Circuit training is an efficient and challenging form of conditioning. It works well for developing strength, endurance (both aerobic and anaerobic), flexibility and coordination.

Its versatility has made it popular with the general public right through to elite athletes. For sports men and women, it can be used during the closed season and early pre-season to help develop a solid base of fitness and prepare the body for more stressful subsequent training.

A well-designed circuit can help to correct the imbalances that occur in any sport played to a high level. It can also be one of the best types of training for improving strength endurance – be it for a sport such as soccer or a classic endurance event like the triathlon.

If you haven’t quite reached “elite athlete” status yet, circuit training is superb for general fitness and caters for a wide variety of fitness levels. A great time saver, it can be a refreshing and fun change from the more monotonous types of exercise.

The articles in this section of the website cover a wide variety of circuits for different performance outcomes. Circuit training in itself is not a form of exercise per se, but the way an exercise session is structured. Routines can be developed purely for strength development or for improving endurance or some combination of the two.

Circuit Training Workouts for All-Round Fitness

Conventional circuit training workouts combine various exercise stations to develop both strength and stamina…

Circuit training is popular amongst fitness enthusiasts for its challenging nature and individuals pushed for time find it can be a great way to develop a good all-round level of fitness in minimal time.

Circuit training is also used by athletes to develop muscular endurance

The sample circuit training workouts on this page are for general fitness or can be used by athletes in the early pre-season to build a basic foundation of strength. See these circuit training programs and circuit training routines for sessions designed to develop sport-specific strength endurance.

Sample Circuit Training Workouts

Although there are a multitude of possible circuit training exercises, the way in which a traditional circuit class is structured remains relatively unchanged. Here are the parameters for designing a typical session:

The sample circuit training workouts below use various types of equipment. There is no reason however, why exercises from the three can’t be combined:

Diet & Fitness

Burn Fat, Shed Pounds

Trim inches off all over with this high-energy cardio and strength routine.

By Thomas Bunbury, Personal Trainer, N.A.S.M,

When you want to fight fat and firm up—whether you’re looking to fine-tune your physique or give your body a major overhaul—it helps to increase the number of calories burned during each sculpting session. This workout does that by adding fat-burning bursts of cardio to your routine.

The result? You’ll strengthen all the major muscles in your body and blast extra calories to help decrease body fat all over. This circuit-style routine moves you quickly through a series of six high-intensity intervals followed by moves that combine upper and lower body action. The workout gets your heart rate up—so don’t be surprised if you break a sweat and feel more exhilarated than usual when you’re finished!

For maximum fat-burning, in addition to performing the routine below, add extra cardio on other days of the week (Kickboxing, run, power walk, cycle, skate, swim, or do cardio gym machines.) If you are new to an exercise or activity, listen to your body’s signals and lower the intensity or duration of your workout accordingly. By coupling powerful strength moves with cardio bursts and regular physical activity, you can shed fat in as few as six weeks. Ready, set, sweat!

HOW TO DO IT:

• Choose a weight that is heavy enough to challenge your target muscles, but not so heavy that your joints feel strained. Since you will be moving quickly through the moves, choose a slightly lighter weight than usual. Start with dumbbells that are at least 3-5 pounds and gradually work up to using six to 15 pounds, depending on the exercise.
• Do not use weights during the cardio bursts. If needed, modify the high-impact movements, such as the jacks, and make them lower impact by performing the same movement without jumping. Move for one minute (or less if you are just starting) and try not to pause between exercises. Of course, if you feel tired or out of breath, slow down.
• Start by performing one complete circuit: Do each cardio burst, followed by a strength move, then move on to the next set. Do each cardio burst for one minute, and perform 15 repetitions of each exercise,. Move quickly when performing each strength move, but do not swing the weights. If you can swing them, your weight is too light. Once you’ve cycled through all six exercises, repeat the circuit for a total of two to four cycles.
• Do this workout two to three times a week with a rest day in between.
• Modify this workout to match your fitness level. Follow the recommended moves, or adapt them as needed by clicking on a similar exercise that is easier or more challenging.

What you need: Weights, a step or bench, and good pair of training shoes to provide support during the cardio bursts. Note: For those who have not worked out very much recently or in the past, wearing sneakers is very important.

GET THE MOVES:

GET THE MOVES:

Move 1:

Cardio Burst: March – Step in place and pump your arms for one minute

Strength Move: Biceps Curl with Shoulder press

Move 2:

Cardio Burst: Flutter Feet – Jog in place with your feet close to the ground. Speed up the pace so that your feet tap quickly on the floor for one minute. (Lower impact version: March in place at double speed.)

Strength Move: Lunging Front Raise

Move 3: Cardio Burst: Leg Swing – Shift your weigh from foot to foot, swinging your legs from side to side for one minute. (Lower impact version: Alternate tapping each foot out to the outsides of your body.)

Strength Move: Side Lunge with Press

Move 4:

Cardio Burst: Scissor Job – Run in place and scissor your straight arms in front of your body quickly for one minute. (Lower impact version: March quickly and scissor your arms.)

Strength Move: Lunge Kick

Move 5:

Cardio Burst: Jacks - Jump out and in with both feet for one minute. Open to hop-width, no wider and keep your knees soft. (Lower impact version: Alternate side lunges quickly.)

