Circuit Training Advantages And Disadvantages

The popularity of circuit training has expanded due to the effectiveness it provides to the body. It is a useful training program for conditioning, muscle gain or strength or for anybody that wants to lose weight. Circuit training was developed in 1953, by R.E Morgan and G.T. Anderson at the University of Leeps in England (Sorani, 1966). As well it is consider one of the first training programs that the military armed forces began to use, and throughout time, with an increase in its recognition, training classes began to be offered at traditional gyms. Not only this training can be done at the gym, but as well, one can do a circuit training at home. Circuit training it is an effective training program in developing strength and cardiovascular

Brad, Walker (2007) states in the book, The Anatomy of Sports Injuries, that the “quick pace and constant changing nature of circuit training places a unique type of stress on the body, which differs from normal exercise activities” ( p). One of the physiological benefits in response to circuit training is that it improves cardiovascular endurance. As stated in the article “The Benefits of Circuit Training” when circuit training its performed “consistently over 8-12 weeks,… [there is an] increase [in] aerobic oxygen consumption and VO2 max, resulting in greater stamina and overall fitness” (Brett, Anthony). As well, circuit training increases muscular endurance and muscle strength. In a study done on 32 healthy male students, data was able to indicate that to achieve gains on maximal strength; it can depend on “the ability to sustain a consistent number of repetitions over consecutive sets “(Taskin, H, 2009, p. 1809). Also, the collected data found from the research, demonstrated that when an individual trains for muscular endurance, an ideal strategy is to “perform resistance exercises in a circuit, [that will include] shorter rest intervals between exercises that involve dissimilar muscles groups, and longer rest intervals between exercises that involve similar muscles groups” (Taskin, H, 2009, p.1809). Strength training can help women reduce bone loss, since women in between 30 and 40 years of age, tend to lose 1% of muscle mass per year ( Brett, Anthony). Additionally, circuit training has demonstrated increases in strength of 13 %- 40 % in cardiac patients, when training at a moderate intensity, with no cardiac or orthopedic complications ( Kravitz, Len ). Other benefit that circuit training has demonstrated to provide is a decrease on body mass. Strength training provides the muscles to burn more calories, both during exercise and at rest,