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Circuit Training for Endurance – Home Fitness Workouts
High Intensity Training is now considered to be essential for burning fat and getting fit quickly. Not so long ago people were advised to pound away on the treadmill for hours on end, ensuring that they maintain a steady heart rate in the made up “fat burning zone”. Now emphasis is on fast, intensive workouts. The aim is the get the heart rate approaching its maximum, work up a sweat get out of breath to the point that you cannot speak. The great thing about this, is that you do not even need to leave home.
For a home based circuit training workout, you can make good progress with just five exercises. Rather than measure reps, perform each of the following exercises for one minute, with a 30 second rest in-between. Rest for one minute at the end of the circuit before repeating.
1. Skipping
Start the workout with the classic old school cardio workout. Buy a speed rope, as these are much easier to use. Then just skip for one minute. Skipping is very intensive and can burn a lot of calories. Boxers skip, and they are among the fittest sports persons around.
2. Bicycles
Another old school circuit training exercise. Lie on your back with your knees to your chest. Then extend one leg while bringing your elbow to your opposite knee. Return to start position and repeat on the other side. This is a great abs exercise, and more intensive than crunches.
3. Triceps dips
Triceps dips require a little apparatus. Although a workout bench is ideal, a chair will do. Start by sitting on chair, place your hands on the edge of the chair, fingers pointing forward, then lower yourself, and lift back up. Repeat as many times as possible in one minute.
4. Bodyweight Squats
Most people associate squats with ironmen lifting Olympic barbells containing hundreds of kilos of weight. However, simple bodyweight squats provide a fantastic leg workout. If you have extra energy, do squat jumps – same as a squat, but with a plyometric power-up and jump. As your arms are rested, time for the final, intensive exercise.
5. Push ups / Press ups
Push ups are one of the best core and upper body exercises. They strengthen the arms (triceps) and shoulders, as well as the back. They will probably demand the most effort on your part, so they are done last with a longer recovery rest afterwords.
Do this circuit twice and you will get a very intensive workout, in the comfort of your own home, in less that 20 minutes.
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The title says “high intensity”, but all I see is low intensity exercises. The volume and frequency might be high depending on the user, but the intensity (in the technical sense) of, for example an unloaded pressup, will always be low.
Thanks for pointing this out Billy, and you are indeed right. We should use HIT (high intensity training) only in the sense it was intended by the likes of Mike Mentzer, for intensive weight lifting focusing on performing quality weightlifting repetitions to the point of momentary muscular failure. I guess this should be entitled high volume / endurance bodyweight training.