Strength Move: Triceps Dip

Move 6:

Cardio Burst: Kicks – Alternate kicking each leg out in front, keeping your feet below hip level for one minute.

Strength Move: Modified Wide Push-up

This diet and exercise program should not be followed without first consulting a health care professional. If you have any special health conditions requiring attention, you should consult with your health care professional regularly regarding possible modification of this program.

Thomas is a highly educated, experienced Fitness Professional, who was born and raised in Great Britain. He has relocated to Southern California to share his fitness to the rest of the world.

Thomas has trained a variety of clients, from housewives and business executives to high profile athletes and celebrities. All wanting to learn his Fitness methods….Share their success and get in shape today!

To learn more about Thomas visit www.ThomasBunbury.com or call 1-888-FIT-THOMAS

By Thomas Bunbury, Celebrity Fitness Trainer

Before the stars hit the red carpet, they hit the gym. They all have their favorite workout regimens, from Pilates and yoga to spinning and kickboxing.

But some Hollywood A-listers, like Naomi Watts, like to take their workouts outdoors.

When Naomi and I train together, we hit the road running for four to six miles or take to the hills for an hour-and-a-half-long mountain bike ride.

During training for one of her most recent roles in “King Kong,” Naomi did an intense outdoor cardio workout about five days a week. The goal was to boost her stamina and overall fitness level so that she was up for the physical demands of filming, including some stunt work.

Naomi also did weight training, mainly to improve her upper body strength. Because “King Kong” is set in 1933, we didn’t want her to look really cut but we did want to tone her up. So throughout the week we hit the weights, doing a few sets of 10 to 15 repetitions of various exercises including bench presses, military presses and lat pull-downs.

If you’re tired of the gym and looking to spice up your workouts, consider taking them — or part of them — outside. Incorporating outdoor activity into your fitness plan can make it more challenging and motivating.

You can even build in some resistance activity when you’re outdoors, so that you can skip the gym if you want.

Here’s a beginner workout to get you started: Set aside half an hour two to three days a week for some outdoor activity such as walking. Walk for five to 10 minutes and then stop to do some calisthenics, such as squats, lunges or push-ups, for instance. Then walk another five minutes and stop at some stairs and do step-ups. Continue on with the walking and calisthenics, aiming to target all major muscle groups for three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.

This is a great way to maximize your workout time and have fun, too. Over time, you could build up to jogging, if you like, and working out on four or five days a week.

GET TOUGH LIKE LEONARDO DICAPRIO!

In the new movie “The Departed,” Leonardo DiCaprio plays the part of young undercover cop Billy Costigan, who is assigned to infiltrate the mob.

The look for DiCaprio’s character is far from the perfectly chiseled body of a guy who trains daily at a fancy gym. It’s more about the brute strength that comes from growing up on the tough streets of South Boston.

So I, Thomas Bunbury at Ultimate Fitness, created a no-frills workout for him that is just as tough.

Want to pretend you’re gearing up to fight the mob? Shake up your regular fitness routine by giving these moves a try. (Note: This workout is intended for people who regularly strength train. If you’re a true couch potato, start slowly and work your way up to this challenge.)

On the first day, work on sheer strength with bench presses, straight bar curls and military presses. Don’t worry about counting set and reps. The goal is to go heavy and feel the power.

On the second day, tone and condition with rear dips off the end of your bed or coffee table — dozens of them — to blast your triceps and upper back. Then do old-fashioned sit-ups and pull-ups — as many as you can, and then a few more.

Repeat this cycle over the next two days, and then rest on the fifth day.

This workout is an example of how a specific fitness strategy can help actors physically feel like the characters they are portraying — to get into their bodies.

And it can help motivate movie buffs at home, too! Just pick a character you admire physically and design a workout based on him or her. Would this character go to a gym or train outdoors? Do kick-boxing or yoga? Cycle or swim? Shoot hoops or hit tennis balls?

Playing the role of your favorite characters is a unique way to freshen up fitness. Who knows, you may even enjoy one of the new activities you try and decide to make it a regular part of your exercise routine.

February 7th, 2007

Thomas Bunbury, an international strength and conditioning coach to MMA Fighters will be joining the world renowned Southern California based OC Jiu Jitsu and MMA Academy within the month. Thomas is a strength coach to Pride superstar James Thompson and will be teaching several classes at the school. James Thompson publicly thanked Thomas for all his help on his fight preperation in front of millions of viewers at a Pride post-fight press conference after his dominating performance over Japan’s Hidehiko Yoshida, an Olympic gold medalist! Check out the video at around the 3:35 mins……

Hey Everyone,
Well to keep everyone updated, yes that is me that you keep seeing on the Flex Slendertone commercial!

SlenderTone basically asked me to be the physique behind their ab device to make it a hot seller in the fitness market…Here is a shortened version of the national ad campaign that features my abs! (there is a longer version but it’s 12 mins long!)

The commercial is currently running on Fox Sports Net, Home Shopping Network, KCal 9 and FX at the moment. It seems like everywhere I go people stop me on the street and ask me…”Hey I keep seeing you on T.V does that ab device really work”? My answer as always…with a good nutrition plan and regular exercise it can help, but there is no magic pill for hard work!

Thomas Bunbury- Personal Trainer/Fitness Model