The circuit training, which consists of performing several exercises followed without pause or with a short break between them, is a very popular workout in the fitness world.
Find more about it here.
Some of its benefits are: Alguns dos seus benefícios são:
- Improved resistance
- Accelerate fat burning and body toning
- Dynamism and speed
- Can be done anywhere, with or without equipment
Although there are several types of circuit training and, in some of them, the gym and gym material can be fundamental, there are some examples of circuit training that can be done anywhere.
Here I will give you some examples of circuit training that can be done in different places and that require little or no investment.
Circuit training with little investment
There are those who consider the gym a luxury commodity and not all people can attend it.
Besides that, there are those who do not like or do not have the willingness to attend it.
That’s not why you can’t exercise.
Exercising does not necessarily have to be something expensive and that can only be done in the gym.
Due to professional or personal issues, people have each day a growing tendency to look for more profitable options, both at the financial level and in terms of time.
Recognizing the importance of physical exercise to promote health and wellbeing there are more and more people including it in their daily routine.
However, the question arises: what is the best kind of training that will allow us to optimize our time and the results of our effort?
Check some answers!
Callisthenic Training and Circuit Training
The best training you can do without spending a lot of money – or practically none – is the so-called callisthenic training or body weight allied to circuit training.
As we referenced previously as beneficial, it allows us to optimize time, save money and use our creativity.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine:
“Body Weight Exercises are a basic fitness approach that requires minimal amounts of equipment”.
This type of training, whether for people of beginner, intermediate or advanced levels, can be done in several spaces.
In this article, I’m going to give you 5 circuit training options in different spaces where you can do your training, save money and time and, most of the times, use the weight of your own body.
Examples of circuit training with little investment
Urban Park with machines
It is increasingly common to see the investment that some places have made to create conditions for people to be able to exercise outdoors.
An example of this is the creation of urban parks with machines and other equipment, such as machines that work with our energy, such as functional elliptical, tartan track, row machine, shoulder press, monkey bars (for pullups), etc.
Full Body Workout
Heating: Run 15 minutes
At the end of the training: Elliptical 15 minutes
3-Lap Circuit
- 20 Squats
- 20 Pushups
- 10 Pullups on the bars
- 20 Shoulder Press repetitions on machine
- 20 Repetitions of funds on the garden bench
- 20 Abodminal crunches
Rest: Two minutes between each lap.
As additional material, and if the park has no suitable place for it, you can always bring a rug to do the crunches, or dumbbells to make the shoulder press.
If the park has no bar or elliptical, exchange for another exercise.
Basic Urban Park
Not all urban parks have the machines mentioned above, but this does not prevent from doing circuit training without any machines.
Look at the leg training suggestion.
Legs workout
Heating: 8 sets of 30 seconds of Jumping Jacks or Skipping with 30 seconds interval
3-Lap Circuit
- 20 Sumo squats
- Go up and down a garden bench 20 times
- 20 Lunges
- 20 Pop squats
- 20 Abdominal crunches
- 15 Burpees
- 30 seconds of front plank
Beach
Although not the best option for winter, on summer and spring, it can be a good place to do a workout.
The idea is to do a cardio circuit workout, good for fat burning and with 0 investment.
Tip: Mark in the sand the 1st letter of the exercise of each station to guide you.
Fatloss workout
Heating: Run on the seaside 15 minutes
3-Lap Circuit: Create 6 exercise stations. 30 seconds for each exercise
- At a distance of 10 steps come from one point to the other with 1-minute interval after each turn
- Make two mounds of sand and jump between them
Warning: The sand cushions the fall, but the impact may damage the foot joint if you do not heat well.
- Exercise equals to the previous one, but jump sideways
- Pushups in the sand with emphasis on the triceps
- Front plank (sand instability will add difficulty)
- Jumping Squats
Rest: 2 minutes between each lap.
At Home
Our house can be an excellent home gym.
Take a good look at the potential and advantages: you can put the music you want and the volume you want, you can use countless utensils, you are in your environment, comfortable and you don’t have to waste time going to the gym or somewhere else.
The next example is an example of a toning workout with a touch of hypertrophy.
Always do 20 reps-or more-with slow cadence, counting up to 3 seconds, both in the tension (in the concentric phase) and in the elongation/flexion (eccentric phase).
Toning with hypertrophy
Heating: 8 Series of 30 seconds of Skipping (make sure you have enough space around you to do this exercise).
3-Lap Circuit
- 20 Deadlift repetitions with a 5 litre jug
- 50 seconds of isometric chair or isometric squat (just lean on a wall and sit, keeping your legs at an angle of 90 °)
- 20 Incline pushups with your hands on the couch (in this position you will give greater stability to the upper part of the body)
- 20 Bulgarian split squats (each leg) keeping one leg on the couch and another on the floor
- 20 Repetitions to slide your knees up to your chest in a surfboard position with a small towel
Just put a towel under your feet in a surfboard position and take your knees to your chest.
- 20 Butt kicks on the ground
A good exercise to train the glutes.
- 20 Hip raises repetitions
- 40 seconds of front plank with feet backed up on the floor and with hands on the sofa
Rest: between 1 minute – 1 minute and 30 seconds between each lap.
City gym game
For those who are a fan of racing and hiking this is a good training option.
The idea is to plot a path where you want to do your race training and discover places that seem like a good option for you to do certain exercises.
The challenge is to choose various body weight exercises along your route to go doing.
Full body training in the city
For the most advanced:
Race in the city and along the route go doing (3 times each exercise):
- 20 Pushups
- 10 Burpees
- 35 Jumping squats
- 30 Lunges
- Climbing up and down stairs
- Make slalom between trees
So, you train what you like the most whether walking or racing, evolve in your training, discover paths and break the monotony.
In short…
Even if you don’t have time to go to the gym or you don’t want to make that investment, the options for training are numerous, wherever you are, and the financial investment can be very low or almost none.
Believe that if you are creative, you can enjoy the benefits of both body weight training and circuit training.
Do you accept the challenge?
Good training!