red zone. Would you say this is correct?



Also, when I'm doing the circuit I do the strength exercises just as if it was a strength only day. Is this not a good approach?



Lastly, if I were to do as you're suggesting strength only days, then circuit days, are my muscles getting enough recover time since I do strength during my circuits?



I apologize if I'm being confusing. I've been trying to find something that works for a good 5 or 6 years now, and just trying to figure out the best way to go about it, so I have a lot of questions. I only really saw results one time when I got down to 215, but fizzled out because I quit going to the gym for financial reasons. I found that I really do enjoy the circuit style workouts, and if it's possible to reach my goals that way I would like to stick to that. If it's not possible then I would have to figure out the best way to introduce strength only days into my week.


In terms of your HR... it's okay to take your HR to near maximum. But you're right, you don't want to be doing high intensity work every single day of the week.


In terms of your circuits, simply doing a particular movement with weights is not the same as true strength training. True strength training implies that you're using loads that are high enough to elicit the adaptations we're after - strength/muscle increase/maintenance. If the loads are below a certain threshold, these adaptations aren't likely to occur. What's that threshold?


Well it's hard to pinpoint. For the average trainee, it's likely around 70-80% of their maximum ability in a particular exercise. With typical circuit training, the conditioning aspect of the circuit... the actual fatigue, tend to interfere with the load lifted. Sure, it can feel very difficult... but it's typically the fatigue interplaying with the load. So it's hard to answer without knowing if you're truly lifting sufficiently heavy loads relative to your maximums during your circuits or not.


I'm sure it's possible to reach your goals. Generally speaking though, if you want OPTIMAL results, you need to take a multifaceted approach since no one mode of exercise is the be all end all. That said, if you're happy with simply making progress and you're enjoying the process... there's not a damn thing wrong with that at all.
 
Thanks, again!


I should point out I was doing strength only days, and cardio only days before I started circuit training. The weight I'm using now is based off the same weight I was using for strength training, which gradually went up over a few weeks. I only just started the circuit training, which is why I'm so full of questions. I also don't know if I'm actually increasing strength just yet.


Right now I just want the fat off me more than anything, and I'm enjoying the circuit training. I mean really, it's fun. I'll probably stick to that at least long enough to see if it helps me lose the fat for now.


Will strength training every day (within the circuit) cause me to overtrain my muscles, or would it be best to alternate lower body, and upper body days?
 
Hi Steve, Is circuit training a good method to reduce stomach fat?
 
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